Updates

This is a page to keep people updated with what has been going on in the wood

8/11/25 - We did our annual Fireworks Display and bonfire. We used quiet fireworks and the event was a great success.

20/9/25 - 30/9/25 - Did some further digging on the new pond and also built a toad hibernarium for the frogs and toads that will hopefully inhabit the new pond. The new pond is now getting quite big and should provide one of the best amphibian habitats in the wood.

There were 6 trees that had been blown over in the recent winds that had to be removed.

Two people visited the wood and enjoyed a good walk and a look at all the new things that have changed in the wood.

10th September 2025 - Updated the Visiting or Camping details page with photographs of the camping area.

24th August - 2nd September 2025 - Two people camped at the wood and there was one day visitor. We completed surfacing a new section of pathway in one of the boggier areas of the wood. This means that people should now be able to walk around the wood all year round without getting their feet wet. We also created a surfaced disabled viewing area by one of the ponds. This will allow wheelchair users to get right into the heart of the wood.

Saw two unusually large frogs during the course of the week. One was green and one was more of a grey brown colour. They were the size of a fully grown toad. Young frogs could also be seen hopping around.

The rain has started coming again and the ponds are slowly starting to fill again. It has been an exceptionally dry summer and some leaves have fallen early due to the dry conditions.

3rd - 13th August 2025 - One person camped at the wood after travelling all the way from Banbury by moped. A bit more path building was done. The wood is very dry as a result of the drought with visible cracks in the soil in places. Most of the ponds have dried out, except the newest pond which is bigger and deeper, so is still holding water. It is the driest that we have seen it.

There is a baby robin who is around the camp a lot, as this is his territory. The mother robin was around previously and it seems as if she was investigating the area as a territory for her new son. Originally he had baby feathers but he now has a red breast. He is unusually friendly for a wild bird. He goes very close to people and has on two occasions flown into people legs when they are sitting. It seems as if he is doing this to say hello to people. He also will go in peoples tents if he gets the chance. There is also a small wren who moves about at great speed as if he is living his life at double the speed of everything else.

There are a lot of baby frogs now and they are about 1 - 2cm long and are bright green. Also baby toads are regularly seen, with one in particular who lives in a wood pile and does not seem to be afraid of people.

28th June 2025 - Two people camped at the wood.

22nd - 25th June 2025 - Felled some leaning trees, fixed some of the paths and dug out one of the ponds. The tadpoles now have back legs and some are turning into tiny frogs (about 1cm long).

21st June 2025 - People from two autism groups in Devon visited the wood, a total of 23 people, which is the largest number of people we have had visit the wood in a day. The day was a great success. We did a drumming workshop organised by Laurence on the Megadrum. There was also an oil painting workshop and people went for walks around the wood using the new map. One group brought dinner for everyone and another group brought a barbeque for tea, so there was much feasting. Also 4 people camped (3 in tents and 1 in a hammock), so it was a really great midsummers day. There are Hallman Newts in one of the ponds. Sandra took some great photographs of them, a giant frog and also spotted a rare red dragonfly (see pictures on the Ecology page).

25th May - 3rd June 2025 - Six people visited over the course of the week. Ed and Nick camped for a night and helped make a culvert and helped dig a new pond near the start of the wood.  The wheelchair access to the centre of the wood has been completed. The pond near the stone circle has been widened and we saw our first newt there meaning that there are now confirmed sightings of newts in 3 of the ponds. Also some work has been done on improving the paths around the wood using the aggregate that was donated. The leaves are fully on the trees now and the wood looks very green and verdant. We have also created a new fire pit near the camping area.

5th May 2025 - Two people helped with the path widening on 5th May and also helped dig out one of the ponds where the tadpoles were in danger of running out of water. One person helped with path building in a boggy area of the wood on 7th May. The disabled access to the centre of the wood is now completed except for one culvert that needs to be built. The path through the wetter part of the wood has also been improved. Many thanks to everyone that helped with this. We aim to welcome our first disabled visitors to the wood this summer.

3rd May 2025 - Five people helped to widen the path into the wood for disabled access. 

28th April 2025 - Collected more aggregate for path building at the wood. Planted 15 Norman Fir trees and a Cypress Conifer at the edge of the wood to create a wind break. The tadpoles are now getting fatter and are still present in great abundance.

16 - 26 March 2025 - We have obtained a further 6 tons of aggregate for the path building for wheelchair access. Michael helped with building the first section of the widened path. We have volunteers coming in April and May to help with the path widening. 

