This week we were joined by 3 new people who were on the ‘Introduction to Coppicing’ course and we all spent 4 days in the woods. John and Geraldine were from London and hoped to have a wood of their own one day, Trevor was from South East Wales and Chair of a conservation group which had just taken over management of an area of woodland.
Whilst those of us on the long course continued our tree felling practice Nick gave the newcomers the welcome and ‘health and safety’ talks. Then they joined in the fun. Small trees were becoming harder to find and seemed to have a hunted look! It is amazing how quickly the plot is opening up. Where once the hazard to movement was the undergrowth, now that that has all been slashed down it is piles of sorted wood which impede progress. Oh, and the mud!
Whilst those of us on the long course continued our tree felling practice Nick gave the newcomers the welcome and ‘health and safety’ talks. Then they joined in the fun. Small trees were becoming harder to find and seemed to have a hunted look! It is amazing how quickly the plot is opening up. Where once the hazard to movement was the undergrowth, now that that has all been slashed down it is piles of sorted wood which impede progress. Oh, and the mud!
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| The coppice plot at the start of our work |
Wednesday was very wet so we all retreated into the shelter for the theory part of the course. Nick explained to us how to identify trees, how they grow and how woodsmen use the wood they extract to earn a living. Although we were all sitting on hard chairs in a leaky space he kept us fascinated for the whole day. He recommended some books for further reading and as soon as I got home I scanned my shelves. Some I had and Amazon has had a string of orders as I have treated myself to others.
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| Eager learners discuss points during our rainy day theory session |
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| Nick teaching the theory behind coppicing |
During a brief dry spell we were sent out to find leaves so that we could have a go at identifying them. Trevor, David and Penny spotted a grass snake which Trevor managed to photograph despite its efforts to hide in the brash.
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| Grass snake |
Thursday the weather improved and we were out on the plot again (to Nick’s relief!). At last I feel as though I am getting the hang of using the billhook. I was being far too tentative but with a lot of help and encouragement from Nick and Martin I am beginning to strike with the required ‘conviction’. Accuracy though is another thing entirely! So I make a lot of semi-random deep cuts! They assure me that it is just a matter of practice and that they will ensure that I get loads of that.
It was sad to say goodbye to our 3 new friends but Trevor seems to have caught the ‘coppicewood bug’ and hopes to do more courses sometime. Next week is half term for us so a week off. I really thought that 4 days would be hard going and leave me very tired but in fact I had very little stiffness and whilst there are a lot of things I have not had time to do this week the tiredness is manageable. I seem to be getting fitter.
P.S. I went to the GP surgery during half term for my annual blood pressure etc. check. The nurse asked about exercise and I told her what I did – the 2 days a week in the woods, a yoga class, a large garden… The resulting note was ‘no formal exercise but keeps active’! It seems only gym membership counts!
It was sad to say goodbye to our 3 new friends but Trevor seems to have caught the ‘coppicewood bug’ and hopes to do more courses sometime. Next week is half term for us so a week off. I really thought that 4 days would be hard going and leave me very tired but in fact I had very little stiffness and whilst there are a lot of things I have not had time to do this week the tiredness is manageable. I seem to be getting fitter.
P.S. I went to the GP surgery during half term for my annual blood pressure etc. check. The nurse asked about exercise and I told her what I did – the 2 days a week in the woods, a yoga class, a large garden… The resulting note was ‘no formal exercise but keeps active’! It seems only gym membership counts!
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