January is a bleak month, grey sky, drizzling rain, bare branches and mud. The jollities and sparkles of Christmas are behind us. Spring, and the colour it brings, is an age away.

And yet still, the volunteers can be found in Finemere Wood, furiously cutting back scrub and trees as they attempt to burn off the excesses of the festive season.

Here, embraced in the warm, gentle companionship of other woodland folk, feelings of desolation will dissipate.

And the winter work is fun.

It involves saws. Trees can be brought to the ground, scrub can be cut right back. It is exhilarating and rewarding work.

A growing number amongst the group, have invested in their own saws. These are bigger, better, and sharper than the ones I provide. Excitement ripples through these individuals as their prize possessions are whipped out of their sheaths.

The woodland edge is an exceptionally valuable habitat for so many plants and creatures. By cutting back sections of woodland along the rides, a rich mix of vegetation in a variety of stages of growth can be maintained, thus enhancing biodiversity.

The area to be tackled this month has not been touched by human saw for many a year. Previously coppiced trees are tall and multi-stemmed.

Mosses, lichens and fungi, in many shapes and colours, are thriving in this neck of the woods on mature coppice stems and standing deadwood. I leave the tree felling to my zealous team, whilst I marvel at the profusion of baffling organisms.

Tremella mesenterica, whose common names include, witches’ butter, yellow brain and yellow trembler, is a gelatinous, lobed fungus whose colour ranges from a pale yellow to bright orange.

Found on dead branches of hardwood trees, it parasitises upon the wood-rotting fungus Peniphora. It can appear all year round, but more so in the winter, when its vibrant colour will catch your eye amongst the leafless branches.

It is a master of surviving dehydration, becoming dark amber as it desiccates, yet quick to revive and regain its jelly-like state after rainfall. But be warned, Tremella mesenterica is said to have been used by witches to cast hexes.

The day draws to an end, the workers are flagging and the saws are blunting. It is time to re-sheath those magnificent implements, to hobble home to warm cosiness and to reflect upon another exceptional day in the depths of Finemere Wood.

More than 1,700 volunteers help us towards our vision of more nature everywhere, on our nature reserves, at our visitor and education centres, in our offices and more.

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