The Woodlands.co.uk Blog - Practical Guides
Cooking and eating woodlice (pillbugs) – a real bushcraft experience
Woodlouses or woodlice have never previously seemed to me the kind of thing you would want to eat. But I came face to face with a cooked woodlouse recently when we made a woodlandsTV film about finding, cooking and eating woodlice. It turns out that they are very nutricious and as long as they are cooked they are perfectly safe. A big advantage of woodlice over slugs or snails is that they can be eaten almost immediately after collection, whereas with slugs and snails you need to put them in a plastic bag for about 24 hours so that their gut empties. For woodlice you just put them straight into the boiling water and they are soon ready to eat. Read more…
Call for entries for prestigious Small Woodlands award in the South West
Caring for a woodland is a labour of love that takes commitment, hard work and altruism. Some of that conservation work may not yield fruit for a generation, but when it does, it boosts entire communities. By recognising the efforts of woodland owners, we may inspire others to do the same. So, for the second year running, Woodlands.co.uk are sponsoring the Small Woodlands category in the prestigious Royal Forestry Society (RFS) Woodlands Awards and you are warmly invited to participate. Read more…
How big is ?
We all sometimes wonder how big a tree is. We can guess the height and measure the circumference, but we really need to know more for two reasons:
- we don’t want to be ripped off even if we’re only selling firewood;
- and the Forestry Commission only allows us to fell trees, without a licence, up to a maximum of 2 cubic metres of wood per 3 month period if the wood is being sold, or 5 cubic metres if it’s for our own use *. Read more…
The importance of Coppice workers – a family tradition worth supporting
Coppicing of sweet chestnut in Kent and Sussex is a traditional activity which goes back hundreds of years. This involves not only the regular cutting of chestnut poles but the processing of these into useable materials. Such processing will usually include debarking and splitting – all of which is done in the woods where the chestnut is cut. Chestnut coppice products are mainly used for fencing and are still very much in demand and because chestnut coppice is a hardwood they tend to last for a several decades. Chestnut paling and post and rail fencing is in high demand and is even exported to mainland Europe. Read more…
Making more use of small diameter wood
Making more use of small diameter wood
Tim Parry is passionate about putting small diameter timber to good use. He has worked in Gloucestershire woodlands for over 25 years after initially training as a tree surgeon. In 1987 he first saw the need for more active woodland management while clearing up windblown timber in Sussex, following the “Great Storm”. At that point he realised just how much wood goes to waste and he is constantly working out ways to make the most of all the timber produced by coppicing. Read more…
The National Forest Wood Fair
The National Forest Wood Fair, to be held on Bank Holiday Monday 29 August, is one of the nation’s top celebrations of trees, woodland and lovely things made out of wood.
Nestled amongst the trees beneath the craggy rocks of Beacon Hill Country Park, the National Forest Wood Fair is a brilliant day out with over 100 exhibitors and demonstrators. This annual event regularly attracts over 5,000 people, who travel from all over the country to see lumberjacks, chainsaw carvers, bodgers and bat box makers, willow weavers and woodturners. Read more…
Road kill top 10
Continuing with my theme of meat for free ….. roadkill
- It is illegal to remove an animal that you have killed on the road. (This is aimed at preventing people deliberately trying to kill animals on the roadways).
- The dead animal is the property of the landowner. Read more…
Hunter Gatherer
In my 2011 quest to only eat meat which I have hunted or gathered myself, I’ve learned a lot. Most people ask me “how” I do it, so I thought I would share a bit more on the actual tasks of finding the food. Read more…