Woodlands.co.uk

Blog - Energy, sustainability & economics

one planet life

The One Planet Life – another ‘must-read’ book for this week

by Chris Colley, 13 November, 2014, 1 comments

This week’s other “must-read” book is “The One Planet Life : a blueprint for Low Impact Development “ by David Thorpe, which explains the idea of One Planet living, and the One Planet Development planning policy in Wales. David Thorpe is a writer and consultant on sustainability issues. He is a Special Consultant on Sustainable Cities Collective, the primary website for urban leaders globally; a founder and core group member of the One Planet Council; and the author of several books on sustainability, including: Energy Management in Buildings, Energy Management in Industry, Solar Technology and Sustainable Home Refurbishment, all in The Earthscan Expert Guide series. Prior to this he was the News Editor and Opinion Writer of the UK’s Energy and Environmental Management magazine for 13 years. Before that he was director of publications at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Read more...
The new 'must-read' tree book : "The Ash Tree" by Oliver Rackham

The new ‘must-read’ tree book : “The Ash Tree” by Oliver Rackham

by Angus, 5 November, 2014, 1 comments

When I last saw Oliver Rackham I was infected by his curiosity.  Someone suggested, as we walked though a woodland, that one spot might have been historically used for making charcoal so Dr Rackham dived into the undergrowth armed only with a set of keys and dug into the soil and he soon emerged triumphant with some old charred remains, proving definitively that this location had in fact been used for charcoal making.  This sort of curiosity and dogged ferreting for facts runs through his new book on the ash tree.  He considers what threats the ash tree faces, but he also uses the book as a platform for a wider diagnosis of the state of British woodlands.   Read more...
A Wooden Summerhouse - Part 2: The Reciprocal Roof

A Wooden Summerhouse – Part 2: The Reciprocal Roof

by Anita, 22 September, 2014, 3 comments

With the henge completed, the next stage of the summerhouse build was to construct the roof. The type of structure we have chosen is a ‘reciprocal roof’. This is a simple and elegant roof form which is entirely self-supporting. It is also very strong, making it an ideal base for carrying a green roof since these can be quite heavy. To form a reciprocal roof, rafters are arranged in a spiral so that each rafter rests on the previous one. The last timber fits underneath the first so that the whole structure interlocks. This leaves a circular opening at the centre, which provides an opportunity for creating a skylight. Read more...
One Planet Council

One Planet Council

by Chris Colley, 19 September, 2014, 0 comments

One Planet Development is a still-young planning policy that provides for granting of planning permission for low impact rural development in Wales. Its aim is to permit development on rural land where it might not otherwise fit with planning guidelines, provided a set of criteria are met about sustainability, impact, the income generated, the level of food requirements met locally, and the level of self-sufficiency of the households involved. So far few applications have been successfully carried through to approval, (Nant-y-Cwm was the first) but there are a number in the process. Read more...
Burning heather ?

Burning heather ?

by Lewis, 11 September, 2014, 3 comments

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) is one of the dominant plant species of heath and moor – particularly in upland areas.   In such areas, land managers may burn back areas of heather (in a selective fashion) to create better feeding for sheep or grouse.  Left to grow, heather can form a ‘blanket’ that makes for poor grazing in a nutritional sense (more woody material – lignin, that is essentially indigestible) and can give rise to intense fires in dry, hot summers. The selective burning / rotational burning  of heather moors has been questioned in recent times as the underlying peat, and also water quality, may degrade. Present burning practices are estimated to release energy - some 821 PJ/yr *.  However, if the U.K.’s heather was to be harvested as a biofuel or bioenergy crop**  then it could yield as much energy as 1.7 million tonnes of coal per year.   Read more...
What has cheese-making got to do with woodland management?

What has cheese-making got to do with woodland management?

by Angus, 5 September, 2014, 2 comments

Visiting a Swiss cheese-making enterprise in the canton of Fribourg near to Gruyere made me think about the ways that the art of making cheese is a bit like aspects of forestry and managing woodland.  Alexandre Guez-Volery has been making cheese for 24 years and takes great pride in the quality of what he produces.   Read more...
How we turned our woodland into an education centre and ​place to stay​

How we turned our woodland into an education centre and ​place to stay​

by Leigh, 23 August, 2014, 3 comments

When we bought our woodland in mid Wales 15 years ago it was in a very neglected state . The wood was a mix of western red cedar, hemlock, ash and oak. The previous owner removed all the valuable oak but left all the tops on the ground so it was really an overgrown jungle. What we did to improve our woodland The first thing we did was to clear site of all the oak tops and timber off the ground, which wasn’t easy as there was bramble growth covering everything. Read more...
A wooden summerhouse - design and construction.

A wooden summerhouse – design and construction.

by Anita, 4 July, 2014, 10 comments

This summer, my family and I are building a wooden summerhouse from scratch in our garden. I have designed the building myself and it will be an octagonal structure with a ‘green’ roof, external deck and space for seating and a small woodburner inside. The process began last winter, when we salvaged the timber required for the structure from the many windblown trees resulting from the winter storms. We did this a few months in advance of actually starting construction to give the wood a chance to season a little Read more...

« Previous Page — Next Page »

Wild Flower Guide

Badger
Read our guide to wild flowers of woodland and hedgerow

Topics

Tags