WoodLots Directory

FORESTRY AND CHAINSAW TRAINING All Chainsaw units covered, ground and aerial. Regular Core Units in CS30/31/38/39. Specialised Advanced Ground units CS32 medium, CS33 Large tree felling CS34 Individual and CS35 Multiple windblown & Winching operations. Brushcutter, Clearing saw, chipper, MEWP etc. NPTC Assessor, Fastco & Lantra Instructor Sussex & Kent

Various craft courses available throughout the year Basketry, Bowl & Spoon Carving, Hurdle Making, Trugs, Rustic Furniture, Sculpture, Charcoal Burning, Turnery, Coracles, Hedgelaying, Coppicing, etc...
Free 2012 Course Brochure now available via post or email. Ashford, Kent.

Pole-lathe turning Saturday 21st July £55

Learn the traditional skills involved in turning green wood.
With a choice of different woods and different projects to have a go at, from rounders bats to baby's rattles, you will be shown how to select, cleave and rough out green logs, and how to use a selection of turning chisels to create items to take home. Abbey Home Farm, Cirencester

Green Wood Working Saturday 23rd-Sunday 24th June £100

Make a wooden stool or traditional bodger's shavehorse to take away. Over this weekend you will learn how to select, cleave and rough-out green logs. you will get to use a wide range of specialist green wood working tools and use a pole-lathe to turn round tenons.
if you would like to make a shave horse please add £15 for materials, and let me know in advance. Abbey Home Farm, Cirencester

Woodland Education EarthCraftuk CIC offer a range of outdoor woodland education opportunities. Levels 2 & 3 OCN Forest School Practitioner Training; Forest School CPD; Kent County Council Camp Fire Management Award; together with a range of accredited/experiential programmes for groups of 8-10 people. Developing levels of Emotional Intelligence through traditional woodland skills and the natural environment.

Also offer Freelance: Qualified Bushcraft Instructor, Forest School Practitioners, Archery Instructor, Woodland Management & Handcrafted Bespoke Bushcraft Knives. The Blean, Canterbury, Kent

Spoon Carving Saturday 26th May £40.
Spoon carving is an enjoyable way to learn the fundamental principle of green wood working. You will have the opportunity to use a range of specialist tools, including axes, froes, crook knives, saws and scrapers. Every one will leave with a spoon that they designed and made themselves. Abbey Home Farm, Cirencester

Woodworking & carpentry short courses and evening classes We run courses for all abilities in woodworking and carpentry. So tuition on making furniture to fix and second fix carpentry.
See our website for more details. Worcestershire

Courses with Brighton Permaculture Trust Pruning Old Fruit Trees 14-15 and 17-18 January 2012
Practical Permaculture Gardening 31 March-1 April 2012
Mushroom Cultivation 5-6 May 2012
Forest gardening 30 June-1 July 2012 Brighton area

New Courses for 2011 at the Green Wood Centre, Shropshire August 27-28 Woodland Tree Bogs £200
Learn how to design and make a woodland toilet suitable for most woodland locations and uses.

September 8 Shingles and spars £80
Learn techniques for shingle and spa making using oak and hazel. The course will teach you how to evaluate and get the most from the source timber.

September 9 - 10 Gate Hurdles £150
Make and take home a traditional gate hurdle using cleft Ash or chestnut.

September 9 - 10 Volunteer training £150
Be the best leader you can and deliver rewarding volunteer experiences while meeting the needs of the task.

September 16 Woodland and timber measuring and estimating £75
Techniques for measuring, estimating and evaluating the size volunme and value of standing staked timber.

September 19 / 23 and October 20 / 21 £800 Forest Schools OCN Level 3 Leader Qualification
This is a 7 day course to enable participants to run a Forest school programme based on their own site to a recognised high standard.

October 1 and 14 Tool sharpening OCN Level 2 £150
This course covers sharpening edged tools such as axes, bill hooks, chisels and knives to a very high professional standard.

