Fir Tree Wood frequently asked questions

Fir Tree Wood is under threat of being sold and divided into plots. This puts the woodland at severe risk of being degraded, with restrictions being introduced for both people and wildlife, and will also affect the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) woodland that borders it on three sides. 

• Online via our website - www.essexwt.org.uk/fir-tree-wood 
• Phone our dedicated appeal line on 01621 735399 
• Text FIRTREE followed by your donation amount to 70085 (you can donate any whole pound amount between £1 and £20 (see questions nine and 10 for further text queries) 
• Post a cheque made payable to the Essex Wildlife Trust Fundraising Team at Abbotts Hall Farm, Maldon Road, Great Wigborough, Colchester, CO5 7RZ 

To purchase Fir Tree Wood in Little Baddow, Essex and to cover its management for the next ten years. 

Should we not reach our appeal target, or the sale of the land is unable to proceed, funds raised through this campaign will be used to further enhance our conservation work in Danbury Ridge; the network of reserves that surround Fir Tree Wood.  

If you are unhappy for us to use your donation in this way and require your donation to be refunded, please contact Essex Wildlife Trust directly. 

If we exceed our target, we will be able to increase our impact and invest further resources into the management and restoration of woodlands across the Danbury Ridge area. 

Fir Tree Wood will be managed by Essex Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve and will be accessible to all, regardless of whether they have contributed to its acquisition. We want to widen access to nature and bring people and wildlife closer together.  

A working group consisting of Little Baddow Parish Council and other parties has been formed with the objective of working with Essex Wildlife Trust to secure a purchase of the land. The working group is assisting with procuring funding to support the acquisition by Essex Wildlife Trust. 

Little Baddow working group are kindly distributing the information leaflets to their local area by hand, removing mailing costs. Printing costs are kept as low as possible, with charities receiving beneficial rates. 

All design work has been produced in house, with the leaflet being fully recyclable and using paper that is sourced and produced in a sustainable manner. 

This will be added to your monthly phone bill or taken from your phone credit. 

If, during the payment process, you’ve received an alert that your donation could not be processed, it is likely that there has been an issue with your mobile phone account or your credit/debit card and that this has stopped us taking payment for your donation successfully.  

It’s worth noting that some mobile operators (such as BT, iD Mobile & Asda Mobile) do not yet allow donations from the service.  

The Donr website (the text donation provider) has a page that outlines all the above and more: Why hasn't my donation worked? (donr.com) 

Fir Tree Wood is a key piece in the jigsaw of habitats collectively known as Danbury Ridge. Together, Danbury Ridge will become one of the largest woodland complexes in Essex, and essential for nature recovery in our county. 

Fir Tree Wood is currently home to one of the UK’s rarest mammals, the barbastelle bat, as well many other species that rely on nature networks to travel and move safely between. 

We wish to buy, establish and manage this site as a new Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve.  

Fir Tree Wood will join the existing network of nature reserves, collectively known as the Danbury Ridge nature reserves, and it will protect the neighbouring Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and ancient woodland that is incredibly important for wildlife. 

Yes, Fir Tree Wood is open to all. 

Fir Tree Wood is a secondary woodland, meaning it has been subject to changes by humans and re-grown over time. While coppicing is practised across the Danbury Ridge nature reserves, providing glades for wildlife to travel between, Fir Tree Wood will be largely left intact to provide a buffer to the ancient woodland it connects to. The boundary tree cover will be left for people to enjoy the magical experience of stepping into the woodland realm. 

While the plan is to leave Fir Tree Wood largely intact, it is important to recognise the reasons behind cutting down trees (coppicing). Practised for centuries, woodland wildlife and wildflowers adapted to thrive when woodlands were coppiced on rotation.  

Coppicing allows differing levels of sunlight to reach the woodland floor. This enables wildflowers like foxglove, wood anemone and lily-of-the-valley to emerge in these newly-lit areas. Where new wildflowers grow, insects will follow, while low-cover nesting birds utilise the shelter that coppiced woodland provides. Left unmanaged, woodlands can become very dark to the detriment of other habitats, nesting birds, insects and wildflowers, reducing the sustainability of the complex ecosystem. 

There are plenty of paths around the woodland. It is not proposed to open any more paths though the wood. The paths are suitable for walking and the main track is a bridlepath suitable for horse riding and cycling.    

Yes, absolutely. It’s great that so many people can benefit from enjoying beautiful natural areas while out walking their dogs. 

However, we do urge responsibility and ask that dogs are kept under strict control or on leads, especially from February through to the end of summer when many species are breeding. 

Wildlife is suffering huge declines and experts say loose dogs are one of the biggest causes of wildlife disturbance – this is particularly problematic when many species are breeding and vulnerable either on or near the ground. The impacts of loose dogs in wild places include trampling nests and scaring adults away from their young. Vulnerable chicks can perish if left alone for too long. The flea and worm treatments used on pets is seriously damaging to our beneficial native insects. Disturbances can also affect feeding and foraging behaviour – wildlife is less likely to breed and feed in areas where dogs are encountered. 

We also ask that you clean up after animals and dispose of dog waste in bins or at home. Dog waste is dangerous for wildlife as it can carry diseases, scare away animals and over-fertilise soils, affecting the natural balance of fragile habitats.  

We ask that you leave any wood as you find it. Much of our wildlife relies on it to forage, nest or breed, and dead wood is an essential part of the complex ecosystem that exists in Danbury Ridge. 

There is a vast amount of information on our website, including a trail guide.

Danbury Ridge nature reserves

Adrian Dally has been monitoring scarce breeding birds across the Danbury complex over the last two summers, including Fir Tree Wood’s coniferous woodland. We know it is home to various species of bats (including the elusive barbastelle bat), many bird species such as tawny owls, woodcock and firecrest, and various mammals such as hares and badgers. 

Key species neighbouring this habitat include dormice, marsh tit, harvest mouse, common toad, lily of the valley, glow worms, bluebells, pedunculate oak, sessile oak, hazel and hornbeam.