The Fungi are a very diverse and ‘strange’ group of organisms, the true fungi are referred to as the Mycota. The Oomycota are fungus-like organisms, but somewhat different and are responsible for diseases like potato blight.   Unlike green plants, fungi do not have any chlorophyll so cannot make sugars and other compounds by photosynthesis. They get their sugars / carbohydrates through being  saprobes (saprophytes),  parasites, or sometimes  symbionts. Many soil fungi are saprobes, that is, they ‘feed’ on the dead leaves, bits of bark, dead bodies of insects and other animals that end up in the soil. Fungal saprobes, together with bacteria and other organisms, use enzymes to break down the complex chemicals in the dead and decaying remains, to release simpler compounds such as sugars and amino acids. These are then used for the growth and development of the fungi. Fungal parasites obtain their sugars and amino acids by feeding on another living organism (the host). Examples of parasitic fungi include  mildews,  ergot of rye, Athlete’s foot  bracket fungi, Aspergillosis (lung disease)   ‘rusts’ on wheat and hollyhocks Thrush As can be seen from the list above, the host can be us. By definition, parasitic associations do not benefit the host. Some fungi enter into an association with another living organism in which both partners benefit; this is symbiosis. Lichens are examples of symbiotic associations between various types of algae and fungi. For more information on the nature of lichens, see the WoodlandsTV film.   [embed]https://youtu.be/YnyxpY8V-GI?si=InEq06izX88VJJnI[/embed] Mycorrhizae are symbiotic associations between fungi and the roots of certain trees and other plants. The microscopic, tube-like fungal threads (hyphae) form a network around the roots of a tree.  They take various carbohydrate compounds from the tree that it has made through photosynthesis.   However, the transfer is not one way; the tree benefits as it gains mineral nutrients from the extensive fungal network of hyphae that ramify through the soil – absorbing a variety of minerals. As a result of their enhanced mineral nutrition, mycorrhizal plants often show better growth and development when compared to non-mycorrhizal ones (of the same species).    https://youtu.be/I0Buzzhv40E Interestingly, it is thought that the invasive Rhododendron ponticum gains an advantage though it’s mycorrhizal associations. In nutrient poor acidic soils they may ‘starve’ competing plants of vital nutrient requirements.  It also has the ability to poison the soil for others (a phenomenon known as allelopathy}.   It is thought that ancient / veteran trees such as Oak in the UK, or the Bristlecones in the States have well developed and diverse mycorrhizal systems. At the other end of scale in terms of size are orchids.  Orchids produce seeds that are so small [(0.35mm to 1.50mm long] that they contain no nutrition to sustain the germinating seedling. Instead, the seeds must gain the energy to grow from a fungal symbiont.  The cells of the seed are actually penetrated by the fungus.  Recent research on the common spotted orchid by Professor Field at the University of Sheffield suggests that the fungi supplying the nutrients may be connected to parent plants. This may explain why orchids are often found in clumps - despite the seeds being wind dispersed. The idea that mycelial networks may allow communication between trees over a large area has received much attention recently - the wood wide web.     The book “Finding the mother tree” by Suzanne Simard “proposed that trees help each other out by dispatching resources and warning signals through fungal networks in the soil”. The idea was further promulgated in a TED talk. However, a review of relevant research papers / literature by Justine Karst, University of Alberta (and others) suggests that the claims are based on limited evidence and that further research is needed.