The frogspawn have hatched into tadpoles. they are not fully locomoting yet, but a few of them are moving around a bit. There are a record number of tadpoles this year and we have tadpoles in 7 of the ponds. We have now built 5 toad hibernariums so that the frogs and toads will be within easy reach of shelter as soon as they make landfall. The pond near the stone circle has been widened and we have been transplanting pond weed to ponds that did not have any. A successful woodland pond needs tadpoles, pond weed and shelter for frogs and toads. 

12th - 23rd February 2025- We are working to provide wheelchair access to at least some of the wood. It will be quite an undertaking due to the nature of the ground and the terrain. River kindly came and helped to build a wheelchair bridge across the stream. 

We have two wheelchair users and a walking frame user who wish to visit so the aim is to create wheelchair access before the summer.  What we need to do this is to re cycle lots of used aggregates (stone, brick, concrete, tiles, slate, etc) to form the base of the paths. If anyone is doing any building work and has any free rubble they can donate, then it would be gratefully appreciated and can be collected.

We have been clearing fallen tress from the gorge and also pilling up rotted trees that had fallen near the gorge to clear space for things to grow and to create new insect habitat.

There is a record amount of frogspawn in the ponds this year as well as in some ponds that were previously un spawned. We built two toad hibernariums each close to a pond. Laurence kindly helped with this. Hibernariums provide valuable cover for frogs and toads and give them a safe place to hibernate in the winter. Providing this cover should help to increase frog and toad numbers as it gives young frogs and toads a place to hide from predators.

We had a small group also visit on 22nd February. It was a sunny day and we had a good walk round and lots of good conversations about our experiences of autism so it was a very enjoyable day.

1st January 2025 - Happy New Year! 2024 was our most successful year so far with more people visiting the wood than previous years, group visits, our first art week and the creation of our therapeutic drumming workshops. Also over 90 trees were planted. There were also the new and interesting discoveries of the pink toads and the bioluminescent fungi. Hopefully 2025 will be even better.

17 -23rd December 2024 - We planted 7 bare root Alder trees and 1 Silver Birch, and 5 Norman Fir trees. There were 2 fallen trees from the recent storm that had to be dealt with and some work was done on the start of the new causeway. 

On 21st December we had the Winter Solstice Fire at the stone circle and did the winter wonderland illuminations in the wood. These were enjoyed by all who attended.

19th - 26th November 2024 - Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees with the oak trees being the last to shed their leaves. The toads seem to be hibernating. Storm Bert passed through without causing any major damage. There was a lot of rain and the streams were flowing fast and all the ponds were full.

Work has been going on to replace the oak board walk with a stone causeway. The old walkway was uneven and was sinking into the mud. Large stones were donated by someone who has visited the wood and had been knocking down a wall. The causeway crosses a boggy area of wet woodland so the large stones were perfect for the job. The oak boards from the old walkway were used to make bridges over drainage channels and streams elsewhere in the wood, so nothing went to waste and the project allowed the creation of better access elsewhere.

A pear tree, an apple tree and a plum tree have been planted in a corner of the wood where some ash die back trees were felled last year. There is no tree canopy cover in this corner so there should be sufficient light for a small orchard to be a success. A previous attempt at creating an orchard in another part of the wood failed due to insufficient light. 

Some replacement bare root trees have been ordered from the tree nursery. They were half price because the original bare root trees failed. These will be planted temporarily before being planted out at the wood early next year.

2nd November 2024 - Bonfire night and fireworks at the wood. This was one of our best bonfire nights ever with 10 people attending. There was a bonfire, fireworks display, a drumming workshop led by our professional percussionist and live music at the Grooveathon. Everyone had a great time and one person brought their dog (a very round grey cockapoo). 

27 October 2024 - Work continues on the pathways, including a project to replace a wooden walkway with a stone causeway. The wood looks very golden and autumnal with the colours of the falling leaves, particularly from the beech trees looking spectacular. We are developing a new type of therapeutic drumming workshop using a multiplayer drum and hope to hold these throughout the year with our first one being on bonfire night.

22 September - 2 October 2024 - Received a donation of approximately 6 tons of aggregate. This was used to resurface the path going accross the centre of the wood and to make some very boggy sections of unsurfaced path passable. We are moving towards the circular path around the wood remaining useable throughout the year and are continuing to improve the paths. 

Now we are moving into Autumn and there is more fungi appearing in the wood. The wet woodland really reaches its full potential in the autumn with the fungi growing and the ponds filling up. Also, the stream starts flowing at this time of the year. 