October 1- 2 Introduction to Small Woodland Management OCN Level 3 £150

The course is designed for woodland owners and managers who want to create a woodland management plan. The course investigates the different woodland attributes which effect woodland management decisions and covers the following main areas:

October 14 - 16 Sustainable Woodland Management OCN Level 3 £300

Intensive 3 day course designed to provide woodland owners and managers an understanding of managing woodlands sustainably.

Our courses take place at the Green Wood Centre in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Basic Accommodation is available in our camping huts for £5 per night.

For more information and booking please se the website. Coalbrookdale, Near Telford, Shorpshire

Log Building Course Centre Line Dovetail. Log cabin course one of chance first and only time to be taught this logbuilding method in the uk. To be held at Dan's Woodenways Yard and Taught by Guest Lecturer from the Intrnational Log Builder Association, "Higgs Murphy". Course will run from 19-27 August.
Including nearby logcabin or oakframe accommodtion and lunch. Cost £500.
See http://www.woodenways.com/site/html/courses.html for images. Devon

Japanese Saw Sharpening Weekend Workshop: 16th - 17th July Cutting and sharpening your own Japanese pattern saw, and saw straightening. 
This workshop will be led by the venerated saw doctor Mr Nagatsu from Japan, and participants can either bring along their own Japanese saw and learn how to sharpen it, or better still, bring a European pattern saw and re-cut it to the Japanese style.  Both rip cuts and cross cut saws will be worked on.  Informal entertainment on the Saturday evening will take the form of a slide show of some truly beautiful Japanese Temples and Minka houses.

François Calame has caught Mr Nagatsu on camera, and the film can be seen here: http://www.en.charpentiers.culture.fr/thepeople/carpentersthenandnow/whencarpentersmeet/japanesemasternagatsu
 
The workshop will run from mid-morning Saturday, to mid-afternoon Sunday.  Free camping will be available on site, or participants can make arrangements to stay in one of the local B&Bs.  Lunch and breakfast will be provided, (the evening meal will involve a trip to a local pub). 
 
Cost £40.
The number of places is limited to 15, so early booking essential!
Please contact Kevin de Silva (details below) or Cormac Seekings at cormaclazylog@yahoo.co.uk
  Bramshaw, New Forest

FRAME 2011: The annual gathering of the Carpenters' Fellowship 2nd - 4th September at St Fagans, National Museum of Wales, near Cardiff
 
Promoting communication, training and sharing of knowledge amongst those interested in historic and contemporary timber framed structures.
The Frame 2011 team are pleased to announce this year's Keynote Speaker:  Tedd Benson.  Since 1974, Tedd has been the founding owner of Bensonwood Homes in New Hampshire.  During that time, the company has built over 700 timber framed structures.  Tedd has championed high-performance sustainable homebuilding, always with an emphasis on innovation, quality and social responsibility.  Tedd was also instrumental in forming the Timber Framers Guild of North America, and will be sharing his impressions of over 35 years in the business.
 
The Frame 2011 team, led by Lui Rocca of Welsh Oak Frame, are assembling a great selection of activities including the return of the marvellous Perrier, a timber-framed crane, hewing, joint testing, and of course the Axe throwing competition!  Informal entertainment will include a slide show of people's work, and a charity auction. The event has an educational influence and attracts leading industry presenters and practitioners, and provides a great opportunity for networking & socialising with other like minded individuals.  More information will be available soon on our website: www.carpentersfellowship.co.uk.
We were last at the wonderful St Fagans in 2003, and you can find out more about the museum here: www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/
 
Free camping will be available on site, and Lui and the team have worked really hard to keep the overall ticket price affordable for all.  It is in fact great value as it includes food for the weekend, and especially the Saturday evening Feast:
CF member:  £50
Non member:  £60
Partner:  £30
Family ticket (partner and 2 children under 12):  £80
 
