	BROCKLANDS
	Woodland Burial

Ecology

Wildflowers at Brocklands

The establishment of a Woodland Burial Site often involves the creation of a woodland habitat. So a wood is to be founded in an hitherto open space, usually farmland or parkland.

However this transition to a woodland habitat can not be achieved overnight; it is a long term process, which is more a case of evolution than creation. Added to which the tree-planting does not take place all at once, but rather sporadically as the burials occur, which may well be over a period of decades. Consequently the ecology of such a site will require a careful and flexible approach to allow for this slow transition, and because it is a fairly new discipline, there is no fixed blueprint to follow.

Initially the establishment of trees requires some control over the environment in which they are to grow. So, while the ultimate intention is to encourage wildlife, in the early stages some animals are to be discouraged: grazing animals such as sheep and cattle need to be fenced out, tree guards are needed to provide protection from small rodents like voles, and from rabbits. If deer are present in the vicinity, then deer fencing must be considered, or taller tree guards. Similarly, to help young trees, competing flora such as grass species and grassland weeds need to be minimized.

After the trees have become established they will start to develop a canopy; this changes the conditions on the ground: with less light available different wild flowers should start to appear. (Around Brocklands, bluebells are a significant and dazzling feature of the local woodlands, and hence we have not only chosen them for our logo, but will be encouraging their development over the site.) Shade-tolerant mosses, ferns and fungi should also start to grow. These variations in flora should then attract more fauna: insects, birds, small mammals and so on.

As the trees grow larger they become habitats themselves. The wood and bark of the trunk provide food for insects, which in turn provide food for birds such as woodpeckers and tree creepers. The branches become perches and nesting sites for birds, and the foliage gives shade and shelter from the elements.

Eventually a whole separate world evolves within the wood, which supports a range of wildlife, some of which will spend their entire existence in it, while others use it as their larder, or sleeping quarters, or maybe as a place to hide.