St Catherine’s Woods, one of the largest and most accessible of the Island’s woodlands, is located in a valley leading into St Catherine’s Bay.
The woodland is intersected by public footpaths, including the ancient perquage or sanctuary path from St Martin’s Church to the sea, which allowed people accused of crimes – guilty or not – safe passage from the Island to appeal to the Crown for clemency or a pardon.
Today the wood is owned by a number of Islanders but safe passage along its paths is the responsibility of the Natural Environment Department. Agreements between the two parties ensures such areas of the Island are properly managed and public access is maintained.
Ecologist John Pinel said that while the clearance work might look ‘dramatic’ it was necessary as part of general woodland management and to protect the public.
‘We work on a rotating basis every three to five years to inspect all our footpaths,’ he said. ‘We work with tree surgeons to combine the need to protect the public with tree surgery which also complements the wildlife that is there and provides access to woodlands.’
Most of the trees felled in St Catherine’s Woods, around the stream from the second set of stepping stones to the rise
into meadowland above, were sycamores.
This species is a prolific self-seeder which, if left to flourish, will proliferate to dominate woodland.
‘Removing the trees will allow light in and other trees and plants will grow to fill the gaps. Within a spring or two no one will notice that any removal work has been done,’ Mr Pinel said. As part of the management programme, Natural Environment has laid tree trunks across the streams and piled up logs to create habitats for wildlife, and to allow plant life and fungi to grow. This will also encourage children to play in the woods.
‘In the past woodlands were incredibly important for a whole range of activities,’ Mr Pinel said. ‘There would have been a lot of coppicing tree management for firewood and construction materials but all that stopped more than 100 years ago. The work we are doing today complements that but most of our management work takes place away from the public paths and the public view.’
