The sound of chainsaws in the woods rings alarm bells in many people's minds and none of us likes a favourite woodland scene being altered. But felling trees is part of the story of woodlands. In our crowded island they have survived the farmer's axe only because they were (and are) vital raw materials. Fortunately, wood and timber are the perfect example of a renewable resource, so we have been able to harvest them for millenia without destroying the woodlands in the process.