I have been collecting birch sap for many years. It is such a remarkable gift from nature. It has many health-giving properties. And is incredibly versatile. Prior to buying our woodland, which is listed in the ancient tree register as a birch coppice, I would ask wood owners permission to tap their trees, generally well received but sometimes a bit inconvenient. Process It's a fairly straightforward process. The sap rises once a year, generally the last two weeks in March. Normally from the 16th here in the north-east of Scotland. The kit you would need is a cordless drill, an 11/16 bit, plastic tubing the same size (needs to be a tight fit), food grade plastic container (especially if a distance from your car, needs to have a small aperture to prevent beasties getting in but with enough room to breath. the demijohn has ideal size aperture) or glass demijohn. March 16th comes round surprisingly quick! Choosing a tree is a bit hit and miss, although over the years I seem to have developed a bit of a skill in choosing good ones.  Generally I would say mature trees around 8 inches diameter, preferably well away from areas where pesticide is in use and the tree is in good shape. I have previously used trees with witches broom (the tree has been infected with a fungal, viral and occasionally insect activity) and found the tree to be witches broom free the following year. This is not a scientifically proven theory, just from personal observation. Depending on the size of the container, I have used water cooler containers (I found out that they are single-use plastic so most companies that have them are quite happy to give them away), they have the perfect aperture and even though they hold three to four gallons, the weight of the container adds little to the burden, I normally drill 5 or 6 inches above the top of the container. You should aim to drill through the bark; I give it around an inch (2.54 cm in new money), at right angle. Push in the plastic tube, which should be 8-10 inches (you do the maths) long, and the other end into your container, it should start dripping immediately. leave it overnight and check, if using larger containers leave for two or three days. The flow varies, but from a good tree you could expect around a gallon a day. Preparation  You will have a 3-5 day window to use it before it goes cloudy, once cloudy use to water the garden so its not entirely lost. If wine is your thing it is very simple with the sap, sugar and yeast, makes a very palatable result and will keep for at least a year. If you prefer non-alcohol, it can make a delicious cordial - it also preserves it. If you are happy with lots of boiling to reduce it to a creamy balm/moisturiser. There are plenty of recipes on the web for these. These options preserve many of the saps health giving properties. Hope that will do, chaga should also have a wee space, which will grow on birch too and has fantastic health giving properties. Author: Ron (wood owner near Aberdeen)

Gardens help out The blog has reported on several occasions on the problems bees, bumblebees and other insect pollinators face.  Now research by the Univeristy of Bristol has demonstrated the importance of gardens and urban areas to many farmland pollinators.  At certain times of years, such as early Spring and late Summer,, rural pollinators experience limited supply of nectar.   Somewhat surprisingly, a large percentage of UK farmland is within a mile of a garden, and at times of scarcity gardens can make good the lack of nectar [and pollen].  Indeed, the Bristol research (by Dr T Timberlake and colleagues) indicates that gardens can provide between 50 and 95% of the nectar during these 'lean times'.  Whilst gardens provide a relatively small amount of nectar in rural areas, nevertheless the continuity of the supply makes its contribution  particularly valuable. Full details of this investigation are reported here : https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1523 Sunflowers to help bumblebees ? One of the issues that bumblebees face is infection by the parasite Crithidia bombi.  It lives in the gut of the bee. The parasite passes from host to host as cysts in faeces.  The parasites develop in the digestive tract, interacting with the intestinal lining using a flagellum.  Infection with this parasite seems to affect the bee's ability to learn and they struggle to recognise nectar-rich flowers, and consequently are at risk of starvation. Recent research has shown that if bumblebees are offered sunflower pollen to feed upon, then the Crithidia infection is significantly reduced. As bumblebees are often used in commercial glassshouses, it could be that if sunflower pollen was offered within this 'closed' environment then the incidence of Crithidia infection could be controlled.  The sunflower pollen does not have to be 'fresh', indeed stored, frozen pollen is effective.  A 1:1 mixture of sunflower and wildflower pollen also gives the desired 'medicinal effect', and ensures the bees are receiving enough protein and sodium from this supplement. Full details of this investigation are reported here : https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/116/5/1939/7234927        

The badger (strictly speaking the european badger) arrived in this country,  like everything else, as the ice retreated some thousands of years ago.  It is our largest land predator, others such as the wolf are no longer with us - though some would support their reintroduction as part of rewilding programs. Whilst badgers are predators, they are, in fact, omnivores - eating both plant and animal material.  Much of their diet is earthworms, though they are not averse to small mammals such as mice, rats and hedgehogs!  Whilst badgers tend to make their home (setts) in woodlands, they will travel to open fields and pastures in search of food, digging for grubs [for example, chafer larvae]. A badger sett is a complex, extensive engineering feat accomplished by using their powerful front limbs and claws.  They dig down and then drag the earth out of the tunnels by moving backwards with the soil under their chin and then deposit it in a ‘spoil heap’.   The presence of a spoil heap is a good indication of a badger sett in your woodland.   If a colony is well established there will be a main sett, but also an ‘annex sett', and possibly even smaller setts away from the main sett.  Recently Woodland TV filmed Adrian Coward from the Somerset Badger Group, who explains in details the nature and relationship of these setts and how badgers recognise their ‘family members’ and how they mark their territory.  They move around their territory along well defined paths. [embed]https://youtu.be/vv3CK1hVM2o?si=_TmpkcXhKoxqy24A[/embed] Whilst we know a lot about how badgers move through their home territories, little was known about any long distance movements. To investigate such movements, scientists set up a study in County Kilkenny (Ireland).  It was one of the largest badger studies of its type,  The study spanned a large area and some four years ,and 'followed' some 900+ badgers.  They found that whilst most badgers only moved 2 to 3 kilometres from their sett, some travelled 7.5 km and the longest distance travelled by a badger was 22 km.  If animals can move around and meet with other populations, this can promote outbreeding. Learning about these 'lengthier' movements may be a useful contribution in the discussion of badgers and bovine tuberculosis - which is also discussed in the Woodlands TV film ‘Facts about badgers’, and the topic has featured in other woodland blogs. Curious fact : The French call a wet shaving brush blaireau or “badger", because quality brushes use badger hair. Apart from viewing Woodlands TV on this site, it may also be viewed on YouTube : www.youtube.com/@WOODLANDSTV 82K subscribers 482 videos 15,896,142 views Joined 9 Jul 2008 United Kingdom