1 - 8 September 2024 - Two new people visited the wood this week. They saw the bioluminescent fungi and one person also saw one of the pink toads (see the Ecology page). There was quite a bit of rain and the winter ponds started to fill.

18 - 25 August - Four people camped at the wood this week. We did walking staff making using oak and hazel. One evening we did a percussion workshop using handmade drums and a hand pan drum. On another evening we did 'the Grooveathon' and people played a guitar and drums in an improvised music workshop. As a part of our Nightglow event, there was Aurora lighting which lit up a part of the wood with northern lights style lighting in various colours and stars, also we saw the bio luminescent mycelium and found one of the best examples of this we have seen so far. We also did light up Yoyo's in an event called the Yomega Zone. On 24th August we did a volunteering day bramble picking and a further two people attended. Sandra took some very good photos which have been added to the Artwork page.

There are quite a few mole hills in the wood now so it appears that moles are now quite prevalent which is good for the soil.

11th August 2024 - Found a Whiskey bottle dating from the 1880's in the wood. It was just visible by the root of a young tree and had possibly been pushed to the surface by the trees roots. The bottle was labeled Six to Gallon on its base and this and helped to date the bottle (see picture below). Possibly someone was having a drink after working in the woods in the 1880's and left it behind. It might be worth digging in that area to see if we can uncover anything else.

8th August 2024 - We felled a leaning willow tree that was falling towards the road. Using the chainsaw and the winch, the tree was felled safely. Thanks to Al for his help with this and also thanks to Andy who taught me a lot about felling and the use of the winch. The first part of the tree was hollow and we were able to use it to make a bass log drum and some log drum bongos.

7th August 2024 - With the help of Al we cleared overhanging vegetation from the paths around the wood and removed dead branches overhanging the paths s well. 

Also we experimented with cutting bits of dead tree stumps in order to find more of the bioluminescent fungi. We discovered five locations where it could be seen. This means we have the possibility of creating a bioluminescent fungi trail.

29th July 2024 - We have been seeing bioluminescent fungi occasionally when chopping logs or when accidentally chipping off part of a tree stump. This caused a lot of interest as no one knew what it was. It seems to be in the cambium layer between the bark and the wood and fades when exposed to the air. 

Thanks to Michael for doing some research, we now know that it is Foxfire - bioluminescent mycelium found in the bark of rotting logs. It only glows for 24 hours as it is the result of an oxidising effect.  A substance called luciferin reacts with an enzyme, luciferase, causing the luciferin to oxidise and emit light. The function of this in the fungi is unknown but could possibly be to attract insects to disperse the spores.

It is possibly related to the Armillaria mella fungi which grows in the wood. The fungi we have seen does not glow, only the mycelium, so you only see it if you are lucky enough to see beneath the surface of the right bit of bark. A few people have seen it now and it is quite a special thing to experience. Its difficult to get a good photograph as it doesn't emit sufficient light and you can't use a flash but we got a faint picture but we put the one we got on the Ecology page.

23 July 2024 - Work has been done to improve he pathways and make them less muddy and easier to walk on. Most of the bare root trees planted earlier in the year are doing well although 8 trees have died. We will plant a further 30 large bare root trees next year as well as some conifers. We have been cutting the seed pods of the Foxgloves and scattering them. This allows them to set seed and allows the plants to flower again. New brambles are sprouting in some places in the wood and we will do a bramble picking day in August as they can quickly take over and overwhelm the existing vegetation.

20th June 2024 - An unusual colour variant of toad has been discovered. The toad was pink with white stripes and was seen at night. See the picture of the toad on the Ecology page.

15th June 2024 - We had a group of 10 people visit the wood. As a part of the art week, for the first time we held an art workshop, whereby we painted a large painting in artists grade oils on canvas. The painting is on the Artwork page. We also held a drumming workshop featuring hand made percussion instruments and a hand pan drum. Sandra's photos taken on the day are also on the Artwork page. The day was a great success. 

The leaves are in full bloom in the wood now and for the first time we are seeing Foxgloves in the wood in areas where the Rhododendrons were cleared. One of the Foxgloves is 6ft tall. The stream has dried up for the summer and the paths are getting drier.

14th June 2024 - We held our first annual Artweek at the wood. The exhibition featured paintings (oil on canvas) by Vanda. The exhibition was called 'Fables of the Deconstruction'. It featured 9 oil paintings some of which were on quite large canvases that Vanda had painted on the theme of a wood.

9th May 2024 - There was a group visit to the wood today and 9 people attended. It was a great success and the weather was sunny. One person did a sketch of the woodland plants which has been added to the Artwork page.

