Small Woods Association staff blog

Woodland therapy sessions with Coed Lleol improve patients’ health

2011-12-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

Visits to local woodlands are being “prescribed”as part of the National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) to provideopportunities for exercise through woodland activities in order to combat a variety of chronic health conditions suchas depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes and heart problems. The Actif Woods Wales project, run by the Coed Lleol Partnership, part of the Small Woods Association, is funded by Forestry Commission Wales and is based on woodlands’ ability to improve health and wellbeing by reducing stress and providing opportunities for exercise.

The project involves woods in Aberystwyth,Ceredigion, and Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

In addition to the the Welsh Government-funded National Exercise Referral Scheme, and referrals from mentalhealth groups, such as MIND in Aberystwyth, people withchronic conditions can also refer themselves for the woodland therapy.

Mair Jones, from Aberystwyth, who has ME, whichis also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, said woodland walking had becomepart of her weekly routine since being referred to the scheme.

I have gained much benefit in having aregular outdoor activity arranged on a weekly basis," shesaid. "It has now become part of my weekly routine and doesn't depend onthe weather, as sheltering in the woods on a rainy day with company is all partof the fun."

Coed Lleol now have their own facebook page, andit would be great if everyone who engages with this medium could ‘like’ thepage and encourage their friends and associates to do the same.

A 16-week winter programme hasjust been launched in local woodlands, building on the success of spring and summer courses which saw more than 80 people attend. Sessions include activities such as Nordic walking, green woodworking skills, bushcraft skills, plant and animal identification, fire-lighting and making tea over an open fire – or simply walking in and enjoying the woodlands. InTreherbert there are groups based on using the natural environment forexercise, and a conservation group run in partnership with BTCV.

Coed Lleol has recently been in the news a fewtimes- see the links below for some of the articles written about Actif WoodsWales:

BBC Wales: http://digbig.com/5bfenb

Wales on Sunday: http://digbig.com/5bfena

FCW: http://digbig.com/5bfencand http://digbig.com/5bfend

ME and you magazine: http://digbig.com/5bfene

For more details on the activities runningcontact Zena Wilmot from Coed Lleol on01654 700061 or zenawilmot@smallwoods.org.uk

2011-12-07T01:56:00.001-08:00

The Welsh Assembly Government has just announced the merger of Forestry Commission, Countryside Council for Wales and Environment Agency Wales to form a single environmental body. At the moment this is not being considered in England but I'm sure the English government will be watching what happens in Wales with interest!

Our view at Small Woods is that merging the two schemes (EWGS and HLS) woulde be straightforward and beneficial for those landowners who manage woodlands alongside agricultural enterprises, but many small woodland owners do not and for these merging the schemes could potentially be more complicated than dealing directly with FC over EWGS. Another of our main concerns is the likely loss of dedicated FC woodland officers and their replacement with more 'generalist' environment officers with much less knowledge and experience of woodland management, and who would be likely to approach woodland management from a purely biodiversity enhancement direction rather than advising on economic management.

Proposed Changes in The England Woodland Grant Scheme and Higher Level Stewardship - what could this mean for woodland owners?

2011-12-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

There are proposals for Natural England, Forestry Commission and Environment Agency to work more closely together, through a process called the Defra ‘Single Voice’.

On the ground this is likely to involve integration of the England Woodland Grant Scheme with Higher Level Stewardship.

While we commend any moves to simplify grant processes, Small Woods is concerned that such integration does not result in any constriction on the ability of single block woodland owners (ie those who do not own any other land than their woodland) to apply for grant (as these owners do not qualify for Higher Level Stewardship currently) and also that woodland owners do not lose the input of Forestry Commission woodland officers, whose advice and guidance is greatly appreciated when applying for grant.

The Forestry Commission, as we well know, have been hit hard by job and budget cuts and we are keen that a more 'streamlined' service will be accessible to all those who own or manage woodland, however small, and that grant applications can be supported to ensure a positive outcome for the woodland and the woodland owner.

We would like to hear from woodland owners and managers who have experience of HLS or eWGS applications – how would integration affect you?’

Email Mary on marylewis@smallwoods.org.uk with any feedback. Mary is the recently appointed Green Wood Centre Manager.