Woodland living is elemental, and at this time of the year our primary element is fire. We gravitate to the fire for warmth and food. It punctuates our day, provides ritual and rhythm. We have had Mistletoe Wood for three years and our means of making fire has developed. My brother. who works the wood with me is, frankly, a pyromaniac. Embarrassingly I started with a lighter as ignition, some rather damp dead standing and some split knotty beech.   I soon learned that I am a smoke goddess and it wants to bathe me in acrid fumes.   Subsequently I have followed my brother's lead with ferro rod, properly gleaned fingers and thumbs. and some dry split ash.   Ash die back has given us a good supply. My intrepid brother has tried so many sorts of ignition and methods it’s bewildering but upside down fires, rudiger rolls and a portable firebox are part of our repertoire. Having managed to make fire, the crucial skill is putting it out.  Our first summer in the wood was 2022 with drought and wild fires.   We made beaters, dug a pit but the real issue was water.   We have no stream or pond but we do have the Bothy roof and with some Heath Robinson guttering we now have a water butt full of emergency extinguisher, you wouldn’t want to drink it though! In autumn nothing beats a slowly cooked camenbert and a baked apple filled with mincemeat and a splash of beechwood noyau.   Fire is truly our friend. [caption id="attachment_41635" align="aligncenter" width="675"] smoke goddess ?[/caption]

The hazel dormouse is an arboreal species, that is to say, it spends a large part of the year up in the trees.  It is also largely nocturnal in habit. Its favourite foods are hazelnuts, berries and insects.  Their active period is between Spring and Autumn, and during this time they build a ‘nest’.  These nests tends to made from ‘local materials’ usually found within a few metres of the nest.  Bracken, hazel, beech leaves and grasses are frequently used, though honeysuckle and other species may be incorporated.  The nests are found in trees in deciduous woodlands, thick scrub, and hedgerows, feeding on local available materials depending on the time of year.  They tend not to move great distances, generally having a range of up to a hectare. With the approach of colder weather and limited food supplies, the dormouse tends to move down to the ground and build another nest ready for hibernation.  The winter nest is similar to that built in the canopy with an outer layer of leaves and core of some ‘woven’ material.  Hibernation is a dangerous time for a dormouse.  If the dormouse has not accumulated enough fat reserves then it will simply run out of energy during the cold weather.  It has been estimated that a dormouse loses about 0.5% of its body weight every day during hibernation.  Whilst ‘asleep’, the dormouse is easy prey for a predator and could also die as a result of trampling by a large animal [the nests are inconspicuous], or indeed woodland management activities. [caption id="attachment_41621" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Dormouse in a state of torpor.[/caption] Interestingly, during the dormouse’s active period of Spring and Summer, the dormouse can enter into a state of torpor when food is scarce.   This allows them to save energy through dropping body temperature and heart rate.  So hazel dormice can spend a lot of the year ‘asleep’ in one form or another. Woodlands TV has just produced their first film about the hazel dormouse - which can be viewed below. This film was made in collaboration with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). More information on the PTES’ monitoring and conservation of hazel dormice can be accessed by clicking here, Note that a licence is required for handling these special animals, details in this link :- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hazel-dormice-survey-or-research-licence-level-1. [embed]https://youtu.be/COUh5ZluEew?si=f697mPkVLoI8dceU[/embed] Interesting fact : Though Ireland has no native dormouse, the hazel dormouse was found in County Kildare in 2010. Further films by Woodland TV can be found here : -https://www.youtube.com/@WOODLANDSTV    

