Well, it was a more relaxed (i.e. less physical) day this week at a small woodland near Bingley St. Ives. We were working for an initiative called Forest of Bradford, helping to confirm whether or not the site is an ancient woodland. Its status as an ancient woodland was to be tested by carrying out a survey of the species of plants found on the woodland floor.
After a short stroll around the place to become aquainted with some of the plants which are markers for these ancient woodland sites, we were split into small teams and given a map of the site along with a list of plant species to look for. The list included holly, wild garlic, wood sorrel, golden saxifrage, wood sage, bluebell, wood aven, wood anemone and others (to be honest, I would have listed them all here but these are the ones I can remember - there weren't that many more!). Some were easier to identify than others, especially as not all the flowering plants were in flower.
By the end of the day we had compiled and mapped out a comprehensive list, and I guess it's now up to the experts to ascertain the woodland's status. It looks promising though. It would be nice to get an update from Forest of Bradford at some point.