A gathering of the coppice apprentices 2011

2011-11-30T02:39:00.001-08:00

A Coppice Apprentice Gathering was held at the endof October at Colly Woodyard, Gloucestershire, the home of West Country Coppice(Brian Williamson, Ruth Goodfellow and Patrick Brown). The National Coppice Apprenticeship Scheme is run as a partnership project with Small Woods and the Bill Hogarth Memorial Apprenticeship Trust.

Luckily, the weather turned out to be bright and coldrather than the forecast wet and windy!! Many of the past and present coppiceapprentices came, from all over the country, as did a few of the sponsors, toshare skills, soup and stories!

Brian took a group to visit the coppice planting on theHighgrove Estate on the Friday morning, and Andy Basham led a bowdrillfirelighting session in the afternoon (while a steering group meeting tookplace around the campfire!!). Soup and bread, followed by Apple Leather was thetasty meal that evening, then everyone got cosy in their tents after chatting andplaying games into the evening.

We met the Chairman of the Ernest Cook Trust atWestonbirt on the Saturday morning. Again the weather turned out to be amazing,and Brian took us to see the progress of the restored coppice Silk Wood, andtalked about planting, layering, bramble control, thinning of standards, deerdamage and faggot making. A quick look at the Barn, and the 2000 year-oldcoppiced Lime Tree in the arboretum, then back to the woodyard for anotherlovely lunch of soup, bread and cheese around the fire, after which Mr. Bosanquetpresented Ruth Goodfellow and Peter Murray with their Bill Hogarth CoppiceDiploma certificates.

Brian Williamson introducing the 2000 yr old lime at Westonbirt Arboretum

A withy winding (unwinding?) and woodmans knot tyingsession took place in the woodyard in the afternoon, then people startedheading off home. A very productive couple of days was had by all, and it wasgreat for the apprentices to get together and discuss life after theApprenticeship, among other things!!"

Meeting with Forestry Commission

2011-01-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

One part of our work that membership supports is our policy and advocacy work with organisations and in forums locally and on a national basis. Later this month Judy Walker and I are meeting with Simon Hodgeson, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission in England, to discuss issues of importance to small woodland owners and managers. Top of the list of items for discussion will be to ask him for an update on the changes the Forestry Commission are planning, and their potential impact on the small woodland sector. The potential sell off of FC woodlands has hit the headlines, but grants, research and advice could all be affected. There is concern that concern that public access could be reduced, future timber supplies could be at risk and biodiversity management compromised.

It seems likely that FC funding for our organisation will be reduced which will have implications for some areas of operation and reduce support for our core functions which underpin our membership services. The FC does value our role in encouraging management of small woodlands and we hope to persuade them that they should continue to support our work.

Woodland Owners Insurance and Liability meeting

2009-11-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

An SWA members event (in partnership with Confor and Llais y Goedwig)
Demystifying Woodland Insurance and Liabilities
An event for individuals and groups involved in owning or managing woodland
Saturday 16th January 10am-4.30pm
Royal Oak Hotel, Welshpool, Powys (close to the Shropshire border).

Have you got the right level of insurance for your woodland? Is your quote competitive?
Do you know your rights and responsibilities when people come on to your land? How do
you manage different users? What about working with volunteers or Forest School groups?
Are you complying with Health and Safety?
Managing contractors and selling timber...
... and what about wildlife?

A day of lively presentations, interactive workshops,
information and discussion.
Not to be missed. Buffet lunch and refreshments included. Book now!
· £15 for members* when booking on or before 1st Jan 2010
· £20 for members* booking after 1st Jan 2010
· £20 for members guests on or before 1st Jan 2010
· £25 for members guests after 1st Jan 2010
For to book or for additional information telephone Phil Tidey on 01952 435854 or philtidey@smallwoods.org.uk
* Members of Small Woods, ConFor or Llais y Goedwig.

AGM at the Weald Woodfair

2009-10-08T07:02:00.001-07:00

On September 19th we held our Annual General Meeting and AGM at the Weald Woodfair in East Sussex. The SWA is now 21 years old, and Executive Director Judy Walker blew out the candles on a celebration cake.

Speakers included Alan Betts (Forestry Commission South East Director), Robert Matthews (Forest Research - Small woodlands and the carbon balance) and Chris and Joanna Yarrow (Wilderness Wood past, present and future).

After a buffet lunch members dispersed to enjoy the woodfair, the latest of its kind in the UK while some joined the Forestry Commissions Matthew Woodcock on a tour of the machinery area.