Woodlands TV has produced a film entitled  “The Wonder of woodland fungus”.  In this informative film by Siddarth Shetty, Professor Mahesh Nirmalan, of Manchester Royal Infirmary, and Professor Niroshini Nirmalan, of the University of Salford, talk about the wonders of woodland fungi, their benefits and what we can do to protect them. Fungi are neither plant nor animal but they play an essential role in woodland ecosystems.  Fungi together with bacteria and other micro-organisms contribute to the detrital food chains, which are vital to the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients.   [embed]https://youtu.be/E-6XGVNVppk?si=d5ZMbUG2MBW5qFeI[/embed] The excellent photography in the film shows several species of fungi that you might find in a woodland setting. If you want to know more about some of them then, there are some older woodlands.co.uk blogs that you might find interesting. Sulphur tufts https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/monthly-mushroom-sulphur-tuft-hypholoma-fasciculare/ Amethyst deceiver https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/november-fungi-focus-amethyst-deceiver-laccaria-amethystina-and-the-documentary-fantastic-fungi/ Chicken of the woods https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/the-monthly-mushroom-chicken-of-the-woods/ Polypores https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/woodland-activities/the-monthly-mushroom-dryads-saddle-polyporus-squamosus/ Candle snuff https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/woodland-activities/december-monthly-mushroom-purple-jellydisc-ascocoryne-sarcoides/ Beefsteak fungus. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/july-fungi-focus-beefsteak-fungus/ Bonnet Mushrooms. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/november-fungi-focus-orange-mosscaps-orange-bonnets-and-moss-bells/ & https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/novembers-fungi-focus-rosy-bonnet-mycena-rosea/ Thanks to Woodlands TV for images.

If a hedgehog is in distress it may just need water or you might want to seek help from an expert such as Lisa Steward of the Thorne Hedgehog Rescue project in Puckley, Kent. I met Lisa at Kent's Belmont Wood Fair in early September where she was bottle-feeding a hoglet whose mother had been run over by a car. This was only one of the 200 hedgehogs she has rescued and is nursing back to health. Another one that she is nursing had almost been decapitated by a strimmer but fortunately its wound had not become infected. What Lisa never does is to feed them cow's milk which can be fatal. Unfortunately I didn't know that when I found a distressed hedgehog a few years ago. My mistake of giving it a saucer of cow's milk may have killed it or it could already have been doomed from eating the neighbour's poisonous slug pellets. I'll always have that hedgehog on my conscience. [embed]https://youtube.com/shorts/1QWIIaEQyyE?feature=share[/embed] It turns out that hedgehogs are both loveable and important - they eat slugs and beetles and are an important part of the British ecosystem. Unfortunately they are often harmed by poisons such as insecticides and other chemicals: to reduce the chemical threat it has been illegal in the UK since 2022 to use or sell metaldehyde slug pellets, but many other threats remain.  Cars can run them over partly because of the hedgehog's instinct to respond to danger by curling into a ball rather than running away - the paradox of roadkill is that if you don't see dead hedgehogs it does not mean they are all safe - more likely it means there are none, or very few, surviving in that vicinity. Another danger is that they get trapped - ponds with steep sides, swimming pools and cattle grids each represent a threat, so ideally each of these will have a ramp that the hedgehogs can use to climb out. https://youtube.com/shorts/sPpi46CYnkI?feature=share The British Hedgehog Preservation Society advise on how to help protect hedgehogs and they suggest that gardeners who light bonfires should be alert to the risk of unintended cremation of living hedgehogs. Unfortunately they are attracted to the sort of material that will be burnt in a bonfire such as dry leaves and twigs. So as a precaution, and if possible, a gardener should set up a new site for their fire and move the material across to that spot just before lighting the fire. Similarly anyone strimming an area should first check that there are no hedgehogs hiding in the uncut undergrowth. Hedgehogs can also get trapped in litter or stuck in netting so it is sensible to make gardens hedgehog-safe. But it is even better to actively make gardens hedgehog friendly - by creating wild areas which offer shelter and natural food. And it helps to leave gaps below fences or ground-level holes in walls so that a garden is accessible to hedgehogs. Our enthusiasm for hedgehogs in the autumn should not be extended to translocating them from other places because they may have a dependent litter which is left behind and is then condemned to starvation. Indeed in the autumn hoglets need to grow rapidly so that they can survive their first winter of hibernation - at a minimum they need to weigh at least a pound or about half a kilogram. You could help your hedgehogs by building a "hedgehog hotel" as Steve has done here with his daughter.  Here is a short film by WoodlandsTV: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n6J0dRz8OY&ab_channel=WoodlandsTV[/embed] If you come across an injured hedgehog you could contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society which keeps a Directory of local rescuers or "rehabilitators"