In this newsletter we cover a Reindeer Workshop at Whistlewood, go over the finer details of what a Loadmaster does, an update on the group Strategic Review, and much more.
David Gravett - Membership Coordinator
What's In this Woodfueler
Reindeer Workshop at Whistlewood
What’s the job? – No1. Loadmaster
Woodland Management Sessions – Halfway update
Woodland Trust Internal Audit - Update
February Woodland Management Dates
Reindeer Workshop at Whistlewood
We were invited to run a pre-Christmas reindeer making workshop at Whistlewood Common as part of their Christmas activities. This is the first time we have been able to work with the team and it was a great success. Due to wet weather the session was moved into the round house, which is a lovely setting for any type of activity. There were a number of families who not only made a reindeer to take home, but also a birch star. A very festive and fun time was had by all, with the proceeds going to group funds.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
What’s the job? – No1. Loadmaster
You will by now be familiar with the “Loadmaster” role which has evolved over the last couple of seasons at some of the woodlands we work in, the main one of course being Foxley at Linton. Managing the collection of timber from the loading area is the obvious main part of the role, but there are other important aspects that may not be so clear to everyone. Here are jobs carried out by the loadmaster at woodland management sessions: -
- Arrive early to ensure everyone is checked in as they arrive, usually around 8.30am
- Unlock the car park barriers in time for members arrival.
- Record arrivals on the sign-in sheet ready for the session.
- Ensure the safety signs are deployed in and around the loading area.
- Work out a practical order for members to collect their timber which has minimal impact on the operation of the chainsaw teams e.g. don’t call off the First Aiders until they can be covered.
- Call out members to collect their timber in co-ordination with timber arriving at the loading bay. A ‘just-in-time’ approach saves a great deal of time during the session.
- Keep the ATV drivers and the lead informed of how many more trailer loads are required to ensure minimal cross-cut timber is left in the wood at the end of the session.
- Manage the loading of any cars and trailers in the loading area.
- Ensure bays are in place at the end of the session for any chainsaw operators who have not collected during the session to avoid breaks in felling and production.
- Help members load their vehicles to keep loading times down.
- Help ATV drivers unload to keep ATV stop times to a minimum.
- Make sure everyone has their load of timber – members work hard for their timber so missing a person’s boot load is always at the back of the mind.
- Close the loading area down at the end of the session – remove signs and tidy.
- Ensure the car park barriers are locked. (by last person leaving)
All in all, the role is very busy, it is heavy work handing at some point the majority of the timber that is extracted on a session (this can be upwards of 25 boot loads).
In summary it’s an exciting and physical job that currently we have around 6 members trained to carry out. The great part of the role is that you get to meet most people on a session and have a little quality time for a chat when loading. If anyone is interested in getting involved, please let us know.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
Strategic Review
This may all sound a little corporate, but we are about to start the annual review of our 5-year strategy, this time in more detail than the usual update. This is something we have done for many years now and it has served to keep the group focussed on our mission and vision. Over the years the scope of what we do as a group has changed significantly, with areas such as “the hub”, education and increased community engagement. As a CIC (Community Interest Company) we are obliged to contribute to the community and as a purely volunteer group an overriding commitment to our members.
The process will take a few weeks as we’ll create a draft and hold a full committee review before issuing, then using it as a communication tool into our members and stakeholders. As members your views and input are invaluable, so please let us know if there are aspects of the group you feel we should be looking at, whether existing or new. We will circulate the strategic plan as soon as we have a document that is fit for purpose.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
Woodland Management Sessions – Halfway update
Very quickly we find ourselves halfway through the season, so it’s a good time to reflect on the season so far and what we have to come.
In all 30 sessions were planned for the period October to December, with 4 of those being cancelled due mainly to very wet conditions. The weather has been far more of a consideration throughout the first part of the season, far more than previous years, with regular periods of wet weather and very little time between for the ground to dry. Despite the weather, the new methods of tracking work areas and communications between the operations team and the leaders has generally ensured we have managed around conditions and sessions have gone ahead. Nether Hall Wood and Pick Triangle are particularly wet sites with the main issue being the parking of our vehicles.