8th May 2024 - We had a person camp at the wood for 3 days.

7th May 2024 - The wood is bright green and verdant with the new leaves. Path building has been continuing . A new elf house has been installed at the elf village. Stock fencing repairs have also continued along the boundary of the wood.

15th April 2024 - Some of the paths have been ruined by the above average rainfall this year. Some sections of path have had to be re built.

29th March 2024 - The second tree planting day of 2024. We planted 30 Cypress Conifers along the road boundary of the wood to replace the Ash die back trees that had to be felled last year. These are fast growing and will provide screening and reduce road noise to this part of the wood. 8 Norway Spruce were also planted near the road. They will get on well with the birch trees and help to reduce wind damage to trees in the mixed woodland. We have planted 81 trees this year and will hopefully plant more.

The wood is still very wet, possibly the wetest we have seen it due to the levels of rainfall this year. Some of the gravel paths have become very boggy and will need to be replaced. The tadpoles are getting bigger and are spread out in 3 of the ponds.

1st March 2024 - There was a tree planting day at the wood to plant bare root trees to replace the Ash die back trees and trees that have fallen. 10 Aspen, 10 Silver Birch, 10 Alder, 1 Norway spruce and 10 Leyland Cypress were planted this week in the mixed woodland. The conifers were planted for screening from the road and more conifers will be planted by the road later this month. They will grow quickly and fill the gaps left by the ash die back trees.

There were lots of tadpoles in the ponds so there should be lots of baby frogs again this year. The wood was very wet due to the amount of rain that there has been and some of the paths will need work this year. But the rain has been of great benefit to the aquatic ecosystem with all the ponds being full, the streams are all running and more of the ponds now contain pond weed.

11 January 2024 - One person spent Christmas at the wood & brought and decorated 3 Christmas trees with battery Christmas lights. The Christmas trees were planted in the wood after Christmas in an area in the mixed woodland called Christmas common and one was planted by the road to replace one of the Ash die back trees. One person visited and collected some logs. Another person visited and stayed 3 days and brought a wonderful Christmas dinner. It went really well and we hope to establish a new tradition whereby someone will stay at the wood every Christmas to welcome visitors and share Christmas cheer.  

We would welcome any donations of rooted Christmas trees as they are great to fill the gaps left by the Ash trees that had to be removed. They create cover by the road and grow well in the mixed woodland without upsetting the balance of different trees.

There is a lot of movement in the ponds and frogs and toads are proliferating. Also we are seeing the growth of pond weed which is a good sign of a growing aquatic ecosystem.

A goal for this year is to turn the Autism Woodland Project into a charity, with Autistic people who have visited the wood forming the board of the charity. A number of people have kindly volunteered to do this. It will enable the wood to be bequeathed to the charity so that it can continue its work in perpetuity. The charity will aim to use crowdfunding and donations to create and run new woodlands for Autistic people across the UK. It will take time but hopefully a second wood could be created in the centre of the country within a year or two. 

3rd December 2023 - At the moment there is a lot of water flowing through the streams in the wood. The winter ponds are full and it is an excellent time to be in the wood as the water environment is about as good as it gets. The winter ponds serve to prevent flooding and soil erosion. They only fill at the wettest times of the year and are mainly full in the winter. Winter tasks include removing ivy from the trees as it is easier to see it when there are no leaves on the trees.

5th November 2023 - We celebrated Halloween on 31st October with 2 carved pumpkins and the woodland cat visited for Halloween. On 4th November we had fireworks at the stone circle - 2 boxes of quiet fireworks and some rockets. There has been a lot of rain and all the ponds and drainage channels are working well. Some of the ponds only fill when there is excess rainfall and serve to help prevent flooding.

14th October 2023 - We had our first feline visitor to the wood. A person camped in the wood and brought their cat along. He only has three legs but had a great time exploring the wood. Hopefully he will visit regularly and grow accustomed to being a woodland cat. As he is missing a back leg he likes to lean against people and will wrap his tail around your leg and lean on you when he needs a rest. You can see him striding along very purposefully in the picture below.

8th October 2023 - 2 new people visited the wood from London

29 August 2023 - Welcomed a new visitor to the wood.

25 August 2023 - Started moving the Ash die back logs into the wood. The plan is to mill some of them into planks for making benches, bird boxes etc, some can be used for fence posts or for making outdoor coffee tables. The ones that are not very straight have been cut into logs to give to members of the local Autistic community to help them reduce their heating bills this winter.

24 August 2023 - Attended Dimensions for Autism Exeter to update them on the latest progress in the wood. We hope to welcome more visitors from the group later in the year.

