A wander through the wild wood with the Lost Woods project, led by Tony Whitbread of SWT

A wander through the wild wood with the Lost Woods project, led by Tony Whitbread of the Sussex Wildlife Trust. We will be exploring the natural woodlands of ‘the Mens’ nature reserve and enjoying the beauty of this ancient wood. The Mens woodland is a largely unexplored wood, it has an untamed, mysterious feeling to it and many people describe it as ‘wild’. A long and varied history of management has seen the reserve move from an open, wood pasture system with huge, spreading parkland trees and pollards to a high forest with closely spaced trees with narrow crowns. A lack of management in recent years has added to this silvicultural diversity. The unusual name of this area comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘ge-mænnes’, meaning common land. At the end of the walk, we will briefly ask your views on visiting the woods, as part of our planning for the Lottery-funded Lost Woods project. What makes you visit the woods, what barriers do you think stop people visiting woodlands?