Collecting firewood

If, like us, you have an old cast iron range, or an open fire, solid-fuel stove or solid-fuel range cooker, then you have to decide what wood to burn in it and where to source it.

There are many websites that will tell you hardwood is better than soft, that well-seasoned timber is better than green, and to buy from sustainable forests.

What I’d like to consider instead is wood that comes from the landscape around you.

You might think that provided you replace the wood you burn with sufficient new trees, then you can go out and, with permission or the appropriate licence, collect any fallen or dead timber than catches your eye.

In one word: DON’T.

There’s a lot more going on in, around and under that fallen tree than meets the eye; there’s far more happening up that lightning struck tree than you’d imagine and that bramble tangled thicket of fallen branches is more active than your average British city on a Friday night.

The first thing to consider is the location. In the northern hemisphere, timber on south-facing, sun-lit slopes will be drier than timber on north-facing slopes or shadowed valleys. (The opposite applies in the southern hemisphere.)

Timber high up a hill or ridge will tend to be drier than timber at the bottom, while timber that’s off the ground is also more likely to be dry.

Next, consider the access. Can you get to the dead or fallen tree without cutting a massive path through the undergrowth?

Ideally, you want a source of timber that’s just off a path or track so that you can cut and remove the wood with minimal damage to the surrounding plants and habitats.

Now that you’ve managed to get close to the tree without doing much damage, you need to consider if it’s suitable for cutting and burning.

Ask yourself if it’s really dead. If there are buds and leaves, then it’s probably not.

Ask yourself if it’s still green. If there are twigs and small branches but no buds or leaves, then it probably is green. By all means cut it, but don’t burn it until it’s been well seasoned.

Ask yourself if it’s been mis-used as part of a fence - in which case it could be full of nails, staples and pieces of wire. Don’t cut it if it is and especially not with a chainsaw.

Ask yourself if it’s been burnt - charred wood wreaks havoc with chainsaws.

Ask yourself if there are still large, overhanging branches - they may well come down when you’re cutting the tree, especially if it’s been dead for some time, damaged by wind or hit by lightning.

And now, the most important question to ask yourself. Is the tree or its remnants a good wildlife habitat?

A standing, but dead tree with a fair amount of height and the remains of large branches makes an excellent roost for birds of prey. Leave it.

Trees with nooks and hollows are used by birds, bats and squirrels (and possums in other parts of the world!). Leave them.

Fallen trunks that are partly sunken into the ground are used for shelter and food by a multitude of species. Leave them.

A tangle of fallen branches covered with brambles is another major habitat for small mammals, birds and insects. Leave them.

So, what does that leave for our firewood? Dead trees with no branches and no hollows, fallen trunks with branches that stick up and can be cut off, recently fallen branches, and trees that have come down very recently but are still green.

If you cut dead but green wood, don’t leave it in situ. Even if no one takes it over the following year, you still shouldn’t use it because scores of species will have moved in over the intervening time.

And if you can’t find enough dead wood, then the best live trees to fell in the UK are hardwoods between eight and 15 years old.

They’re not yet big enough to be a major habitat like an established older tree and they will almost always grow back from the stump (hence coppicing).

Yes, you’ll have to season them for at least one year and preferably two but that’s much better than ripping out dozens of wildlife habitats and dumping them on your fire.

Just remember in felling live trees to leave some for future years and allow still more to grow to full height, for further generations of humans to admire and appreciate, and for future generations of animals to make their homes in.