Frequently Asked Questions
The following Questions & Answers have resulted from visits by The Poplars Community Primary School to Gunton Wood during 2006, 2005 & 2004.
Does fungus grow out of a seed?
What happens to fungi in the Winter?
Why does a puffball make you cough and sneeze?
Have you seen any deer?
Where do all the birds go in the winter?
How do pond skaters skate?
How many types of birds and plants are there in Gunton Wood?
Why are our newts called "great crested newts"?
Do you ever clear out the pond?
Are there any snakes?
Do you have foxes?
How long and how often do you work in Gunton Wood?
Why did you want to help Gunton Wood?
Who built Gunton Manor House?
How deep is the well?
In Winter, do you have to help the plants in the nursery garden to survive?
How old are your Black Poplar Trees?
Do you find creatures every day?
How did you discover Gunton Hall (the old Manor House)?
How many lime trees are there in Gunton Wood?
How many Sycamores did you have to cut down?
How many different types of orchids are there?
How can you tell a male and female Black Poplar apart?
Do you see the muntjac deer often?
Do you find a lot of great-crested newts in the wood?
Q: Does fungus grow out of a seed?
A: Fungus grows from "spores" which are a bit like seeds but are so small they are almost invisible. These spores collect on the ground or on rotting wood and, if the weather is warm and damp, eventually develop a "fruiting body" which we call a mushroom or toadstool or puffball or, perhaps, "Dead-man's fingers". Worldwide there are over 1 million different kinds of fungi.
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Q: What happens to fungi in the Winter?
A: In cold weather, the "fruit body" usually dies off but not before it has shed millions of spores which will lay dormant until the weather warms up the following year. Those that survive the frost and snow will then re-awake to form fresh fungi.
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Q: Why does a puffball make you cough and sneeze?
A: If you break a puffball and inhale some of the spores that are released it has the same effect as getting pepper up your nose.
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Q: Have you seen any deer?
A: Yes, we have several muntjac in Gunton Wood. Early morning dog walkers often see a mother and baby muntjac on the main footpath. Unfortunately, they have damaged some of our new trees by stripping off the bark as they like the soft material just underneath.
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Q: Where do all the birds go in the winter?
A: Some kinds of birds (blackbirds, thrushes, wrens, robins, tits) stay in the wood, hiding in bird boxes or thick foliage to keep warm. Other kinds (house martins, swifts, swallows, cuckoo) fly South to warmer weather, some go all the way to South Africa, and then they come back next Spring.
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Q: How do pond skaters skate?
A: They are very light and have special pads on their feet which is supported by the "surface tension" of the water surface which acts like a "skin". This keeps them on top of the water so they don't drown.
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Q: How many types of birds and plants are there in Gunton Wood?
A: Our bird list has 55 species (many of them were just visiting) Our plant list has 169 different plants.
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Q: Why are our newts called "great crested newts"?
A: When they are fully grown (6 inches long), the males are almost black with a jagged crest along the back and tail. Underneath they are yellow with black spots. In Europe their numbers are declining but we have a healthy population in this area. In the Winter they leave the pond and live under logs and habitat piles. In Spring the females return to the ponds to lay their eggs which hatch into tiny newts looking like tadpoles.
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Q: Do you ever clear out the pond?
A: We built the pond 4 years ago and so far we have limited the maintenance work to removing duckweed and rubbish. There will be a slow build up of rotten leaves on the bottom and one day we may have to consider draining the pond to remove the sediment.
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Q: Are there any snakes?
A: A few years ago we did see a grass snake near the pond but it seems to have gone away now, perhaps because there are so many dogs using the wood.
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Q: Do you have foxes?
A: Yes, there are foxes in the wood, but they usually sleep during the day. Late at night they often visit the gardens that back onto the wood to see if they can find something to eat, such as cat food which they love.
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Q: How long and how often do you work in Gunton Wood?
A: We started in 1998 and we work there on Thursday and Saturday mornings every week. The wood is always open to the public.
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Q: Why did you want to help Gunton Wood?
A: Because nothing had been done to keep the paths open or to control the weeds for 20 years or more, it was almost impossible to walk through the wood. Birds and animals like to live in places where there are lots of different kinds of trees and shrubs and Gunton Wood was becoming almost pure sycamore and nothing else, so we have replaced many of them with other kinds off tree such as oak, ash, hornbeam, hazel, field maple and hawthorn.
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Q: Who built Gunton Manor House?
A: The Old Hall (or Manor House) that is shown on the Notice Board behind the Church was built by Earnest Fowler between 1850 and 1900 although part of the building was much older. The house had to be pulled down in 1963 as it became unsafe due to neglect.
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Q: How deep is the well?
A: We have cleaned out the well to a depth of about 12 feet (4 metres). When in use, we would guess that it may have been 30 or 40 feet deep in order to reach clean water from an underground spring. The present brickwork has been dated to around 1750, but the original well may have been much older.
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Q: In Winter, do you have to help the plants in the nursery garden to survive?
A: No, we don't have to give them any protection against the cold. They are very strong and just go to sleep for the Winter months. They are most at risk in the Summer if there is a drought and then we may have to give them a little water.
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Q: How old are your Black Poplar Trees?
A: We think they are about 100 years old, and they are now becoming unsafe due to old age. When they have to be felled it is possible to "count the rings" to measure their age. The rings show up quite clearly when the trunk is newly cut with a chain saw. The Black Poplar cuttings in the Nursery have been there for 3 years and we will probably plant them in the main wood in February (2006).
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Q: Do you find creatures every day?
A: Not every day, but quite often. This week (October 2005) we have found a lot of Harlequin Ladybirds which have come over from mainland Europe. They are different from our own native Ladybirds. They are larger, and are always very hungry. So they are bad news because they may eat the larva (or babies) of our own common 5-spot and 7-spot Ladybirds.
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Q: How did you discover Gunton Hall (the old Manor House)?
A: There are photographs of the Old Hall at the Suffolk Record Office, in Lowestoft Library. (You have to ask for the Fowler Photograph Albums). It fell into disrepair and was pulled down in 1963.
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Q: How many lime trees are there in Gunton Wood?
A: There are 17 in the three Lime Avenues that formed the driveway to the Old Hall and there are a few more scattered around the wood.
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Q: How many Sycamores did you have to cut down?
A: We have taken about 200 large Sycamores (October 2004) and lots more small ones. In their place we have planted more than 3000 new trees and shrubs, mainly, as follows:
Trees: Oak, Ash, Hornbeam, Field Maple, Horse Chestnut, Sweet Chestnut, Wild Cherry.
Shrubs: Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Dogwood, Holly, Hazel, Guelder Rose, Wild Rose.
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Q: How many different types of orchids are there?
A: We have 6 kinds of orchid in Gunton Wood.
They are: Common spotted, Early purple, Green winged, Bee, Broad leafed helleborine, Twayblade.
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Q: How can you tell a male and female Black Poplar apart?
A: Wait until March, when the male trees produce catkins (flowers) several inches long which are bright red, while the female catkins are all-over green.
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Q: Do you see the muntjac deer often?
A: They are seen about once a week by dog walkers, usually at dawn but also, sometimes, during the day.
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Q: Do you find a lot of great-crested newts in the wood?
A: Not many, but David often finds one in his garden, usually under a log near his pond.
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