Oxfordshire is not the most wooded county in the south-east; but many of the woods we do have are ancient, and were there 400 years ago in the time of the first Queen Elizabeth. Many of our woodlands are beautiful and rich in wildlife, some of it very rare.

The Government’s recent proposals to ‘sell the family silver’ raised a hurricane of protests. There is nothing like the wind of change to get the phones ringing and the emails pinging.

So, I say ‘thank you’ to our Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, for unwittingly banishing apathy towards the nation’s woodlands — at least for the moment.

The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, along with other conservation organisations, will be making sure the Government understands why woodlands — especially our ancient woodlands — must be protected for wildlife, and for people.

I believe the greatest threats to woodlands are greed, ignorance and apathy. If we let them, they will work together towards the steady decline of our woodland heritage. So we must not relax the pressure for a moment.

Walking in the Chilterns, I have seen where developers have turned unprofitable ancient woodland into profitable houses. Some greedy householders have compounded the problem by extending their gardens, gnawing away at what is left of the valuable ancient woodland habitat.

The misguided policies of successive governments in the latter part of the last century encouraged the Forestry Commission and private landowners to systematically fell broadleaf deciduous woodlands and replace them with dismal conifers.

Depressing? Yes very, but I spent some reinvigorating hours recently with wildlife trust volunteers and contractors who throughout the winter have been clearing conifers and restoring ancient woodland in our Finemere Wood reserve near Bicester. Oxfordshire’s woods are springing into life — it is a great time to get out and appreciate them.

Wychwood Forest in the north-west of the county and Shabbington Wood towards Thame are remnants of royal hunting forests. Both areas are significant landscapes for wildlife.

The Wildlife Trust’s Sydlings Copse reserve is a rich mix of ancient woodland and other habitats, and it is only a short cycle ride from Oxford.

Another great wildlife refuge is the trust’s Warburg Nature Reserve in the Chilterns. Here coppice wood was harvested for furniture-making and to power nearby brick kilns.

When woodland products lost their commercial value, the lack of coppice management resulted in almost all broadleaved woodland growing up to high forest. There may be some wildlife winners here, Bechstein’s bat for example — a species rarely recorded in Oxfordshire.

But species characteristic of coppiced woodland such as dormice, nightingales and primroses have declined as a result of the lack of management.

The small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly thrives in coppice glades, the caterpillars feeding on dog violets growing there. But due to lack of coppicing its habitat is now more scarce, and the species has recently become extinct in Oxfordshire.

If we are going to resist the greatest threats to woodlands — greed, ignorance and apathy — we need to act now.

Why not join your local wildlife trust in caring for our woodland heritage, come on one of the courses advertised on our website www.bbowt.org.uk or join a work party on our reserves. Contact volunteers@bbowt.org.uk or telephone 01865 775476.0