Recent Work

'Wildwood',
Pen Gelli forest, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Forests exist today due to a number of factors. Some are hardy, relatively untouched survivors of those that sprang up after the last period of glaciation. Others, such as Pen Gelli, are here because the timber has been used for centuries for a variety of purposes and the trees have been coppiced, allowing re-growth to preserve the useful crop. It is highly likely that this forest has been in constant use since the Iron Age due to its proximity to Castell Henllys Iron Age settlement where timber from the forest was almost certainly used to in the iron making process.

The term 'wildwood' has certain connotations but this particular woodland owes both its presence and visual appearance to centuries of intense management.

Vermont, USA, 2004
Famed for the autumn colours so beloved of the 'leaf peepers' who flock to the state ever year to witness the colourful spectacle, the forests here owe their existence to more than pure nature. A hundred years ago Vermont was a relatively thinly forested state. Sheep farms prevailed and their management kept the trees at bay as grazing was prioritised over forestry. The economic decline in sheep farming allowed land once intensively farmed to become dense with new growth, and the ubiquitous Sugar Maple to flourish unhindered. A combination of dense new growth, the contemporary exploitation of the Sugar Maple for its valuable sap, and wildlife activity, give these forests a unique aspect.

Strata Florida
The forests of the Cistercian Abbey and farming settlements of Strata Florida.

In its early stages at present, this part of the overall work seeks to explore the unique nature of a once intensively managed woodland which has begun to 'revert to nature' over the centuries since the monks ceased their occupation of the land. The woodlands however, still contain traces of those early activities, and both the species present, and their density and arrangement are due to the original planting and management.

This part of the work is being undertaken in collaboration with the Archaeology Department of the University of Wales, Lampeter.

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