New members car sticker, modelled by Board Member Gary Battell's vehicle!

Treswell Wood

2009-10-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September Rob Atkinson from Nottingham Wildlife Trust hosted a visit to their site at Treswell Wood near Newark, Notts.

This site is unusual in that most is managed as coppice with standards in partnership with local coppice workers, who tender for coupes annually in the traditional way. The woodland thus supports a healthy green wood economy locally, and also supplies the local community with firewood. In addition this management also enhances the biodiversity of the woodland.

Tresswell Wood

2009-08-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

Our last free SWA members event of the summer will be held at Tresswell Wood, Nottingham on Saturday 5th September from 1-5pm. The woodland is owned by the local Wildlife Trust who have an innovative arrangement with local coppice workers who work the woodland traditionally and market a range of greenwood produce. For further information contact me at the SWA office.
Phil

SWA AGM

2009-08-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

As existing SWA members will have been told via an insert in the recent edition of Smallwoods the annual AGM and members conference will be held at the Weald Woodfair near Lewes in East Sussex from 10am-1pm on Saturday September 19th.

The three day Woodfair which is the largest event of its kind in the UK. There is plenty to educate, enthuse and entertain woodland owners, managers and workers, and following the meeting and buffet lunch there will be plenty of time to explore the Fair.
Speakers-
• Robert Matthews, Forest Research. Robert is an expert on woodlands and the carbon
balance, and recently contributed an article to Smallwoods 33 on carbon offsetting. He is
a fascinating speaker, and he will be talking about the role of small woodlands in carbon
storage, and what owners and managers can do to maximise the contribution their
woodlands make to efforts to combat global warming.
• Joanne Yarrow, Wilderness Wood. Joanne is the daughter of Chris and Ann Yarrow, who
have built Wilderness Wood into a very successful woodland enterprise. Joanne will be
taking over management of the woodland in early 2010, and she will be telling us about
the enterprise today, and how she plans to develop new and existing activities.
The price for the conference and AGM is £23.50 for the day, which includes a buffet lunch and a free ticket for entry to the Woodfair (normally £12).
For further information please give me a call 0n 01952 432769.
Phil

Back from holiday

2009-08-03T03:03:00.000-07:00

A fortnights holiday in France left me musing about woodland management there compared to the UK. In France over the whole country their woodlands are much more closely tied in to the local economy and culture. In most rural areas houses have their winters firewood supply stacked outside and almost every woodland is obviously under active management.
But in one area at least they are lagging behind! Following a major thunderstorm a number of trees lost limbs near our hotel, and I watched with horror an arboriculturalcontractor (obviously a professional by the way he used his ropes and harnesses) wielding a top handled chainsaw high in the crown of an oak with no helmet, or chainsaw gloves, trousers or boots!

SWA members blog

2009-06-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

SWA member Rhodri Huws was inspired by recent SWA members visits to start his own woodland blog. It can be found at http://ccgi.rhodrihuws.plus.com/wordpress/
Phil

Forestry Commission Open Habitats consultation

2009-06-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

This spring the Forestry Commission launched a major consultation into their developing plans for the removal of woodland from priority habitats (such as lowland heath) across England. They are considering the removal of between 5600 and 30,000 hectares of woodland - typically poor quality conifers and recent secondary broadleaved woodland over the next 15 years. They have undertaken to ensure that their plans will not result in a net deforestation of the UK as a whole and to fund compensatory planting if necessary.
The SWA responds to consultations of this nature and in this case our view is that with the increasing markets in woodfuel and rise in awareness of the role of woodlands in reducing the impact of climate change we should be looking to increase the area covered by trees, not hold it steady. The proposal also fails to use potential value of the eventual timber crop as a criterion for refusing consent to restore open land.

End of a busy spell

2009-06-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

May and June is the best time to be out in the woods. We have chosen to run more members events this year, so that as many as possible have an opportunity to meet other members, and consequently the last few weeks have seen me on the motorways at weekends to events from Devon to Northumberland.

The beginning of May saw an event at Wort and Gratton Woods, near Barnstaple in Devon. The owner and staff from the Exmoor National Park led the event which looked at restoration of PAWS (plantations on ancient woodland sites).