Tickets are available from Tim Walton details below. Cardiff

Greenwood courses 4 Day Green Wood Workshop:
13-16 May 2011 £160 per person
30 Sep-3 Oct 2011 £200 per person
(some materials may cost extra)
Suitable for the beginner and the improver, spend four days getting to grips with green wood techniques: sawing, axing, shaving and pole lathe turning. Make a stool, a pole lathe and/or a shaving horse, or produce a range of smaller items such as gates, garden seats, besoms, carved spoons and bowls.
(*there is an extra charge of £60 for pole lathe materials)

Bee Keeping: 14 May 2011 £40 per person
An introductory day to find out what's involved in keeping bees. All you need to get you started, covering tools, equipment, hives etc (due to time constraints, no handling of bees will be undertaken).

Baskets and Willow: £110 per person
4-5 June 2011 - course full
2-3 Sep 2011 - places available
Transform sweet smelling willow into a beautiful and useful basket; no experience needed. Using tried and tested techniques and a variety of willow basketry weaves, you'll go home with a round-base basket and the techniques to be able to make more.

Trug Making: 11-12 June 2011 £110 per person
A durable, lightweight, strong garden carrier. The design of the trug has been around for many years and now you can make your own. Cleave and shave chestnut handles and rims and willow slats. Steam bend them to shape and nail them home.

Introduction to Blacksmithing: 10 Sep 2011 £60 per person
Use ancient and modern techniques to forge a poker, a knife, a toasting fork or even tools such as chisels and hoes. A thorough introduction to the blacksmiths' craft.

Hand Tools Maintenance: 11 Sep 2011 £60 per person
Get to grips with sharpening!! The day will be spent restoring old and damaged tools (feel free to bring one or two of your own!), especially edgetools. We'll also cover re-handling and handle making.

Rustic Chairs and Garden Seats: 15-19 Oct 2011 £240 per person (some materials may cost extra)
Use natural curves and strong construction techniques to form a beautiful, unique seat. All joined, not nailed and screwed, these are long-lasting, crafted chairs with a solid or willow/sea grass woven seat.

Chair Making: 15-23 Oct 2011 £380pp (some materials may cost extra)
The chair-from-a-log course! The ultimate green wood course. Make a splendid solid seat or woven seat chair. Use the axe, shaving horse and pole lathe to turn components for a frame or Windsor chair of your own design. Steam bending, jointing, seat hollowing are all covered. Indulge yourself!

Witches Brooms and Wizards Wands: 29 Oct 2011 10am - 2pm adults £40pp/children £25pp
Prepare for Halloween, and make a besom broom and a wizard's wand. When you've finished flying on your broom, it'll be ready to sweep the fallen leaves.

Charcoal Making: 12 Nov 2011 £55 per person
Find out how to make use of branches and small trees; make your own charcoal to take away. Oil drum kilns provide a small-scale basis for the day, while the larger-scale production is discussed.

Willow Christmas Decorations: 10am - 2pm 11 Dec; 18 Dec adults £40, children £25
Make your own decorations, including reindeers and stars for the tree and willow wreaths. Hot soup lunch (vegetarian) included. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Bore Place, nr Sevenoaks, Kent

Courses at the Sustainability Centre The Sustainability Centre has a wide ranging course programme that runs through out the year and includes OCN accredited courses.

All our courses are taught on or near our beautiful 55 acres site, which has a lodge and campsite, and is situated in the South Downs National Park.

Subjects include: shingle making, hay rake making, sustainable woodland management, campcraft, herbal 1st aid, coppicing, hedgelaying and more. East Meon, Hampshire

Chair making courses 2010/11 1 day rustic chair making courses on the 27th, 29th of October and 3rd of November 2010.

Chair making courses will resume in December, dates are the 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 15th and in the New Year; January 12th and 14th. (Don't forget we can send out gift vouchers!)