1st August 2023 - There was a presentation about the Autism Woodland Project at Autscape 2023, held at The Haynes Conference Centre in Swanwick in Derbyshire.  The presentation included an update about the latest progress in the wood and featured four people talking about their experiences of the wood. Everyone spoke very well and the presentation was a great success. We also gave away free wooden merchandise at our table at Autscape (see picture below).

22nd July 2023 - Work on clearing Ash die back trees was carried out. When Ash trees get Ash die back they can fall quite quickly as the roots rot. One of the ash trees leaning over the road was almost completely hollow whilst others had rot up the middle. We hope to mill timber from these trees in September and use the timber to make bird boxes for the wood. New trees will be planted where Ash trees have been removed. We hope to plant some bare root Birch, Alder and Aspen trees late in the year. These were picked by our tree surgeon as they are the most likely to survive in this environment.

6th July 2023 - The wood had visitors from the Devon Autism Ambassadors at the weekend. We re built a seat using one of the oak planks that we previously milled in the wood. Also we dug out an irrigation channel that was causing some bogginess in one area of the wood. Harriet proposed to Rhys at the stone circle and Rhys accepted. This was the ever first wedding proposal at the wood.

29th June - Update by Sprys - "in a rare moment of spontaneity, unplanned but luckily with some provisions, i arrived at the wood in fine anticipatory spirits in the late afternoon of a balmy day. Indeed too hot for travelling, so arrival was blessed peace and tranquility. Those already in situ had left me a lovely welcome message with directions to their whereabouts, and later that evening after i'd wandered about and sensed out many of the 'doings' that had been 'done' since my last sojourn, and a small bite to eat, and some settling in, i wandered leisurely to meet my friends who indeed would be leaving the following day. An enjoyable evening ensued followed by an easy way 'home' in the dusk in good company. 

Then came quiet times with birdsong and simplicity. Huge primrose leaves glorying in their photosynthesis and capture of energy for next year's blooming. Evidence of many spring flowers, now settling down until next year. Fresh green leaves in abundance, and good air to breathe. Carved wood sculptures of wonderful creatures had sprung up out of the logs they remained emerging out from, and the general hospitality of the place sang out to welcome and include my footsteps. Much 'sifting' of old wood and fallen trees has been achieved in the time since i was last there, and there comes now a sense of space, navigation is easier where previously so much fallen logs made a need for some 'safety awareness' especially in the slippery soaking rains of winter. I saw, too that the little 'growing fence' that had been planted some while ago and which i had thought had long since died or eaten by the deer, has sprouted merrily and was merely playing for time! What wonders and mysteries life presents. 

No photos were taken by this writer this time, to add, so this little piece is a stand-alone and i hope it will lie alongside other more substantial writings by those whose visit was more obviously 'exciting'. The very fact i have less 'news' is a good sign.. it means the wood-magic nourished me and gave me the little rest i sorely needed, having become quite burned out by life in general. "

25th June 2023 - The midsummer celebration at the wood (Autstock 2023) went well and a number of people attended and camped in the wood. There was a campfire every night, Matt cooked nice food on the campfire and there was live music every night.  

13th June 2023 - We successfully milled 13 oak planks using a chainsaw mill. Andy left a variety of new chainsaw carvings in the wood. He also found a White Beam which is a rare tree and a Spindle plant.

6th June 2023 - Autistic Tree Surgeon Andy is spending 3 weeks in the wood along with visits from his daughters Catherine and Lizzy and wife Lesley. We have been working on trees with Ash die back and milling planks from old oak logs. The oak planks will be used to build a round table for the wood. Andy identified Ash die back trees that needed to be felled. The roots can rot quite quickly on these trees and they can fall on people or on the road. We have been carefully removing affected trees. Lizzy comes at the weekends and she does the climbing (see picture below). Some trees have to be dismantled from the top down. We have also been using winches and pulleys when felling to avoid damaging other trees. 

Andy has created a planting plan for areas where Ash trees have had to be removed that is specific to the conditions within this wood (clay soil, highly mobile water table etc). This involves fencing of an area to keep the deer away, digging the local leaf mulch into the soil and planting seedlings (most of which will be found in the wood) 1 meter apart. This allows the roots to connect quickly giving the trees a good support structure and increasing their chance of survival. Then after 15 - 20 years they can be thinned to the correct spacing. Using locally found seedlings and leaf mulch should help a lot. Any additional seedlings that we plant will be Alder, Aspen or birch (all of which should grow well in the local conditions).

