Woodland Pioneers Week 2018
A really great week again in September, 2018.

Click a workshop to scroll down the page to it:
1 day workshop: Coppicing with Sam Ansell and James Benson
Students were taken off-site to a working coppice, that's why we don't have any photos! But everyone worked hard at cutting hazel stools to allow for regrowth and another harvest in about 7 years. The rods were processed into hedging stakes, pea sticks, hurdles rods and fascines using a billhook.

 
1 day workshop: Treen with Twiggy
Twiggy guided everyone through the making of spatulas, clothes pegs, gypsy flowers and more. Lots of shave horse action for clamping the wood and safe use of a carving knife, axe and drawknife.

 
1 day workshop: Stools with Jack Holden and Helen Clarke
Split oak solid seats with split and drawknifed legs. Very nice! Mortices were drilled into the slab sesats and the stools assembled.

 
1 day workshop: Riven Oak Panels with Owen Jones
Boiled lengths of split oak can be riven (split) into thinner and thinner pieces until they become very pliable when kept damp. Rectangular frames were then made in groups and the riven oak woven onto the frame to make a panel. This method of riving oak is also used by Owen during the process of making oak swill baskets.

 
2 day workshop: Bowls with Adrian Lloyd
Adrian and his amazing bowl lathes and turning tools, not to mention his brilliant teaching style. Some great bowls turned.

 
2 day workshop: Rush weaving with Jen Molyneux and Bill Oaks
The group was split into two - one group worked with Jen to make a shoulder bag whilst the other worked with Bill to make a hat. Then on the next day the groups switched over. A wonderful material to work with.

 
Friday workshops:
On Friday students could take part in a range of 2-hour workshops, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. The choices were birch bark sheaths, willow weaving, carving, oak pegs, besom brooms.

 
Out and About
Here are a few more photos of around and about the woods and hall.