The reserve is at Selwyn's Wood, Cross-in-Hand, and amounts to about 28 acres (11.3 hectares) and I love it! Several volunteers work there on Thursday each week, and on one Sunday a month. Not only do we care for the woodland and its trees, but maintain the rides, paths, streams, bridges, a tiny marsh, and a small heath. It is a "working" wood, is open to the public, and I and my fellow workers - the "green team" - follow the management plan laid down by the owners, Sussex Wildlife Trust. Although I am sure that regular users of the wood must wonder why we work in such a haphazard manner, moving as we do from one thing to another with no obvious intent. That's partly because the weather can frequently upset our plan, and sometimes because one of our more skilled volunteers is not available on a certain day.

At Christmas and the New Year, for instance, it rained on several of our working days. And while we are happy to carry on working in the rain, it seems to be a different matter to start work in the wet - even with waterprooofs. But despite the rain we managed to coppice some alders along a steep streamside to allow light and air to a number of shrubs, mainly hazels, so that visitors will be able to enjoy a nice little glade by the stream, and hopefully, spring flowers. Being a Wealden wood we have good number of bluebells and wood anemones, but so many of them are choked by brambles or shaded out.

John Hall © 2000