The next event was at Rawhaw Wood, near Kettering. Huw and Carolyn Ross, the owners, have restored this hazel coppice with standards woodland over the last 15 years so now it is in cycle and very productive. Huw and Carolyn produce a variety of coppice products and charcoal, and have managed to get permission to build a house in their woodland.

The end of May saw me heading north, to David Parkins newly planted woodland at Gorfenletch near Morpeth. David bought several hectares of agricultural land six years ago, and has been progressively planting it up with mixed broadleaves.

A varied mix of woodlands, and a great opportunity to meet members.

Phil Tidey

Invitation to join a LEADER co-operation project

2009-05-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this is what a blog is for, but if you know of anyone who would like to get involved please pass the information on to them. Katie

The Smallwoods Association working with Herefordshire LEADER are inviting other LEADER areas to join together and create a co-operation project with a focus on woodlands.

A very successful leader project in the last round of funding was run based on orchards with a best practice guide being produced www.sustainweb.org/orchards Herefordshire Leader was closely involved with administering this co-operation project, and the Smallwoods Association was involved in the project through the Herefordshire Sustain Projects Orchard Topic Group.

The Herefordshire Sustain Project/Smallwoods Association is submitting the following project idea:
WORK IN THE WOODS: We will offer a weeks work experience for 20 people in various locations in Herefordshire each year for 3 years. It is anticipated that this experience will run alongside the Smallwoods Association/Forestry Commission programme to offer apprenticeships. Those attending the course will be offered the opportunity to apply for the 2 year apprenticeship, however we anticipate that for the majority of attendees gaining insight in to the forestry process to enable them to make personal career decisions will be of greater interest than being considered for the apprenticeship. Guidance and assistance in helping those individuals develop their own woodland career pathway will be offered.

Possible Work in the Woods themes:
Forestry
Coppicing and Greenwood Crafts
Heritage and Archaeology
Bushcraft and Survival

Additionally, responding to employer demand we will produce industry backed DVD/literature to promote careers in woodland/forestry. This element in particular could be a co-operation project output as it would have national relevance.

Rationale:
60% of the annual timber increment is left unharvested. Disconnected from this resource, the UK is dependent on imported wood and paper products. This is resulting in a continued decline for English broadleaves and as a consequence a further decline in the management of private woodlands. The skills base within the forestry sector is in rapid decline ‘…that threatens to undermine the viability of the whole forestry sector in England.’[1]

It is widely reported from industry that an ageing workforce[2] and a lack of new entrants will have a significant effect on business sustainability[3]. The Forestry Commission estimates that this skills shortage will become increasingly pronounced over the next five years.

Heritage: There are an increasing number of ‘small’ woodland owners. Practices such as woodlotting; subdividing a larger woodland into small parcels and selling them off, are creating ecological, management and planning issues. This project will help to deliver appropriately skilled individuals able to manage Herefordshire’s historic landscape in an appropriate and sustainable way.

Key policy drivers for the forestry industry in England:
Sustainable development, reduction in carbon emissions and delivery of public benefit
‘…improve the competitiveness of woodland businesses and promote the development of new or improved markets for sustainable woodland products and ecosystem services where this will deliver identifiable public benefits, nationally or locally, including the reduction of carbon emissions.’ A Strategy for England’s Trees, Woods and Forests, Defra 2007

Delivery of woodfuel targets
‘…bring an additional 2 million tonnes (Mt) to market, annually, by 2020, representing 50% of the estimated unharvested available material in English woodlands.’ A Woodfuel Strategy for England, Forestry Commission

Overcoming barriers
It is widely acknowledged that the current imagine of the industry is contributing to poor levels of recruitment and in order to address this issue, the following solutions have been suggested: -
Better careers advice in schools
Improved promotion of the industry to the public at large
Availability of funding for those wishing to enter the industry at a more mature age (24+)
Need for apprenticeships and higher education courses to be more practical in emphasis so that graduates are fit for work.”

INVITATION
Do you have an innovative project that will encourage new entrants to forestry? Or one that addresses forestry concerns in your area? Would you like to be a part of a national co-operation project that works at a ‘grass roots’ level?

