After all of the trainees successfully passed the crosscutting and chainsaw maintenance assessment, we looked forward to our next challenge - preparing for our small felling assessment.

In small felling, you cut trees that are below 380mm. With Andy B, we began our preparation by running through how to do a standard cut that are used on straight trees, along with getting to grips with the various names for cuts (gob/face cut, back cut...). After running through some theory, it was time to put our newly acquired knowledge into practice. To start, we assessed trees for lean, weight or any dead wood and hanging broken branches before felling – a great opportunity to hone our tree assessment skills! We practiced our cuts on long logs strapped to stumps before advancing to felling an area of birch trees that are to be halo thinned. Halo thinning consists of selecting a well-established, mature tree and felling some of the younger trees around it. This allows the kept tree, which is already providing great habitat for wildlife, to grow better due to less competition from neighbouring trees. In addition, where we were felling was a very dense area and therefore these trees were shading out a lot of the understory. By thinning the canopy, more light will reach the woodland floor, which will allow not only mature trees but also ground flora to thrive.

What do we do with the felled material? In this case, squirrel damage in the birch canopies meant that the trees were no good for timber. Instead, this material will stay in the woods to do its thing for wildlife. For example, brash matts will help to reduce deer feeding on the valuable flora growing underneath. These logs also offer deadwood habitat, which will soon be used by bugs for shelter and, over time, nutrients from the logs will be reabsorbed by the soil.  

After an introduction to felling with Andy B, we then had our 3-day course with Pete. Safety first, we removed objects such as brash that may block our escape route whilst cutting. He then taught us the processes of breaking in a tree, which involved removing branches, burs and thick moss in the way of where our cuts would be. We then had a go at boxing our tree. This helps with knowing the direction of the fell and, most importantly, being able to see our cuts more clearly.

There are 4 main types of cuts that you can use to fell a tree:

• A standard cut
• A split-level cut involves making two angled cuts in the back of the tree instead of one. It can be used in slight back-leaning tree or a straight tree where there is a possibility that the chainsaw bar could get trapped.
• A dog's tooth cut involves boring into the tree and pulling back until you have almost exited the back of the tree, leaving a section of the tree uncut. This cut is then met with an angled cut down, which allows the tree to fall. This cut can be used for a forward-leaning tree to have more control when the tree falls.
• A Danish pie cut slightly combines a split-level cut and a dog’s tooth cut but is far too complicated to explain in a written blog (YouTube is your best friend here!)

Trees that are less than 200mm and are not possible to bore through can be cut using a step cut, a v-cut, a 80% cut, a spear cut, or what Pete calls a Pacman cut – looking at my drawings, it’s not difficult to see how it got this name!

We also had to learn how to unhang a tree when it gets caught in a neighbouring tree. By carefully cutting (tickling) one side of the hinge (the uncut part of tree) bit by bit, the tree will roll to the opposite side. Alternatively, it may need the hand of a felling leaver to roll the tree off the standing tree. If there isn't a clear way to roll the tree out or if it is surrounded by other trees, a letterbox cut can be done by boring through the middle of the hinge and leaving about an inch of hinge either side. This stops your bar getting trapped during the previously mentioned cutting. The two sides of the hinge can then be cut and the tree may slide down on its own or it can be polled back using a thick branch end to slide the bottom of the tree backwards until it's out of the tree. If none of these techniques worked, time to call Pete or Andy, who brought their winch to get the tree down for us.

By the end of the course, Pete was very confident in our tree felling skills. I’m pleased to say that on assessment day, we all passed!

With a degree in forestry and conservation, Josie hopes to pursue a career in the sector. She joined the Trust as a trainee to further develop her practical skills.