The felling of the bigger trees has begun! A medium sized oak was 'soft felled' by GVTT volunteers on the trackbed last week..... so what does 'soft felling' mean?

Basically the tree is slowly cut to pieces from the top down. There are a number of reasons for this. Primarily one of safety both to volunteers and the general public and property, where there is a danger that 'hard felling' the tree ( and shouting TIMBER!!!) could potentially cause accidents, injuries or damage to property. Another primary reasonis one of sensitivity to wildlife. Any tree felled at this time of year has to be checked for nesting birds first. If, after the initial first check of the tree, soft felling does indeed reveal an active bird nest, the felling can stop immediately and the birds allowed to complete their nesting in peace, and the tree can then continue to be felled once the birds have finished. Hard felling doesnt allow this....

Scribe