2026 NO PLANNED WORK – HELP NEEDED
Three of our five members are now over 80 and another is rapidly approaching that so the time has come for a re-start. We need someone to lead the next phase of this community project. No prior woodland experience needed as we can pass on what we have learned since the project started in 2003.
If you are interested email or phone Mike Pearce mike@imazed.co.uk phone 0789 464 1739.
Bowlers Copse is a short walk from the village between the A41 and the back road to Bicester. The access bridge is on the left immediately after the first link road to the A41.
All tools and refreshments are provided by the Project but you will need to wear warm waterproof clothing, good boots and suitable gloves. New volunteers will be given safety and use of tools training by the team leader on their first session.
Our objective working in the area from 2003 is to have a bio-diversity project for the village; to clear and replant the area which had been neglected since about 1937 when land was bought to build the road (now the A41 from J9 M40 to Bicester and then to Aylesbury). Also, the idea was to create a community physical activity for interested volunteers.
From autumn 2003 until 2014 volunteers completed clearing fallen trees and rubbish and planted over a 1000 additional hazel and some native species in five small sections. We also have an area with a dew pond without any added hazel for coppicing because of the shade from big trees. Subsequently we have built access bridges, gates, fencing and created a walk through path. If you use the path please close the gates after you.
Since 2014 we started coppicing each section for a second time on an annual cycle of one section per year. We have been doing maintenance in the years which we do not coppice. This means repairing the fencing and gates, clearing fallen trees and extending the footpath.
Working in the copse gives enjoyment, exercise and provides education about how villages worked in the past.
Most broadleaved woodland trees can be coppiced which involves cutting the tree down to just a few inches above the ground. New growth appears around the edge of the stump which is then allowed to grow for between 5 and 15 years to produce long straight poles. These poles are harvested by cutting them back level with the original stump and the whole process is repeated. In the case of Hazel the stump or Stool has been known to grow to as much as six foot in diameter.
To facilitate the process woodlands were subdivided into compartments, known as coupes, and each coppiced in a different year of the cycle. This produces a Copse which is able to support a broad variety of insect, bird and mammal species as well as other flora. In order to protect the young coppice from grazing, both the external boundary of the woodland and the compartment boundaries were provided with stock-proof fences, hedges or walls, often placed on top of low banks. These features, which prohibited animals from entering and preventing regeneration, are sometimes still evident in the form of low, winding banks and ditches.
Although animals were excluded from woodlands whilst the poles were growing, it was common practice to allow livestock in once the coppice was nearly full grown. This was usually done on payment of a fee. This grazing would have taken place in clearly defined compartments where coppice re-growth was fully established and where grazing could no longer damage the trees.
The Coppice was managed by local villagers but was usually owned by a rich landowner. The coppice also supported widely spaced large trees such as Oak and Chestnut which remained the property of the landowner but were looked after by the villagers in exchange for the coppiced wood. Coppicing declined following the middle of the 19th century but went on in some of the woodlands until at least the end of the century, after which it became uneconomic. There is now little physical evidence left to show that many of the woodlands were once coppiced.