Tractor Deployment Update including training
Woodfuel Sessions
The new season has got off to a good start after having to cancel the first session at Foxley due to Storm Amy. The storm did highlight a few areas to improve, so the session planning team have now agreed simpler criteria for session cancellation. An assessment is made based on the weather forecast as to whether the session will go ahead. An email will be sent to all on the attendee list, so please make a habit of checking your emails the day before sessions, even when weather isn’t an issue, there could be other reasons and all attendees need to know if they have a role where you are required to be on site earlier than the remaining attendees. Chasing members for a response to confirm they have seen the cancellation is too much of an overhead for the session planners, so the email is the only notification you will get. The website is the one truth source of information.
We have also had members arriving late for the start of sessions or asking to leave early. Obviously, there are circumstances that can make us late, but this causes the session lead a number of issues, including re-planning teams and changing session plans. Please bear in mind there is a great deal of time and effort spent by the leads to plan sessions, roles and teams. If you are late for the brief you will need to have your own brief before starting in the wood. We have a commitment to all our members, the landowners and to comply with our risk assessments so everyone must attend a brief. If there were to be an accident and an investigation showed that someone didn’t have the brief, we would be left vulnerable. If you cannot make the start of a session or need to leave early, please speak to one of the team to discuss, it may be simpler to book-off the session to free up the space and book onto a different date.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Donisthorpe Apple Day
Heartwood was invited to attend Donisthorpe Apple day, held in the community Orchard on the 12th October. A team of members spent the event making small Besoms with the children ahead of Halloween, bringing in funds for the group in the process. The weather was friendly and so were the many visitors, creating a wonderful autumn atmosphere and engaging with the various stalls and demonstrations.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Tractor Deployment Update including training
For those who attended the Foxley Wood session on the 7th October you will know that the tractor made its debut. We were able to use the session to test the improved load capabilities and round-trip times. The tractor/trailer combination proved to be a great success carrying at least twice the load of the ATV/Trailer. Unfortunately, the tractor suffered starting issues after lunch, which thankfully didn’t impact the sessions a great deal. It has since been diagnosed and fixed with a fuel line blockage being the culprit.
We now have 7 members trained in the use and driving of the tractor and the temporary arrangement with the supplier to borrow their trailer should be short term as we are looking to purchase our own. This means we are almost at the point where the tractor is a standard part of sessions at Foxley. There may be occasions where it is deployed at other sites, but the gradient and distance at Foxley make its use important.
I’d like to thank Simon Starkey again for the research and background work he has carried out to make this happen. There was great deal of analysis of the requirements to reduce the reliance on the ATVs, the performance we needed plus the costs to the group. Owning this type of machine also allows us to use the power take-off (PTO) to drive other accessories. A successful grant application to the National Lottery has meant we are in the process of buying a chipper – more info on this once it arrives in a few weeks’ time.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Tree Planting Training Offer
Although we don’t do a great deal of tree planting, increasing our skills and knowledge around woodland management has always been one of our objectives.
We have been invited to attend a Tree Planting Training Day hosted by Barcham Trees, taking place at Rosliston Forestry Centre. This session is aimed at building consistent knowledge across teams with varying experience levels.
Date: Tuesday, 19th November
Time: 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Rosliston Forestry Centre, Burton Rd, Rosliston, Swadlincote DE12 8JX
About Barcham Trees
We have been allocated up to 4 spaces on the training.
If you are interested and would like to attend please let me know as soon as possible so I can reserve the places. I can also let you have a look at the itinerary for the day.
Kev
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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The Hub Update
The membership really has stepped-up to help assemble our now traditional Christmas goods. This year we have had lots of pre-orders for Reindeer and Snowmen, far more than we have made in previous years. The Hub committee have put a great deal more planning into the production of our goods, starting earlier than other years and calling on our members to help. At time of writing we are around halfway to satisfying the orders we have, with November always being the busiest time for making and sales.
ou may have already seen our goods on sale at Rosliston Forestry Centre, they are by far our largest customer taking increasing numbers every year. We are also taking part in their Christmas Market weekend on the 29/30 November.
In the meantime, we still have lots to make, so if you can spare a few hours to help please keep an eye on the booking system or ask to join the “Time out in the Woods” Whatsapp group where we share the dates and times of the sessions up at the Hub.
Only last weekend we welcomed eight ladies from the Ashby Spa Women’s Institute who came along to make items for themselves and to give a hand with our orders when they had completed theirs. With around 20 people at the Hub on the session there really was a busy Christmassy atmosphere about the place.
Chris Adams, Kevin Banton, Dave Barker | Hub Team
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