AS conservator of Wytham Woods, I manage one of the world’s most studied habitats: around 415 hectares of woodland 5km north west of Oxford, which has been a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for more than 60 years.

About a third of the wooded area is ancient woodland, which dates back to when the last Ice Age receded. It is a record of man’s activities as the species of trees still growing here today have been selectively chosen by people who managed the woods through the centuries.

The ancient part chiefly consists of oak, hazel and field maple. In parts of this area we use the traditional coppicing technique, cutting the hazel back on a seven to eight-year rotation to create light areas that helps regenerate the woodland and allow plants and insects to flourish.

A visitor to the ancient part of Wytham Woods is the Black Hairstreak, one of our rarest butterflies. This elusive butterfly likes to spend little time in flight, but if you look carefully you can find it here amongst the blackthorn coppice.

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In large areas of the wood, minimum intervention is favoured, so we can allow nature to take its course as much as possible. For instance, we let all fallen timber rot on the ground. Deadwood is one of the most important resources for woodland invertebrates and fungi and is often lacking in our tidy, managed landscapes.

I am only the third forester to look after Wytham Woods since it was given to the university in 1943.

My predecessors introduced plantations of trees to the site in the 1950s. These were a mix of native and non-native species. We now favour native tree species such as ash, oak and beech, and prefer natural regeneration rather than planting.

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Oxford University researchers use the site for a range of activities. Keith Kirby, a researcher at Oxford University’s Department of Plant Sciences, is pictured in the middle of Wytham Woods

Sustainable woodland management is the cornerstone of our approach. For example, 15 bird species were lost from the woods during the 1980s due to excessive deer numbers grazing and destroying the woodland shrub layer on which the birds depended for nesting and feeding.

Fortunately, the shrub layer is already recovering due to fencing and deer management programmes.

Oxford University researchers use the site for a range of activities. A key aspect of my work is to facilitate research. Allowing research to thrive within a woodland which is managed for forestry purposes, nature conservation and recreation is a complex issue. The longest running study is the blue and great tit work, which began in 1947.

Other projects include research into small mammals, which was set up in 1962; vegetation change in 1974; badgers in 1976, grassland restoration in 1986; and climate change research in 1992. The site also acts as the ecological base for a range of other UK and foreign universities and institutions.

My second major group of ‘customers’ are the permit-holders. Ordinary members or the public can apply for a renewable pass. Walkers enjoy this natural escape from the city, with some of them stopping me to tell me how they have walked here for 40-plus years or to describe the simple joys of seeing a deer.

Primary schools in Oxfordshire also regularly visit Wytham Woods for Forest Schools. There are six separate sites, each of up to a hectare in size, that the children use as an outdoor classroom for nature studies and team building.

Enthused by feedback from walkers over the delights of the woods and the never-ending energy and commitment of the scientists, I recently helped bring an art project to Wytham. We now have a studio in the middle of the woods, in which you will find our artists in residence, Robin Wilson and Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley, of Flagstone Press. They produce wood and lino cuts linking art to the science, and hold workshops at their studio for members of the public. Anyone who wants to sketch the beauty of the woods can then translate their sketches into prints through learning from our artists on the site.

Earlier I said the conservator’s role is being a groundsman. Well you can now add art liaison officer and education officer to that as well. To say my work is varied is an understatement, but not many people have the privilege of managing such a special piece of woodland.

To check our latest projects and guided walks, visit our website or our Facebook pagewww.wytham.ox.ac.uk and www.facebook.com/WythamWoods

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