Past, Present and Future
Epping Forest is an astonishing survival of an ancient landscape into the late 20th century. More by
chance than design it has survived attempts to destroy it, particularly by Act of Parliament in 1653
and by the 19th century enclosure movement which destroyed its sister Forest, Hainault, in 1851. Its
large area, totalling some 6,300 acres, and wide range of habitats are also of some note. The Forest,
despite many regrettable losses over the centuries, still provides home to a diverse range of plants and
animals, including many rarities, particularly those associated with the old pollard trees and
dead-wood. It is remarkable that Cotton Grass and Sundews, species now mostly seen on
wet-heathland or moorland in the north and west of Britain, can still be seen in the Forest just 12 miles
or so from the City of London.
The Forest, fortunately, is now at least in places being managed for its conservation interest.
Fortunately, because the last 100 years has seen quite dramatic changes in the Forest as a habitat for
wildlife, among them declining grazing pressure, the cessation of pollarding and the removal of many
thousands of pollard trees, which have all contributed to a loss of habitat diversity. A wood-pasture
that has been worked probably for well over a 1,000 years cannot but be affected by the changes
imposed upon it since the late 19th century. Grazing pressure slowly declined in the Forest in the first
four decades of this century. I feel a golden opportunity was missed during World War II in not
reinstating the full wood-pasture system. Petrol rationing with fewer cars on the road would have
made heavier grazing a viable proposition. In fact there were far fewer animals grazed in the opening
years of the war than in previous years. With the scarcity of household fuel, pollarding would have
been a useful source of wood for burning.
The 1960s and 70s were not good years for the British countryside. In the 1990s we are seeing the
fruits of this destruction - 97% of our ancient flower-rich meadows gone, thousands of miles of
hedgerow destroyed and many of our ancient woods grubbed up in the interests of agricultural
efficiency. Fortunately the Forest, its boundaries protected by Act of Parliament, has survived. The
destruction of unprotected habitat has emphasised and enhanced the importance of the Forest to
wildlife conservation.
With sensitive, appropriate and consistent management, over time I believe that the Forest will
retain its status as one of Britain's outstanding sites of conservation interest. A research programme
(presently research is piecemeal and unco-ordinated) should be initiated, looking at all aspects of the
Forest's ecology. There is much to be learnt. Only recently has the importance of the Forest as a site
for bees and wasps (a threatened group in Britain) been realised. Recent field work has also shown a
welcome return of many lichen species to the Forest - a direct result of reduced levels of atmospheric
pollutants. Research into the operation of a wood-pasture system may have other spin-offs. I have
long felt that this medieval system of management could be adapted for use in 'third-world' countries,
much to the benefit of their people and wildlife. A wood-pasture is a highly conservative system. At
present in many less developed countries, such is the desperate need for fuel that trees are felled whole
for short-term needs, causing deforestation. Over-grazing is also currently a problem, not allowing
the regeneration of tree cover and, in places, soil erosion.
The Forest is important for many other reasons. It is an historic landscape with a mosaic of grassland,
heath, bog, pollard trees, coppiced woodland and hedgerows. A generation is now growing up unaware
of the destruction and fragmentation that has occurred in the English landscape. The Forest is one of
the few examples of such a large scale mosaic still left in southern England.
Finally, on a spiritual level, I think it is most important that areas of wild, semi-natural habitat such
as the Forest, still survive. Even if an individual never uses or visits such a place it is important to
know they exist, providing at least some sort of stability in a fast and ever-changing world.
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