Contact: Katie Eastaugh, Smallwoods Association Katie.eastaugh@smallwoods.org.uk
Or Dawn Turner, Herefordshire Leader Programme dyturner@herefordshire.gov.uk
[1] English Forestry Industries Partnership (2007), Priority Work Topic Action Plans
[2] Lantra (2007) Sector Skills Agreement.
[3] Glaister, C. (2006) Capturing and Accessing Training and Skills Information in the Forest-Based Industries Ch 3.7.2. Rural Development Initiative: Aberdeen

Green Wood Centre

2009-05-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

Its another day at the Green Wood Centre. While trying to write the business strategy and action plan for SWA for the next five years, I have met a police constable to make a statement about a theft at the weekend (someone has been stealing logs!) the drains are blocked and need rodding (hopefully I won't have to do that today) the pump for the reed beds has been running continuously for two days, so I have had to find a firm to empty the septic tank.

The Ironbridge Walking Festival is in full swing, and while the Wild Garlic Ramble at the weekend was very successful, (the Wild Garlic pesto in the cafe was lovely), the Dawn Chorus walk on Sunday proved more difficult as we could not find someone to lead the walk who could recognise birdsong. Linda ( from the cafe ) took us for a great walk and we saw lots of birds, but only managed to identify the common birdsong.

We are also developing a bid to the Peoples' Millions lottery fund for a joint project with Telford Primary Care Trust targeting people who have cardiac or other health problems. This would help us to improve a piece of woodland in north Telford for better access and biodiversity.
Judy Walker

SWA strategy consultation

2009-04-29T06:40:00.001-07:00

If you are an SWA member please log on to the members area and comment on our strategy document. The consulation closes on May 1st, and this is your chance to have your say on what the organisation should be doing over the next few years!

Spring in the woods

2009-04-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

This month and next are proving very hectic. Last weekend we held a members event at the 8ha Northfield Wood near Petersfield, Hants, which has been owned by Chuck Dandridge since 1993. Thirty one members attended, and we were led by Chuck and a consultant who is in the process of preparing a management plan for the site. The woodland is typical of many woods in the area and indeed elsewhere - mixed broadleaves over mainly sparse hazel, probably neglected coppice with standards, uncut for at least 50 years. Toni Brannon, from the SWA Coppice Restoration Project gave an introduction to her project, which is designed to bring more coppice into productive management by linking coppice workers with potentially productive small woodlands. This is a good example of where synergy between SWA members and projects can potentially benefit members and others in the sector.

SWA events

2009-04-14T03:29:00.000-07:00

This time of year is exciting in the woods, and for me it is great to be able to get out and meet members at the members events we are holding across the country. At the end of March we put together an event led by veteran tree expert Ted Green at Hatfield Forest in Hertfordshire, which was attended by 35 members who enjoyed the event despite the heavy rain. The site is the most complete surviving medieval Forest in the UK, retaining its mix of areas of managed coppice, separated by areas of open parkland (lawns) grazed by deer. Most people expect Forests to have been completely wooded, but in lowland Britain they were a mosaic of open space with pollards interspersed with coppice coupes. In the uplands, Forests such as Bowland in Lancashire were almost entirely open ground.

At Hatfield, managed by the National Trust, the maintenance of the heritage aspects of the site is the prime objective. The site has 900 ancient pollards, of eight tree species, and each has its own management plan. The site manager, Ade Clarke, and his team are establishing new ones across the site. The management of the coppice is designed to maintain the historical practices on the site, and would not reflect best practice in productive coppice management elsewhere. The whole site is grazed by cattle in the summer, and before cutting a coupe the area is stock fenced. The stools are widely spaced, (up to 5m spacing) separated by rough grass. The diversity of the ground flora is low as a result of the grazing. The cut stools are protected by individual stockades made from cut hazel for deer protection - a technique that would be too time consuming and expensive to follow if the stools were denser and managed by contractors. The 70ha of mostly coppice is managed by a group of experienced volunteers on a rotation of 35 years, so most of the hazel goes for firewood sold locally.

The next members events are at Chuck Dandridge's Northfield Wood near Petersfield in Hampshire on Sunday March 26th, and Wort and Gratton Woods near Barnstaple in Devon on Saturday May 2nd - see the website for more information.

Herefordshire Sustain Project

2009-03-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

I am a day and a half into my return to work after a years maternity leave to have my second child, and my how things seem to have changed! Now we are to blog - being the Association technophobe It has taken me 1/2 an hour to work out how to access this site to write, so don't hold out much hope for witty anecdotes and uploaded photos.

