Douglas King, Area Manager for Southwest England has been undertaking the removal of dead and dying Ash trees as a result of Ash Die Back on a Ministry of Defence site. The site in South Somerset required shearing, harvesting and thinning operations of the crop in order to make the site safe for soldiers during their training exercises. Douglas worked closely with Mark Hedley of Landmac who manages this project on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and carried out precise planning in order to keep disruption on site to a minimum.
The harvesting was carried out by Chris Hall who undertook shearing operations to remove the thick undergrowth of small Ash, and Nick Mills, who was responsible for the harvesting and extraction of the standing trees. The materials were sold locally with lop and tops of the trees being chipped onsite and transported to Kent Renewable Energy by AW Jenkinson, and the remaining materials sold as firewood. The site has been left clear and ready for replanting in the next season. All parties involved worked great together on the well managed forest ensuring they achieved the best return to the landowner.