14th May 2023 - The wood is now a verdant light green with the colour provided by the new leaves on the trees. The hazel and beech leaves are particularly bright. There was a day of un seasonally heavy rainfall this week and the stream ponds worked well in filling up and carrying excess water away to avoid flooding/soil erosion. An Autistic Woodsman/Tree Surgeon/Chainsaw Instructor is visiting the wood from 29th May - 17th June and hopes to meet up with other Autistic people. 

19th April 2023 - The memorial area of the wood has now been completed. Wild Primroses have been planted along the path to the memorial and in the memorial area and the Dinah Murray memorial stone has been put in place. A memorial to Conner Sparrowhawk has also been carved and will be put in place in May. I met with Dimensions For Autism and they will be visiting the wood in July. There is now a lot more life on the forest floor with wild primroses and other flowers present throughout the wood. There are new leaves on the trees and the new leaves on the Hazel create a green mist effect in the lower canopy. An Autistic tree surgeon, chainsaw carver and woodsman with 45 years of experience will be visiting the wood in early June.

26th March 2023 - The wood is quite wet as there has been plenty of rain and all the ponds are full. There has been new plants and fungi  emerging in the areas where the Rhododendrons were cleared. Scarlet Elf Cup Mushrooms have been spotted. These are an unusual species that grow on decaying twigs and branches and they are growing on the decaying rhododendron matter. Also there are Hostas now growing in these areas and Wild Primroses so the forest floor is coming to life again now that more light is able to reach it. 

We celebrated the Spring Equinox with a fire at the stone circle on 20th March. A new circular pond has been dug in what will become a memorial area in the wood. 

We were asked to create a memorial for Dinah Murray who did a lot for the autistic community. We then decided that the memorial should be for for all Autistic people who have passed away. According to Mary Dognahue's talk at Autscape, the average life expectancy for an autistic person  is 56 years old. Many autistic people die before their time and its important to remember them. There was an area in the center of the wood with sufficient water for a pond, so I dug a pond in the shape of a circle which symbolises the circle of life. There is a picture of it on the Ponds Page. The pond will be surrounded by a circle of stones and peoples names will be carved into the stones. The path to the memorial will be lined with Wild Primroses (which flower in Spring) and also with deer resistant Summer wildflowers which will be selected by our horticultural expert. There may eventually also be a memorial page on the website.

3rd March 2023 - Used the trees that fell over the winter to complete a sheltered seat near the stone circle. The fallen trees were thin silver birch, so they could be easily chainsawed in half to make planks. The seat now looks really nice and blends well into the natural environment. The ponds were full and the wood was looking nice but still wintery with no leaves on the trees. Found yet another new species of fungi to add to the Ecology Page. We have now catalogued 18 different species of fungi in the wood. Also had the idea of creating a Ponds Page with pictures and descriptions of all the ponds that had been created in the wood. The wood also now has its first Elf house. 

We have been planning to create a permanent memorial in the wood for autistic people who die. Many of us pass away before are time and it is good to remember them and those who have done a lot for the Autistic community. A suitable spot has now been found in the wood and there will be a memorial stone and a memorial pond will be created. 

Four ceramic pieces of art were left at the wood and have been added to the Artwork Page. This prompted the idea of having an area of the wood where people can leave small pieces of art. The area will be by the stumpery that is next to the Infinity Symbol pond and on the islands of the pond. There are promises of some painted stones.

13th February 2023 - The wood is still very wet at this time of the year and people are looking forward to going back there in March. There will be much to do as there are often fallen trees to deal with after the winter. The wet clay soil in the lower part of the wood means that the trees there have relatively shallow root systems and fall more easily. 

We are making little doors and windows to be fitted onto the raised islands in the middle of the ponds to create elf houses. Some of these are displayed on the artwork page. Also we have started making the wooden Pyrographed pictures to be given away at Autscape to promote the woodland project.

We are looking into any ideas that we can to find ways to get more woodland projects up and running across the UK. These include writing to the Musk Foundation to see if they would donate money to 2 Autism led Autism Charities in the UK (one in the north and one in the south) to allow them to each  purchase a 3.5 - 5  of acres of land to start their own woodland projects. Also writing to Autistic naturalist Chris Packham to see if he could visit the wood.

15th January 2023 - Deep winter Woodlander update by Spyrys:

During the deep winter of the end of the year, the woodland slumbers. Fallen leaves are settling into the earth's digestion, thanks to the thousands of organisms still active and ready to rot down and re-absorb minerals and the goodness of the surface of leaves twigs and fallen logs - no longer required by the tree people and the many plants who spring into life again as the season will turn towards her 'new year' (which we might call 'spring'). Spring, incidentally, was in various other cultures and times considered the 'new year', and winter, the slumbering time at the year's end. 

