A Batty Blog

We recently undertook a bat survey of a heavily diseased Beech tree prior to it being dismantled by our arborists.  Located in an area of parkland, the tree had a lot of cavities, deadwood and cracks where bats like to roost.

All bats and their roosts are protected by law, whether the roosts are occupied or not. It is therefore accepted that as a minimum standard, a visual inspection of trees is carried out on trees with bat potential before any work is undertaken.

A detailed aerial inspection of trees by non-climbing bat workers is often perceived to be impractical and too costly. However, Nicholsons arboriculturists have the skills to access trees efficiently and have undergone specialist training with Bat Conservation Trust to undertake these surveys, and ensure any work is carried out within the law.

 
Useful contacts:

Bat Conservation Trust – 0845 1300 228
Natural England: 0845 600 3078 www.naturalengland.org.uk

Our new office extension is complete and was opened with a fantastic Sudion Open Evening with talks by Nicholsons staff

New Woodfuel Boiler!

The Read-Out

Smiles seeing the machine start first-time!

On the 25th of April our woodfuel boiler kicked into action, and the office has never been warmer! Fed on a lean diet of chipped wood waste, the boiler is currently providing heat to three large buildings incuding the main office block and our Orchard Barn. The intention is to heat more buildings in the future. This is a terrific addition to Nicholsons, lowering our carbon emmissions, saving on the use of oil, and complementing the photovoltaic panels installed last year.

Cleft chestnut post and rail fencing

The Nicholsons Forestry team have recently completed erecting 250m of cleft chestnut post and rail fencing for a client in Warwickshire, under the instruction of garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair.  The fence is to separate the wider garden of the property from adjoining grazing land, whilst maintaining views from the house to a newly constructed lake and across the Warwickshire countryside beyond.

The posts and rails were sourced from near Midhurst in West Sussex - the chestnut was felled during the winter and processed into the morticed posts and rails 'in the wood'.  The team worked hard and completed the work in just over a week, including attaching rabbit netting along the entire length.

We hope to back on site in the autumn to plant some more specimen trees between the house and the fence to create a 'parkland setting' for the house.