The_Woodsman

13/05/2023

13/05/2023

Worth a read.

‘I don’t know if hedgelaying is a dying art. But there’s a lot of old hedgelayers that are dying,’ says David Whitaker to chuckles from some of his fellow craftsmen. The occasion is the annual hedgelaying championship, organised by the National Hedgelaying Society, of which Whitaker is secre...

06/05/2023

UK Charcoal Press Release/ May 2023
Ahead of that BBQ for the Coronation….spare a thought for the UK-producers of environmentally sustainable charcoal
• Typically UK consumers are totally unaware where their BBQ charcoal comes from
• The Earthworm Foundation estimates that charcoal is among Europe's top five products that contribute towards global deforestation, along with beef, palm oil and soy.
• The UK government does not regulate imported charcoal
• Much charcoal is the result of illegal deforestation in tropical rainforests, compounded by high a sea miles for the imports
• The UK’s National Coppice Federation offers a simple-to-search database of local producers whose products can be found and bought
• Anyone can search for a producer here: https://ncfed.org.uk/public/products/charcoal/
Generally UK producers packager their sustainable charcoal in brown bags with black or green print.
If there is no mention on the bag of where the charcoal is produced it is more than likely from unsustainable forestry.
Any communications etc to Jim Bettle: [email protected]
(Ps: the image shows an amazing array of empty bags all from distinctively packed, environmentally responsible UK charcoal producers, not to be confused with most other brands)

05/05/2023

Great to be out, doing a job for Vale Landscape Heritage Trust yesterday, chipping previously felled brash in an orchard near Evesham.

23/04/2023

Delighted to get the first charcoal burn of the season underway in this beautiful little woodland. Now only if would stop raining.