Woodfuel Sessions
The weather got the better of us again in mid-November when storm “Claudia” delivered a wet and windy weekend, but apart from that day the sessions have been very well attended and gone smoothly.
The use of the tractor is proving invaluable at Foxley Wood where previously extraction was causing issues. We are continuing to improve as we learn how to best use it in partnership with the remaining ATV. I’m sure those of you who have attended a session at Foxley will have been impressed with the load carrying capability.
At other sites work is progressing against plans. A substantial log bridge has been constructed at Edwards wood to span a wide water course and provide access to the remaining woodland area for this season and further into the future. Jenni Ray has kindly created a short video describing the operation - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JtONV4ZG94E
The session with South Derbyshire District Council at Swadlincote Woodlands have gone well, although the attendance numbers from their volunteers have been relatively low. Work at Pick Triangle, the first NFC owned woodland we have worked, has gone very well. The area we are working lends itself to easy extraction and the fact the site has remained relatively dry has meant we have been able to park all the attendee vehicles on site.
Christmas marks the half-way stage of the season, so the operations team will be taking a look at progress, especially at Foxley and Edwards to ensure we are on target to complete the grant work for the NFC woodland management grant.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Works Team
It has been a quiet month for the works team as we have been awaiting the arrival of our chipper to enable us to carry out the work SDDC have asked us to take a look at. The chipper has now arrived, and training will start after Christmas, so that together with the trained tractor operators will enable us to carry out work previously we were not able to consider.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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The Heartwood Year
I’d like to get a few comments and views to add to the end of year message from our members. What’s stuck out in your year this year (Heartwood related). It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic, just something that you may have learnt, enjoyed or has stuck in your memory. I won’t associate any names but will include them in the Christmas and New Year message. Please email me with anything you’d like to contribute.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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The Hub Update
We mentioned last month how the huge effort from Hub attendees had progressed the Christmas goods we create and sell at this time of year. We are now approaching the end of that work and will soon be able to give everyone a full update on what we have achieved and how that converts to funds for the group.
As we write this article we are preparing for the Christmas Market weekend at Rosliston Forestry Centre. We will be making snowmen with market goers and have 100 kits prepared. We’ll let you know how it goes.
Sales at Rosliston have already been very strong, along with Curly Magpie in Swadlincote, who have already sold more than the whole Christmas season last year. We’d like to sincerely thank the volunteers who have again spent so much of their time at the Hub preparing parts and assembling Reindeer and Snowmen. It has been a real challenge this year, but the rewards for the group are outstanding – that includes the atmosphere and friendships created at the Hub.
Once the dust settles and we find ourselves in the New Year we will have a look back at what we have done and start planning other activities at the Hub. We have usually harvested the willow by now, but we have been so busy we have deferred to the new year and will let everyone know who may want to help.
Chris Adams, Kevin Banton, Dave Barker | Hub Team
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