This is a call to arms ( and legs etc) to anyone in the North of England or dare I hope; Southern Scotland, who might fancy putting in some time, doing a bit of digging and some live willow, fencing work.
As some of you already know; I am involved, along with Eric Methven and Ken Jackson, with the local conservation group; Friends of Chopwell Wood, we do all sorts of maintenance work within the woodland, along with education and recreation activities. My own field is, of course; bush/traditional craft related and I have been running events here, for 5 years now, for both the Friends and the Forestry Commission.
Due to various safety restrictions, we are normally confined to using a designated area for our fire lighting skills sets/events. This is not a major drawback, as it is located far enough away from buildings, that it offers great scope for use as an outdoor classroom/training area.
This is the area at the moment:
It looks quite large but could do with opening out a bit and of course the fence will make a massive difference
If you can imagine say 15 people, trying to find space, to practice fire lighting in 5 teams of 3......well it can get a bit cramped
I want to enlarge the footprint of the firelighting "arena" somewhat, as well as planting a living willow windbreak fence to both shield the area from prevailing wind and screen it from the mountain bike track across the clearing.
So you get to do some digging as well as willow weaving
All materials and tools are provided, all you need is a packed lunch and your brew kit.
The Dates are: 14th and 15th February, sadly we won't be able to organise camping for this weekend due to prior commitments.
Anyone interested in giving a hand, just post to keep the thread alive and then pm and I'll put your names on the list.
As an added incentive; I'm working on a "Free, Volunteers Only, Thankyou Event" for later in the year
So to start there's:
Me
Ken Jackson
Peterlee Paddler (Tony)
Freespin
EdS
Bri30
Don't worry if you can't get this time, I'll be sorting out some other stuff for later in the year.
Thanks for looking
all the best
R.B.
As some of you already know; I am involved, along with Eric Methven and Ken Jackson, with the local conservation group; Friends of Chopwell Wood, we do all sorts of maintenance work within the woodland, along with education and recreation activities. My own field is, of course; bush/traditional craft related and I have been running events here, for 5 years now, for both the Friends and the Forestry Commission.
Due to various safety restrictions, we are normally confined to using a designated area for our fire lighting skills sets/events. This is not a major drawback, as it is located far enough away from buildings, that it offers great scope for use as an outdoor classroom/training area.
This is the area at the moment:
It looks quite large but could do with opening out a bit and of course the fence will make a massive difference
If you can imagine say 15 people, trying to find space, to practice fire lighting in 5 teams of 3......well it can get a bit cramped
I want to enlarge the footprint of the firelighting "arena" somewhat, as well as planting a living willow windbreak fence to both shield the area from prevailing wind and screen it from the mountain bike track across the clearing.
So you get to do some digging as well as willow weaving
All materials and tools are provided, all you need is a packed lunch and your brew kit.
The Dates are: 14th and 15th February, sadly we won't be able to organise camping for this weekend due to prior commitments.
Anyone interested in giving a hand, just post to keep the thread alive and then pm and I'll put your names on the list.
As an added incentive; I'm working on a "Free, Volunteers Only, Thankyou Event" for later in the year
So to start there's:
Me
Ken Jackson
Peterlee Paddler (Tony)
Freespin
EdS
Bri30
Don't worry if you can't get this time, I'll be sorting out some other stuff for later in the year.
Thanks for looking
all the best
R.B.