Woodlands.co.uk - Energy, sustainability & economics
From tree to bench
Anyone who has visited one of our woodlands for sale in Devon or Cornwall will most likely have noticed, maybe even sat upon, one of the benches which are a particular feature in the woodlands that my colleague – Stuart Brooking and I, prepare for sale. Until now, we have bought in the timber for making the benches, from local sawmills – who use only locally sourced materials.
Recently though – through unfortunate circumstances in a way – we found ourselves with a ready supply of timber within our own woods, so we decided to go for a wholly DIY solution for our next batch of benches. Read more…
Charcoal, billhooks and blacksmiths
Tom is 21 years of age and a skilled craftsman – a blacksmith. He has recently become a woodland owner (via woodlands.co.uk) by purchasing Raleigh Wood. Raleigh Wood is situated on a sunny hillside with far reaching views of the valleys towards Dartmoor. His partner, Cara, is also a blacksmith and will be managing the woodland with Tom. I asked him when they started the journey to their chosen career and how they ended up owning a woodland at such a young age.
“Being younger is no barrier as you have more time, Read more…
Hedges revisited …….
The work of Max Hooper established that not all hedges are ‘equal’ – they vary considerably in terms of their age and composition. Many thought of hedges as products of the Enclosure Acts of the C18th and C19th, that is, they were added to the landscape in these times – but many hedges / hedgerows (representing various boundaries) date back many centuries. There are significant differences between truly ‘ancient’ hedges and those established in more recent times.
Ancient hedges are generally species rich – in terms of the species in the herb, shrub and tree layers, and consequently rich in associated birds and insects. Ancient hedges are often associated with natural features or boundaries Read more…
Biochar and biofuels
Broadly speaking, Biochar is charcoal that is not used for heating, barbecues or blacksmithing. It is charcoal that is (often) used for soil improvement and carbon sequestration.
Charcoal is created by pyrolysis – that is, the incomplete burning of wood or biomass when oxygen /air is restricted. Typically, full-time charcoal producers have a large, steel kiln* about three metres in diameter and over a metre in height. This is loaded up with wood, mostly hardwoods such as oak, which have a very slow burn. The kiln is then sealed with a large lid. To make charcoal, the burn must be slow and incomplete so that the wood dries out and its structure and capacity for burning remains. This process – converting wood to charcoal – takes some 14-16 hours and produces ready-to-use lumps of charcoal. To watch the process of charcoal making, visit woodlands TV. Read more…
Firewood – the real challenge is moving the logs to where you need them
People say that the problem with the world’s food supply is not about having enough to go round but about having it where it’s needed. The same applies to woodfuel and energy in general. Like many people ,I have recently installed a wood-burning stove and the challenge is to find easy ways of getting the firewood to the stove. Of course, there is the cutting and splitting and seasoning the wood as well. But , the other issue is getting it from woodland to home , in a way that is inexpensive and does not waste fossil fuels. Read more…
Natural Resources Wales
Today (2 April 2013) saw the first day of operation of a new Welsh Government Sponsored Body, Natural Resources Wales. From 1 April 2013 three organisations, the Forestry Commission Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales, and the Environment Agency Wales, merged, and the new organisation has also taken over a few responsibilities previously managed by the Welsh Government. The merger has created the largest Welsh Government Sponsored Body, with more than 2000 employees. Read more…
Installing a woodburning stove for logs
The twin challenges of modern life are: keeping warm in winter and reducing your carbon emissions – one way of achieving both is to buy a woodland and install a wood burning stove at home! Having owned a woodland for many years, I recently decided the time had come to for me to switch our heating to log burning, so I set about asking friends and researching which stoves were best and how it would all work.
You will find that asking about heating is one of those secret conversation topics (a bit like asking a group of men what women really want) that gets everyone going and you can pick up lots of practical advice this way – about stoves, not women. In preparing for our stove my first action was to get the chimney swept (cost £50) and get a certificate from the sweep so that the installers would be sure that it was safe and had a good upward draught. Read more…
Very large trees …….
‘Who or what are Hyperion, Helios and Icarus ?’ one might ask. Well, casting aside references to classical mythology, Hyperion, Helios and Icarus are trees. In fact, they are very large trees. Hyperion is the tallest known tree. It is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) that is 379 feet tall, probably 700 to 800 years old – growing in Northern California. Helios and Icarus are the second and third tallest trees. General Sherman, a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is said to be the largest tree on Earth by volume.
So are these facts collected just for entry in the Guiness Book of Records ? Well no, they are also of great interest to the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive. This organisation has been collecting samples from dozens of America’s oldest and largest redwoods and sequoias.