Forest and Nature

Wooden floors, wooden worktops, wooden furniture. We can’t live without it. Once it was mahogany everything. Then for a while it was antique pine. Yet as our concerns for the planet grow, we also have to take note of where it comes from, and this is in conflict with our increasing interest in interior design. More than ever our homes are a reflection of just how fashionable we are. You might be desperate for the latest dark wooden floor as a contrast to everyone else’s original Victorian pine. You might fancy a coffee table in that desperately chic yompa wood – but is it ethical as well as fashionable? (more…)

Top Lodge at Fineshade Wood has been created using local and natural materials and renewable energy systems to develop former 18th century barns into a state-of-the-art recreation and information complex.
It is designed to offer visitors the chance to find out about the local environment, see wildlife up close, and learn about local crafts and the heritage of the ancient woodland.
The project is at the heart of the River Nene Regional Park (RNRP) initiative and is the brainchild of the Forestry Commission, which has built the centre with partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Rockingham Forest Craft Guild. (more…)

MORE than a quarter of a million dollars have been spent painting silver street poles green since Clover Moore became the Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Council papers reveal that over the past three years, 5000 galvanised signposts, light poles and traffic signals have been given the forest green make-over, costing $260,500 - more than $50 a pole.

The Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard called the project “an outrageous waste of money”. (more…)

MORE than a quarter of a million dollars have been spent painting silver street poles green since Clover Moore became the Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Council papers reveal that over the past three years, 5000 galvanised signposts, light poles and traffic signals have been given the forest green make-over, costing $260,500 - more than $50 a pole.

The Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard called the project “an outrageous waste of money”. (more…)

John Noel has found what he calls the “sweet spot” in Bon Aqua Woods.

It lies about one-quarter mile from old Highway 46, past hickory and tulip poplar trees, Mayapple plants, poison ivy and tall, native dandelion.

“You can feel what it would feel like to stand in the middle of an ancient forest,” said Noel, a Williamson County businessman and environmentalist, looking around him.

A few feet away rose a massive white oak estimated to be hundreds of years old. Turning in a circle, Noel could see another and then another 120-foot or taller gray-barked white oak in the distance, flanked by young, thin trees.

The state took possession last week of the 35-acre forest with trees of an “exceptional” size rare in Middle Tennessee. The public will be able to see them for themselves when it opens sometime this fall as a state natural area, a type of park. (more…)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California (CNN) — Gusty winds forecast for Wednesday afternoon added to the worries of firefighters battling a wildfire near Lake Tahoe in California.

Winds were expected to pick up to 20 mph later Wednesday, with gusts to 25 mph, blowing flames in the direction of more homes, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

Thursday’s winds at the south end of Lake Tahoe were forecast to be even stronger, possibly up to 45 mph, Myers said. (more…)

The club had planned to spend a week in Gloucestershire but will now spend five days in Portugal before playing a friendly against Liverpool on 14 July.

“It was a great offer that we could not refuse. It gives the players time to gel together as well as work hard,” said Crewe boss Dario Gradi.

Crewe’s new schedule means they have cancelled their planned pre-season friendly with Forest Green on 24 July. (more…)