So the buds are ready, catkins are already beginning to hang and sway in the movement of the wind. The sap is not yet rising and there will be more wintery weather to come, but much is also stirring in her own way at this quiet time.

Thanks to the storms, those more ancient or unstable trees are ready to come down in nature’s own way, their roots unable to cling to their clay-based purchase - and so the renewal and space for the younger saplings enables them to begin to take their turn, all provided by the natural cycling of life.

Many a woodlouse has been surprised during an innocent log-collecting task, and so it must be, as they scurried en masse to a new and safer habitat. There are plenty of those, for the logs and fallen trunks provide home and protection for thousands of forms of life mostly unobserved behind bark, in rotting fibres, under moss-surfaced greenery and lichen.

Birch bark, of course, makes wonderful fire-lighting material to get cracking, and some pieces are therefore retrieved for that purpose to be dried and stored, ready along with the freshly split kindling and the drying log-pile. There is a sense of plenty.

This particular woodlander only uses hand-tools - (though one day maybe will learn to handle a chain-saw for the work that is otherwise too heavy to achieve without the skills of generations gone by, or the level of skill of the true woodsperson or tree surgeon) - and the steady practice of creating kindling becomes a meditative act, a zen-based practice bringing joy and wonder and a surprising revelation of how much there is to learn. This is no chore but a privileged gift: to sharpen the little hand-axe and learn the grain of the log, honing an accuracy of stroke, and allowing the tool and the wood to reveal much about the woodlander's thought (or non-thought) state. Sharpening the tool of an evening is a pleasant act of care and appreciation and gratitude.

The wood appears to slumber now, but the beech leaves remain as a copper fire on their respective parent trees and branches as is their nature, even whilst new buds quietly prepare themselves. The primrose leaves are already strong and lively, a very fresh green almost lighting up to match in complement the copper of the beeches, and seem to grow and multiply visibly hour upon hour. Unless some creature gets to them for a tasty meal, there should be the familiar soft and gentle lemony yellow of their buds and flowers in not so long a time. The stream is singing all day and night and full of the many rains, but held within her little banks and running under the wooden bridges, thanks to the work done in the year to keep her way clear and her gathering pools able to reflect the light of the moon at night.

The care of this space and of such as the way of the streams and the more boggy areas is continual of course. The clay base means that water readily collects and does not disperse or soak away as it would in other soils, but needs to be guided so that the wetlands and more firm areas are both possible and healthy. Now that the Rhododendrons are cleared from their rather over-enthusiastic free-for-all (though they do not hesitate to show their desire to regenerate), the landscape shows another character with a much more airy feel whilst the branches so high are nevertheless revealing their mysterious and very beautiful skeletal structures and not their lacey green canopies. It will be interesting to see what starts to generate this year, but likely the deer will get most of it - tasty delicate hors d'oevres to be literally nipped in the bud. This is also true of some of the new plantings, so there may be some perplexity to be balanced and pondered and ruminated upon in regard to any possible nurture of new self-seeded birch, or beech, or oak and other species if they are to appear and survive the innocent enthusiasms of the deer. 

I think more birds will start to inhabit the woodland over time: there were a few already singing … this woodlander was accompanied often by resident Robin who visited with interest to check up on how the work was going or if it was being done properl, and to pick up the ration of Pumpkin seed laid out to make up any natural shortfall (or more truthfully to encourage a friendship no matter if based upon titbits!). A great tit was heard nearby, and something so small maybe a sparrow or some other of the smallest feathered people was seen in the holly. Several owls are nightly calling. And the tall trees: the whispers of the wind turn sometimes to a powerful swaying that brought awe and wonder at how they remain standing so very tall, with so little purchase in the clay. Yet gathered as they may be, perhaps, in mutual support as the wood wide web tells us is the case.

It's a great thing, to be able to look in on this special place and take a little care of her in the depth of winter, and then to write a little and share some of that with those of you who are curious, or who feel drawn to this way of being where masks can be laid aside, and thought can roam, and no particular social graces are required, and the land can speak and have a chance of being heard, though in this writer’s case with but little of the skill that may be possible in others. Nevertheless, the learning and the exploring and the labours and the creating and the caring.. all this asks once again for this one, this would-be woodlander, to slow down, to feel the relief of the change of pace and the sense of being welcome, and above all, to allow the wood to speak as she will and declare what she needs. And all is well.

