News - Search for Notts 'lumberjills' to tell their wartime stories (Notts/Yorks)

NOTTS women who worked as "lumberjills" in wartime are being sought to tell their story.


Women who worked felling, cutting and measuring logs in a North East England wood in the 1940s are being asked to share their experiences.

Groundwork North East, which is a federation of charities, wants to work with the Forestry Commission and the Friends of Chopwell Wood to set up a heritage project recording the experiences of the Women's Timber Corps.

Members of the corps, which was set up in 1942 as an offshoot of the Land Army, served in Chopwell Wood, near Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.

Women from all over the country, including Notts, were involved and at its peak the corps employed thousands.

If you or a member of your family served in the corps, contact Joanne Norman on 0191 567 2550 or joanne.norman@groundwork.org.uk.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Search-Notts-lumberjills-tell-wartime-stories/story-13883820-detail/story.html

Missed this story initially but it has recently been brought to my attention via the Yorkshire Post with updated contact details:
Anyone who has family that served in local Forestry Commission woods during the Second World War, is urged to contact Petra Young on 01751 472771 or email petra.young@forestry.gsi.gov.uk. via http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/they-chopped-down-trees-and-wore-high-heels-remembering-the-wartime-lumberjills-of-dalby-forest-1-4624131

Save Sherwood Forest - Fears for county woodland as more cash axed (Sherwood Pines)

MAJOR spending cuts announced by the Forestry Commission will have significant effects on Notts' woodlands, campaigners claim.

The Government cut the commission's funding by 25 per cent as part of its Comprehensive Spending Review. Now, it has been announced that 250 jobs will go nationally and services will be taken further away from the communities they serve.

In Notts, the Forestry Services office at Sherwood Pines will close, with grants to be administrated more centrally.

The Forestry Enterprise office at Sherwood survives but becomes responsible for a much larger area, including Northamptonshire, Yorkshire and the Lincolnshire coast.

Campaigners say this means staff will lose touch with local farmers and landowners, while woodland in private ownership will deteriorate and public access could be lost.

Paddy Tipping, of the Save Sherwood Forest Campaign, said: "This Government is supposed to be committed to localism but is now withdrawing local services. With such huge areas to be covered, Forestry Commission staff will be out of touch with the communities and environments they serve."

The number of Community Rangers – who work with local groups enhancing the environment – will be cut from four to two in Notts and educational work undertaken by the commission is under review.

Mr Tipping said: "Last year, 40,000 young people visited Sherwood Pines. We need to be encouraging youngsters to get out and value their environment."

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Fears-county-woodland-cash-axed/article-3607592-detail/article.html

Event - Full steam at Papplewick this bank holiday (Papplewick)

Papplewick Pumping Station will be in steam again this bank holiday weekend on 29th and 30th May. The Monday will feature a host of countryside and water organisations with stalls, demonstrations and talks from the RSPB, Wateraid, Aquabox and Forestry Commission amongst others.

Aquabox will be bringing examples of their simple but effective water purification boxes that are used in locations where freshwater supplies have been affected by natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Japan. Each Aquabox can purify 1100 litres of polluted water turning it into safe drinking water.

The Forestry Commission will also be in attendance with displays and will be available to ask any questions you have about the Nottinghamshire Forests and the day to day challenges of managing the woodlands.

There will also be 15 minute talks by a representative from Wateraid to promote the importance of preserving water and to highlight the scarcity of clean water in developing countries and its effects upon people’s health.

The Victorian James Watt beam engines will also be in operation showing visitors how fresh water was pumped constantly from 200ft deep wells into reservoirs to supply the city with water. There will also be guided tours of Papplewick’s underground reservoir where visitors will have the rare opportunity to walk inside and marvel at its breath taking design and size!

“We always like to do one event each year that celebrates the importance of the countryside and fresh water” said Museum Director Ashley Smart. “We like to remind our visitors that although the Pumping Station is set in tranquil surroundings, it had an important job to do providing the people of Nottingham with clean water”.

The Station will also feature the miniature railway and the Robey winding engine from Linby Colliery with refreshments available from the café and free car parking.

The Station is open from 11am until 5pm both days; admission is £6 adults, £4 seniors/students, £3 children. Call 0115 9632938 for further details.

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/community/full_steam_at_papplewick_this_bank_holiday_1_3412496

News - Society joins fight to save Robin Hood's forest

Britain’s oldest national conservation body is fighting to save one of England’s most celebrated forests from being sold off.

The Open Spaces Society this evening threw its weight behind a campaign to save Nottinghamshire’s public forests, including Sherwood Forest, the site of Robin Hood’s legendary battles with the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The society pledged its support in the growing campaign against the coalition Government’s plans to privatise Forestry Commission land in England.

Speaking at a gathering of a local history forum this evening, OSS trustee Jean Macdonald said: “Nottinghamshire and the east Midlands have fewer open spaces than many parts of the country, because the inclosure movement, back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, bit hard and deep.

“Large areas of common land were stolen from the people.

“So Nottinghamshire’s remaining open spaces, public woods and forests are of special importance, for recreation and refreshment. Places like Sherwood Pines and other woods, many of which are part of the ancient Sherwood Forest, are of immense public value.

“There is increasing evidence that access to green spaces is vital for both mental and physical health.  The society is opposed to the sale of any publicly owned woods or forests unless the existing level of public access – or better – on foot, horse and bike, is guaranteed in perpetuity.

“The Government’s current proposals for selling Forestry Commission land do not provide those guarantees, so we are opposed to them.

“In any case, industry sources suggest that these sales are likely to raise less than half the money that the Government is hoping for, so they are a complete waste of time in the current financial climate.”

Sherwood Pines, at 1,335ha (3,300 acres) the largest single tract of forest open to the public in the East Midlands, is home to many mountain bike trails.

And though there are many theories as to the real identity of the mediaeval hero Robin Hood, the people of Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest have claimed the man who stole from the rich to give to the poor as their own and the Major Oak, a tree aged up to 1,000 years old in the forest, is reputed to be the outlaw’s hideout.

From: http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2011/02/15/society-joins-fight-to-save-robin-hoods-forest