Heavy horses to help Havering Council manage its woodland

The project, which began three years ago, aims to breathe new life into some of the borough’s woodlands. So far the Council have managed to introduce new management to five hectares of woodland at Havering Country Park and this year they aim to bring a further 11 hectares into management.

With a regular cycle of coppicing, which is when trees are cut to allow healthy regrowth and thinning, the heavy horses will move into the woodlands.  These will benefit from new growth of shrubs, trees and wildflowers, resulting in more people wanting to visit the area.

The project has already brought new management to areas of un-managed woodland at Havering Country Park, which has resulted in improved access and enhanced diversity of wildlife. The creation of warm, sunny woodland clearings has succeeded in attracting more species of woodland butterflies such as Speckled Wood, Brimstone and Holly Blue.

The Suffolk Punch is well known for being the original work horse, bred in the 16th century for strength, but their presence dwindled over the centuries as machinery took over. However, heavy equipment is increasingly being shunned after causing significant damage   to the woodlands

This year, for the first time, a new apparatus is being used to move the timber. This is a horse drawn forwarder which can be used to take larger volumes of timber from further into the woodlands. We can now manage more areas of woodland using this technique which would not have been possible before.

Councillor Melvin Wallace, Cabinet Member for Culture and Community Engagement , said:

“We’re really excited at the possibility of working with heavy horses  here in Havering. This is a really innovative scheme that supports a great local business - and by doing so, we hope to further protect the environment and reduce our carbon footprint, as well as encourage even more diversity to the area for everyone to benefit from.”