Managing the restoration of the 1892 Hazel Coppice

“On a clear sunny Friday in April one of Pen-y-Graig’s “band of brothers” grouped up for a very special day on the east side of the wood helping to manage the restoration of the 1892 Hazel Coppice. Led by Maurice Clother and Alex Arthur our participants went to work practising their new chainsaw drills cutting Hazel logs for the Charcoal Kiln and learning about the heritage and techniques of this ancient skill from Alex. We also planted and pruned the recently acquired Willow stems kindly supplied by Jay Abrahams of Biologic Design around the newly constructed composting Loo shed. These will be harvested regularly for basket weaving whilst also giving extra privacy to those using the loo. Alex and Maurice shared their various skills and knowledge throughout the day as the kiln burn progressed. In the afternoon after a lunch around the campfire one remaining derelict Hazel stool was cut from the coppice ready for planting 1600 new stems in November which gave our participants plenty of further chainsaw practice ready for their LANTRA test in 2 weeks’ time”