All these courses will be held in our wooden cabin/workshop heated by wood-stove of course. We can accommodate up to 4 participants per course- its worth knowing that if you organise a party of four we can arrange a special date to suit you and offer £40.00 off the total price. We have attached photos of some of our previous participants and their chairs to show you what's possible.

In the New year we will, once again, be holding our popular 'live willow' chair courses (1 day) for the ultimate 'green' throne, please see website for details and dates.

Rustic Chair Course:
http://coppicedesigns.co.uk/courses_rustic.html

Living Willow Chair Course:
http://coppicedesigns.co.uk/courses_chairs.html

Bookings:
http://coppicedesigns.co.uk/courses_booking.html Saffron Walden, Essex

Thatching course - Round house in woodland Opportunity to learn thatching in hands-on way, in beautiful woodland.

Join our thatching team to make the roof for the woodland education centre. Thatching is a growing industry again and a very enjoyable craft to learn. We will be lead by a master thatcher and all aspects will be covered.
The past few months has seen the roundhouse develop into what is now a sturdy frame, made entirely from materials found in the local area. A 1 acre area has been coppiced to produce the hazel for the wattled walls, and oak and ash has been used in the main frame. Clay and manure is ready for use on the walls.
Many local people have helped with work including BTCV volunteers, children and local people.
During the coming weeks school children, the refugee and youth services will be part of our summer programme.
Places are limited and booking is essential. Nr Pluckley/ Ashford, Kent

2011 OCN Courses at the Green Wood Centre, Shropshire The 2011 Green Wood Centre course calendar is now available.

OCN accredited courses in: Coppicing, Hedgelaying, Coppice Products, Small Woodland Management, Woodland Monitoring and Evaluation, and more.

All courses are taught by tutors who have many years experience and are practitioners in the areas they teach. The courses are designed to provide the basic knowledge needed to allow course participants to continue to practice and improve their skills and are suitable for any one wishing to improve their knowledge to a recognised standard.

See our website: http://www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk/ProfessionalShortCourses.htm or Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenwood-Life/129923490360740 for more details. Shropshire

Charcoal Course Learn about the dark art of charcoal making on this two day course. Lead by experienced National Trust Rangers in the wonderful setting of Fyne Court, we'll take you from log to finished product through the whole process from stacking and lighting the kiln to marketing the final product. There will also be the option of spending the evening discovering the wildlife and grounds of Fyne Court guided by the Rangers. Cost £50 per person booking essential. Food provided, accommodation will be camping on site (please bring your own tent/sleeping bag etc.). Course starts 09:30 4th September and finishes 14:00 5th September 2010. Fyne Court, Taunton, Somerset

WALKING STICK MAKING WORKSHOPS Make your own walking stick. A one day workshop. materials etc supplied. Brighton (outskirts)

GENERATE REVENUE FROM YOUR WOODLAND WITH REALLY WILD BUSHCRAFT If your woodland is perhaps overstood or generating little revenue, REALLY WILD BUSHCRAFT would like to use it in a sustainable and well managed way to run bushcraft courses for young people and adults alike. In return, we'll help manage your rides and coppices and/or provide you with an income from your land. Our instructors are properly trained by the Woodcraft School so you'll be in safe hands. Ideally, mixed woodland with nearby parking and a water source. PLEASE DO CALL! Thank you. Within 45 minutes of Brighton preferred

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MAKING WORKSHOPS Workshops teaching didgeridoo making, Native american flute making, and drum making using natural materials. Stanmer Park, Brighton

Lantra Forestry, chainsaw, firearms & shotgun training We can offer Lantra approved chainsaw, pesticides, brushcutter, firearms and shotgun training courses. Also NPTC chainsaw assessment. We can also offer bespoke courses in many other woodland skills including fencing, deer management, knotweed control etc All areas covered

Wild Food Courses & Ferreting Courses. Wild Foods: Day courses including guided foraging, wild food cooking, sampling and discussion. £50. Ferreting: Day courses including theory, tuition, lunch and and afternoon's ferreting. £60. Contact Michael White on 01580 890459 or wildfood@hotmail.co.uk Near Cranbrook, Kent

TRUFFLE HOUND TRAINING, TRUFFLE LAND SURVEYS, TRUFFLE CULTIVATION, WILD MUSHROOM FORAYS, WILD WOODLAND FORAY & FEAST, WILD MUSHROOMS & TRUFFLES

CHAINSAW TRAINING & assessment units 30.1, 30.3 & 31. Woodcraft School. West Sussex.