Sooo, hello! I'm Katie Eastaugh, Partnership officer for the Herefordshire Sustain Project. HSP has covered many topics in the 6 years I have worked for it including Orchards, Social Forestry, Woodfuel, Hay energy, biofuels, training and cycle paths to name but a few. I know this because I have just purged the filing cabinet of 46 files and several feet of out of date paperwork, I now feel much lighter and ready for action.

If you read this and are interested in any of the topics I have mentioned (except cycle paths) do email me: katie.eastaugh@smallwoods.org.uk My main focus is Herefordshire, but a new role I am taking on is to promote and develop social forestry initiatives countrywide, so if you have any contacts: Health practitioners, woodland owners, teachers etc who would like to establish such a project, please get in touch.

The exciting world of finance!!

2009-03-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, I am Di Wood, the Finance Manager for SWA. I have worked here at the Green Wood Centre for nearly 7 years during which time there have been many exciting changes not least the merger with Small Woods Association. I have overseen the finances for lots of excellent projects - development of a safe play area at a local special school, the Shropshire Woodland Heritage Project, a volunteering project, the building of a cafe and visitor facilities at the Green Wood Centre to name but a few.

It is a busy time of year for me with budgets for 2009/10 to be set for all of our projects, I turn into a nag and the project officers probably wish I would vanish for a while!

The cafe at the Green Wood Centre will be re-opening on Monday 6th April, 10am - 4pm daily. There will be plenty of tasty, helathy food on the menu along with some lovely cakes and delicious fresh coffee.

Don't forget that the Woodland Hall at the Green Wood Centre is available to hire for meetings and celebrations, check the Green Wood Centre website - events - for further details.

2009-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

This week saw Katy and myself organising a launch event in Cardiff for ‘Llais y Goedwig’ the new Wales-wide association to support and represent community woodlands in Wales. The Wales Minister for Rural Affairs, Elin Jones AM (see image left), spoke at the event on the 10 February 2009 at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

Supporting the woodland network ‘Llais y Goedwig’ is a new project for Coed Lleol that had its beginnings at a networking event we ran in March last year. At this event eighteen community woodland groups strongly voiced the need for such an association and for Coed Lleol to take the project forward.

Since then things have moved very fast. A working group made up of five representatives of active community woodland groups was formed and the work of shaping this new organisation began. Llais y Goedwig is now a constituted organisation, with a board representing community woodland groups from across Wales and is already active in engaging with forest policy in Wales.

For me this last week has been extremely busy, taking bookings, writing press releases, working with designers for the new banners and publicity material. The story has been picked up by the press and you can listen to our story on BBC Radio Wales – Country Focus (08 February 2009 @ 17.25mins into the recording).

In addition to event organising, we re-launched our website with many new features such as interactive maps useful for community woodland groups and the wider woodland interest group in Wales. This went live to coincide with the launch of Llais y Goedwig. If you would like to try out the new features on the website then go to www.coedlleol.org.uk or www.llaisygoedwig.org.uk (it is now a shared website!).

However, there is no time to sit back and relax as we have a Community Woodland Network next week on the 20th February in Llanrwst – this will be the North Wales launch of ‘Llais y Goedwig’. Hopefully I will post some images of this event on the blog soon.

Zena Wilmot (Coed Lleol)

Snowbound!

2009-02-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Along with the rest of the UK our operations have been severely affected by the snow. Many staff have been unable to work. We had planned to interview woodland workers wishing to be placed in a pool for casual work supporting our social forestry programmes, but as part of the day was to be held outside we had to postpone it. At the weekend I had planned a long weekend in Northumberland which should have included a pre-event visit to David Parkins woodland, Gorfenletch near Morpeth but it had to be cut short.
Two key staff left at the end of January. Kenny Comain, our Social Forestry Project Officer, has resigned and following interviews we appointed Craig Wood, currently Operations Manager with the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, to the role. Andy Grundy, Heartwoods manager, has also left. His role will be probably be taken by a secondment from the Forestry Commission until further funding from the ERDP is approved.
Bookings for our 2009 events programme are going well. I'd like to remind you about the members event at the Greenwood Centre on March 1st (Rod Waterfield will now be talking about woodfuel now Andy Grundy is no longer with us) and the event at Hatfield Forest with veteran tree specialist Ted Green on 28th March. Ted is always entertaining and great value, and an opportunity to visit Britains most complete medieval Forest with the UKs leading expert shouldn't be missed.
Advance notice - I have arranged a visit to Treswell Wood near Nottingham (see http://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org.uk/reserves/Treswell%20Wood.htm) on Saturday 5th September. This 48ha ancient woodland is an SSSI and is being managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust working closely with a number of local coppice workers who manage the extensive areas of hazel. The woodland demostrates how a woodland can be productive and at the same time have a high biodiversity value.
For further information on any of the above please give me a call.
Phil Tidey