3rd January 2023 - The Winter Solstice Fire on 21/12/22 was a great success and the wood looked spectacular illuminated with candles in jars. The fire was held at the stone circle. The fire area was illuminated with candle lanterns and the stone circle was illuminated with candles and a Moroccan candle lantern was placed in the centre. The wood is now very wet so we have a break from the wood at this time of the year to save damage to the track and the paths. There will be things happening at the wood in March and woodland rangers look in on the wood occasionally over the winter.

7th November 2022 - The wood is now looking very golden with the autumn leaves. There were also new fungi to be photographed and added to the Ecology page of the website. We had the inaugural woodland bonfire night on 1st November, with a mighty fire being lit at the stone circle, the launch of a giant firework rocket and a boxed firework display that someone brought along with them. This was good as all the debris stayed in the box and did not litter the wood. People decided that the bonfire night should become an annual event and that if they wished, people could bring fireworks or club together to by giant display style rockets like the one we released this year. The giant rocket was launched accompanied by a recording of NASA launch control and had to be carefully sited so that it would launch through the tree canopy. It produced a massive boom and a double chrysanthemum effect in blue and orange, much to the adulation of all present. We were able to set up a temporary canopy to protect us from the rain whilst sitting by the fire. We also had the annual Bideford charity shop bargain hunt on 3rd November. We have now found 17 different fungi in the wood, most of which are now pictured on the Ecology page. Most of them still need to be identified. There is more rain now and the ponds are starting to refill again. 

16th October 2022 - The fencing at the upper boundary of the wood is now nearly complete. Also some more work has been done on the access track to the wood. The stream in the wood has not started flowing yet, normally it would flow from September until April as it is a seasonal stream but the dry weather is still affecting the water table in the area. There is an unusual amount of fungi in the wood for this time of year and an Ecology page for the website is being created using the pictures that people have taken and hopefully we will identify all of them in due course. It would be great if someone with more ecological knowledge could start visiting the wood and be able to help with identifying species and cataloging the trees, flora and fauna in the wood. There are plans for a bonfire night and Winter Solstice celebration at the wood (see the Events page). Also we hope to start a birdbox drive when, if they want to, people can bring birdboxes when they visit the wood. Birdboxes need to be made to RSPB standard and be coated only in linseed oil, as paints can give off odours which are toxic to birds.

13th October 2022 - Autangel were our first autism group to visit the wood

28th September 2022 - A fence has been built marking the upper boundary of the wood, the idea being to mark all the boundaries of the wood clearly so that people do not get lost. There were 3 fallen trees that needed to be dealt with. A new couple camped at the wood. The wood is still very dry and the stream has not started flowing as it usually would be at this time of the year. There are patches of white mycelium visible in the soil in some places, possibly this is due to the drought. The annual nest box clean out was successful. All the nest boxes had been used except the robin box. One nest box had had its entrance hole expanded by a woodpecker. There were regular sightings of red deer. We also had our first couple visit the wood in September and some of their pictures are below and on the artwork page.

20th August 2022 - A new person visited the wood. We did a little bit of work on the track leading to the wood.

8th August 2022 - Three people from the Autism Woodland Project attended the Autscape Conference at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanick in Derbyshire. We did a presentation about the wood and spent a good amount of time talking to people and answering questions afterwards. We gave away some hand carved wooden light pulls, guitar picks, woodcarving blanks, door wedges and Pyrographed pictures that we had made for the event. See the picture below.

3rd August 2022 - 2 new pieces of art were created by someone who visited the wood. There is a picture of it on the artworks page. They also cleared one of the ponds which had become overgrown with vegetation.

16th July 2022 - In July 2022 the wood has been very dry. Some of the ponds have nearly dried up. The fat tadpoles have now become mini frogs and they can be seen hopping around happily. The wood smells of honeysuckle. During the hot weather the wood has been 4 - 5C cooler than the hotter parts of the country, there is dappled shade and often a cooling breeze which makes it a pleasant place to be on hot days. New drainage has been dug. During the rainy months, there is an area of the wood where you will be surrounded by ponds and water.  Several fallen trees have been dealt with and the wood from these will be used to build a fence along part of the boundary. The boundaries of the wood are all being clearly marked to help people avoid getting lost.

July 2022 - There is now more interest from Autistic people and groups about visiting the wood and we have welcomed one new regular visitor.

In May 2022 a new pond was dug. The ponds that had been dug the previous year now contained fat happy tadpoles. Also a new seat has been created that looks a bit like a dragon.

In autumn 2021 we planted a new hedge, created a brushwood fence and a willow fence.