Welcome to our website page about the woodland management plan for Buckenham Wood. The management plan has been developed with the aim of sensitively restoring our ancient wood.
On this page we will provide details on the woodland management plan and the conservation works recommended for Buckenham Wood. The timeline, update and progress and FAQs sections of this page will be regularly updated to keep you informed of what is happening. Be sure to keep checking back.
Buckenham Ancient Woodland Trust was set up with the mission to secure ownership of the wood and then to restore and maintain it for wildlife and the quiet enjoyment of the local community. The woodland management plan has been commissioned to help guide us towards these aims over the coming years and secure the future of our precious local wood.
All ancient woods in England, including Buckenham Wood, have been managed in past centuries to provide timber and wood materials for buildings, fuel and other products such as fencing. Management practices such as coppicing ensured continuous supply of materials but also created mosaics of habitats which attracted diverse wildlife. In the last century these traditional activities ended, and the wood was used for other purposes such as gravel and sand extraction. Lack of active tree management and recent challenges such as ash die-back and invasive species have led to a reduction in habitat diversity in the wood. The Management Plan sets out ways in which BAWT can combine traditional and modern methods of management that will re-vitalise the wood, restore varied habitats for wildlife and provide a quiet haven for the local community.
BAWT has secured funding from the Greater Norwich Growth Board to commission the creation of a woodland management plan for Buckenham Wood. This plan will help us to achieve our charity's mission. It will enable us to restore woodland habitats, while continuing to provide safe access for the local community.
Ancient woodland restoration is a long-term process and will need to be flexible as circumstances change.
The plan has been commissioned from expert ecological consultants with additional advice from Broadland District Council.
It has been informed by a thorough assessment process. Buckenham Wood was surveyed as part of the assessment process. This not only identified key features (e.g. veteran trees) but also assessed their condition and any threats (e.g. competition from invasive species), which has informed recommendations for action to be taken (e.g. canopy thinning).
Buckenham Wood will continue to be monitored as the work is carried out to implement the management plan in the coming years. By continuing to monitor and assess the wood, we can observe and record how the woodland is changing, how restoration is progressing and whether we need to review particular management activities.
The BAWT management plan has been made possible with funding from the Greater Norwich Growth Board.
Visitors to the wood will start to see the first of these recommended changes being implemented during the summer. Works will continue into the winter and throughout Spring 2026.
As outlined in the downloadable documents below some recommendations of the management plan will introduce changes to the way the woodland is managed (e.g. the return to copping).
Please check back regularly for updates on planned management activities in the wood.
The following documents provide detail about the specific recommend changes that we expect visitors to start noticing in Buckenham Wood over the next 12 months. It describes the enhancements planned, why they are required, how they will be achieved and when you can expect to see them being implemented.
Powerpoint deck about the BAWT woodland management plan
If you prefer a quick overview of the changes recommended for Buckenham Wood, download this handy one-page document.
When each phase of work is scheduled to commence we will post news and updates in this section of the page.
We plan to include a photo gallery here, so that visitors can see the changes now, and to create a record which will provide opportunities to review and reflect on how the changes ‘bed in’ and improve the wood for the wildlife that live there and for the local community that enjoy it.
Volunteering: As mentioned in the detailed overview of the woodland management plan (above) there will be several opportunities for volunteers to get involved. Many of the tasks will be ongoing management processes (e.g. reducing and keeping-on-top of some of the invasive species). If you are interested in volunteering with us, please sign-up to our volunteer mailing list (link below). Everyone who is signed up to our volunteer list is notified via email when a workday in the wood is planned. Volunteers who have attended previous workdays tell us they really enjoy getting outside, meeting new people and they get a buzz from knowing they have made a real difference to their local wood.
If you prefer your volunteering to be less physical there are plenty of other ways you can contribute, from fundraising to communications. Any contribution you can make will be welcome and greatly appreciated.
Join our volunteer mailing list here
Our future events page will also list future workdays and fundraising events.
Spread the word: If you know someone who visits Buckenham Wood and might be interested in knowing more about the BAWT woodland management plan, please share the link to this page or send them the one-pager document above.
We would love to reach as many people in the local community as possible so that everyone is not only aware of what is happening in Buckenham Wood, but also has the background information on why these vital and recommended changes are needed to conserve and enhance our wood and enable it to thrive long into the future.
This section will grow as we receive more questions about the woodland management plan.
If you have a question about what’s happening in the wood, please do email us!
Please give us your feedback about our plans using the form below, which refers to the PowerPoint deck about the BAWT woodland management plan, above.