2009-02-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Angela Pollard and I have been with the Small Woods Association for just over six years. My role is to help woodland initiatives and projects around the country communicate with each other and share best practice. This particular part of my work is funded by the Forestry Commission and Natural England. The work of the Woodland Initiatives varies around the country from rural to urban, woodland management to business opportunities, education to vocational training.

I also help England's Community Forests by looking after their website, helping them with their annual conference and telling others about their work. The Community Forests themselves fund that work. They are based in England's big cities working with communities and helping urban regeneration. At the end of 2008 the Community Forests Conference was about Green Infrastructure - looking at how we build all these new homes but allow for green space in between and all around.

At the moment I am helping one of the woodland initiatives review their work and look at what they could be doing in the future. Everything they do is based on getting the right funding either from national government, local government or other sources to support their objectives. They are all not-for-profit organisations.

On top of that I have a pile of paperwork and need to finish some notes from recent meetings so I'd better go and get on with it!
Angela Pollard, Woodland Initiatives Coordinator

Smallwoods magazine

2009-01-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

SWA members wil have received their Winter 2008 edition of Smallwoods this week. We have been very pleased with the feedback with this edition. We have tried to include something for everyone - from the owner whose main interest is recreation, to the experienced manager through to woodland workers or owners who work regularly in the woods. This issue also included an initial listing and booking form for SWA members events in the first half of 2009 - details of more events will appear in the magazine and on the website - watch this space!
I would welcome any comments you might have about the magazine.
Members will also have noticed that we have negotiated discounts with Corwen Forestry and Stanton Hope. I hope to extend these discounts to other suppliers in the future.

In this issue we have given details of a members event at Ironbridge on March 1st. At this event there will also be an Extraordinary General Meeting. This sounds very serious but in fact its only purpose is to change very slightly the wording of our Memoranda and Articles of Association so that we will be eligible to apply for funding under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme for woodland biodiversity and social forestry programmes. If you cannot attend please return the proxy vote form enclosed with the latest Smallwoods.

2009-01-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hi, Judy here. I'm Executive Director at SWA, based at the Green Wood Centre. I have worked here for five years, and I spend most of my time developing new projects, finding funding to deliver them and working with Board members to improve and grow SWA as an organisation.
We have recently been offered 2 contracts, which I am setting up and getting started: a review of the Lancashire Woodlands Project (part of the Woodland Initiatives Network) and a Green Spaces project to encourage access to green spaces in Telford.
We are also reviewing our business strategy to see if we can do more to reduce the impact of climate change through woodlands and make more of our small woodlands to deliver social benefits.
I will be putting more information on the Blog about these projects, the strategy review and social forestry. If you have an interest in any of these issues, please get in touch.

A New Year

2009-01-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

A happy new year to all our members from all of us at the SWA. I seem to have spent a lot of the holiday splitting and stacking logs. In early December I replaced my Stanley oil fired range/boiler for a new wood fired Stanley Donard. I considered a number of alternatives (including the Esse and Rayburn dedicated log burners) but the Stanley is the only one that will power eight radiators. It does a great job and its nice to ditch the oil for something carbon-neutral and local!
The SWA has just been asked to prepare a review and business plan for the Lancashire Woodland Project, which is going to take a chunk of our time. In early December I attended a regular meeting of the England Woodland Biodiversity Group, at which plans were proposed by the Forestry Commission to remove trees from a sizeable area to restore/extend valuable open ground habitat. The plans will prioritise low value conifers in the uplands but also potentially cover recent broadleaved plantations and low biodiversity value native woodland. Much of the area would be on the FC estate but also areas could be targeted, perhaps grant driven, in privately owned woodlands. A public consultation will be launched in early 2009, and SWA will be responding from the small woodland owners perspective.
Phil Tidey

