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Forestry
As part of our ethos of using sustainable resources to build and generate energy, it is no surprise to discover that we are passionate about forestry. On our fantastic 160-acre site, we are lucky enough to have the room and the conditions to plant our own sustainable forest - and we’ve done exactly that.
We have planted a total of 70,000 trees, 30,000 of which can be coppiced (visit the forestry page to find out more about coppicing). Our young forest extends over approx. 70 acres of our site, and consists of ash, alder, hazel and willow trees (for coppicing) and oak, western red cedar, scots pine, larch, sitka and birch, as well as many others for bird habitats such as rowan, guelder rose, wild cherries, spindle and crab apples. We are also trying out experimental patches of more unusual trees in our ‘fossil forest’, such as the Dawn Seqouia, Swamp Cypress and Cedar of Lebanon.
Natural growing methods
Central to our ethos is the belief that we should learn from nature and help it do its thing, rather than trying to control it. We extend this simple yet effective view to forestry, looking to mimic nature’s own methodologies wherever we can.
Forestry Commission
Planted in close association with the Forestry Commission over the past two years, who have been very open to our approach, our forests are not typical examples of ‘man-made’ forestry. Rather than planting a single type of tree and growing ‘artificial’ forests, we believe that nature knows best, so we plant our forests in a more natural manner - allowing different types of tree to grow alongside each other, as happens in nature. By allowing trees to grow together, we are finding they grow quicker -each contributing something to the immediate eco-system. It’s won us acclaim from the Forestry Commission, and the trees seem to love it too - they are growing extremely well, and should provide an ongoing source of materials for building timber-frame houses, as well as a renewable source of fuel for generations to come.
Preserving ecosystems
Of course, an undertaking as large a planting a new forest can have a knock-on effect on other parts of the site. To offset the damage that could have been caused by the silt that was displaced during the planting of the forest, we created a lake at the foot of the mountain, below the newly forested area. By directing streams and waterflow down the mountain into the new lake, we have been able to trap the silt in the lake and ensure that the water that carries on flowing down the hill is not causing damage to the land or to the main river in the valley below that is home to salmon.
The lake is also a picturesque, relaxing area that the children can use for canoeing and rafting on and that we can swim in (if the weather ever becomes hot enough!), and we are hoping to introduce fish to it in the near future.