COPPICE SKILLS & GREEN WOODWORK est 14 years. Coppicing & felling; pole-lathe turning; hedgelaying; basketry; hurdle & chair making; living willow structures. Nr Sevenoaks

FURNITURE MAKING & Design / Furniture Restoration & Conservation courses. City & Guilds VRQ Level 2 & 3, HND. Trad Upholstery NCFE.

BASKETRY TUITION beginners & improver courses. Will travel for Groups. nr Arundel

GREEN WOODWORKING courses by arrangement on a one-to-one basis. Essex/Herts borders.

RURAL CRAFT TRAINING 2012 BROCHURE 2012 free Course Brochure now available via post or email. Courses in coppicing, hurdle making, basketry, trugs, furniture, bowl carving, hedgelaying, charcoal burning, sculpture, coracles, turning, etc.... Ashford, Kent.

CHARCOAL MAKING 1 Day Course. Have fun learning the old craft using a modern 40 Gallon Drum. Friendly & informal hands on training. We also show you how to make your own artists charcoal. Nr Tenterden, Kent

WOODLAND COURSES. Learn about woodland management, tree identificaton and uses, woodland flowers, basic woodland archaeology, or spoon making in our wood. Leaflet available now. Hampshire/Sussex border

COURSES: Coppice management, bentwood chair making,
willow work, pole lathe turning, charcoal burning,
hedgelaying, coracle making, timber identification,
strength grading of oak, timber framing, and more. W.Sussex

CONTEMPORARY CHAIR MAKING COURSES Discover, learn & explore the art & craft of designing & making your very own chair! Short courses (7 days) offered twice yearly from the Chaircreative workshop nr Faversham, Kent.

RURAL CRAFT COURSES, LANTRA instructor for hedgelaying, coppicing, continous woven hurdles, garden products. Sussex/Surrey.

NPTC PESTICIDES & MACHINERY TRAINING & ASSESSMENT PA1, PA2, PA6, brushcutter, grinder, chainsaw, chipper.

WOODLAND SKILLS TRAINING chainsaw domestic & NPTC CS30/31/32. Brushcutter domestic & NPTC cert. Pevensey.

CHAINSAW TRAINING/ASSESSMENT basic chainsaw to climbing, tree surgery, rescue. LANTRA instructor. Tonbridge

CD: HOW TO MAKE A HAZEL HURDLE Diagrams, photos & videos showing every stage.

YURT FRAME MAKING Courses at Stanmer Park, Brighton.

SPOON CARVING, pole-lathing and general green wood working projects. Individuals and small groups. Battle, East Sussex

BEECHWOOD TRAINING chainsaw, brushcutter, climbing, rescue, pruning, tree inspection, report writing. FASTCo Reg, Lancing

MAKE A WINDSOR CHAIR 5 day courses using traditional green woodworking techniques. No previous experience required. W Sussex.

HURDLEMAKING courses available all year. Bletchingley.

TRAINING AT THE NETHERFIELD CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD & FARMING domestic chainsaw, charcoal making, trug making, besom broom making. Netherfield, Nr Battle. East Sussex

CHICHESTER COLLEGE 1 day Wood machine safety courses & Trend router, 2 day timber technology, Full-time furniture making.

INFORMAL WOODLAND DAY: 1 Day Course to learn about coppicing and green woodworking. Hands on training in a fun enjoyable day. Campfire cooking. Nr Tenterden, Kent