Coed Lleol

2008-12-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I attended the Coed Lleol steering group. This project is now in its third 'incarnation'. It began in 2002 as a project (which I managed) focused on community groups and the public across Wales with the aim of reconnecting people with their local woodlands through events, publications, a website and a major woodland Festival. Many of the groups had received capital funding through Cyd Coed for access work on woodlands. After two years the focus changed to a networking project, facilitating and promoting the utilisation of woodlands in many ways. Under the current team, Katy Harris and Zena Wilmot, Coed Lleol is focusing on facilitating the establishment of a Wales Community Woodland Association (Llais y Coedwig), along the Scottish model (www.communitywoods.org). The project is funded by Forestry Commission Wales and Countryside Council for Wales.
It is heartening to see the development of this project in response to the needs of the community; many of the groups that Katy and Zena are working with now have been involved with Coed Lleol since the beginning.

Wilderness Wood - adding value and marketing

2008-12-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

At the weekend I joined a group of SWA members at Wilderness Wood, near Hadlow Down in East Sussex. Despite the miserable weather 25 members attended for a visit to a very successful woodland enterprise which now turns over close to £300k and employs six full time staff. The woodland covers 30ha, mostly sweet chestnut coppice, and they manufacture and sell from the site a wide range of garden furniture, fencing and other items made primarily from the chestnut. They also sell firewood, and chestnut poles of various sizes for those who wish to make their own pergolas or other items. Chris Yarrow (one of the owners) who lead the visit, was a mine of information on marketing and pricing.
A large slice of their income comes from visitors and recreation. They have a busy tea room and gift shop, and their childrens birthday party package (shelter making and a barbeque) is very popular.
Their harvesting is very organised, and a number of their products are designed to use odd sections of timber that otherwise would go to waste. I certainly picked up a number of ideas - for example they sell logs by the filled bag but also customers can fill their own, for a discount - a considerable saving in time and labour. A number of members looked rather enviously at their new custom built Land Rover with a tipping body, used to transport logs from the site to the sales area. In all a thought-provoking visit. Many thanks to Chris for hosting the event.

Open Country

2008-11-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

I had a long conversation today with a researcher from Radio 4's Open Country. An SWA member from Warwickshire is being interviewed on the programme to be broadcast on December 13th (put it in your diary!) and the researcher wanted some background on the market in small woodlands and the reasons why people buy them. She was very interested and asked all the right questions but it reminded me how much we have to do to 'educate' the public about the many advantages that sustainably managed small woodlands bring to us and our communities. She was amazed to hear that a carefully managed small woodland can provide all the heating that a household needs, and that this is one of the reasons why people buy woodlands.

Small Woodland Owners Group

2008-11-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

Judy and I spent Saturday at a meeting of the Small Woodland Owners Group (SWOG) at Flimwell in East Sussex. This group is supported by Woodlands for Sale and is a commendable attempt by them to encourage sustainable management and networking principally among their buyers. We discussed with Tracy (who runs SWOG) how we could best work together and we agreed that our organisations are complimentary in that SWOG activities can provide a basic introduction to woodland activities, and SWA is that 'next step' where owners and managers can learn in more detail about management through our events, courses and publications, be part of our UK wide portfolio of projects and feed in to our policy, lobbying and advocacy work.
Saturday's event was based around two presentations, one by ecologist Patrick Roper (to coppice or not to coppice) and one by the bat society.

A Unified Future

2008-11-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

Today, SWA staff and board members are spending some time looking at the way the SWA operates and the activities it is involved with. We want to look at how best we can meet the needs of members, stakeholders, green wood workers and all those with the care and wellbeing of our woods at heart. Now, three years after the merger between the Green Wood Trust and SWA, we want to maximise opportunities for joint working across the organisation to the benefit of all.
Phil Tidey

First on our blog!

2008-11-04T01:22:00.000-08:00

Hi!
I'm Phil Tidey, Membership Services Manager (Policy and Technical) at the Small Woods Association - quite a mouthful - but in brief my job is to manage the services that we provide to SWA members, which includes arranging events and conferences, answering technical enquiries, working closely with Nick Gibbs on Smallwoods magazine and representing the interests of small woodland owners and managers on a variety of regional and national forums. I work closely with Lorraine Murray, who handles the membership administration.

The purpose of this blog is to let you know what we are up to both at our office here and across the UK, what our thoughts are and the issues we are dealing with. This blog will be used by all the staff here, and we hope that if you have any comments you will get in touch with us or start a thread on the members forum on our website.