Very few of the sessions have been fully booked and only on a couple of occasions have we had waiting lists.
A few stats that may be of interest – 486 attendances at sessions, 398 boot loads and 2627 volunteer hours.
There are a further 30 sessions planned which will include the completion of grant work (at Foxley and Edwards), which thanks again to the new planning, mapping, and communication both look to be on target. There will be nest/bat boxes to make and install and a steady flow of smaller logs extracted for charcoal making over the next few months.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
Woodland Trust Internal Audit - Update
In the last newsletter we gave a brief update of the areas raised by the Woodland Trust (WT) Auditor on a visit to Foxley Wood. Over the last month we have been working on the items and can now confirm the WT are happy with all our responses/actions. Here are the points and their agreed outcome: -
- Clearer “boundary” signage of the work area – Simon has done a huge amount of work on signage improvement. This includes semi-permanent post where our signs can be deployed quickly at agreed positions, with maps to support this. This does mean that help with sign deployment and collection is required on session days, so if this is something you would like to help with, that would be great, let us know.
- A process to manage safety helmet dates and when necessary, their replacement – David G has created a field in your User Profile on the membership area of the website. This field must be completed by all members and to help with this a guidance note will be circulated by email to everyone. It is very important that this field is completed by everyone. If you have any issues, please ask. Details will be on the guidance.
- Increased warnings at some of the ATV crossing points – Our ATV risk assessment has been updated and areas where the ATV emerges onto track and paths have been cleared of shrub/brambles to provide better visibility.
- Group welfare facilities – we provided a strong set of reasons why provision of such facilities is not appropriate or required by a group such as ours. This has been accepted by the WT.
- Recycling of tree guards (we realise these have already been removed, but there are lots left in the woods, so we can help remove them from site) – we will endeavour to take tree guards out of the woods and deposit them in a specific spot near to the loading area. From here the WT will arrange collection for recycling.
Thank you to everyone who has helped address these audit points. As usual with our group, we have taken a number of positives from the observations that we feel improve the safety of the public and our members when we are working in not only Foxley, but all woodlands.
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
The Hub Update
The hub days will begin again in January if you fancy ‘time out in the woods’ doing other things with a lunch by the fire, we will be planning the calendar for the year and letting you know of any specific events that will be taking place.
As a taster, this year we will again be providing equipment, resources and (hopefully!) expertise if you would like any help, in having a go at the increasing number of crafts we are offering to support. (New for 2024 thanks to a newly sourced supply of willow withies we hope to be having a go at weaving.)
Not everyone is “crafty” of course, so if you would rather spend some time in the woods either helping to improving the Hubs infrastructure, such as helping build the new access path or maintain the existing track, there is always something to do. Maybe you would like to exercise existing construction skills or learn new ones, building or repairing our growing collection of buildings and facilities? We are of course always looking for help with running the charcoal retorts or processing (chopping,) the charge logs we load into the retorts. Also, don't forget as previously reported, we have an exciting new project in the form of our new biochar kiln!
As well as the school and corporate events we are increasingly hosting, for 2024 we hope to hold a summer family crafts and BBQ Day if there is enough interest, so let us know if you would like to give your loved ones a taste of what we get up to at the Hub!
Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
email:
Chainsaw Skills
We will be running a chainsaw skills session for members on Sunday 14th January at the Hub. This will cover chainsaw use at home and advice about tool maintenance, PPE, and safety. This session is aimed at members who don't have a chainsaw certificate.
Please note: only members with a valid chainsaw certificate are permitted to use a chainsaw on Heartwood sessions, but anyone can attend this skill session.
If you would like more details before booking onto this session please get in touch.
David Gravett | Membership Co-ordinator
email:
February Woodland Management Dates
February Woodland Management sessions go live to all members to book at 6pm Monday 1st January. As always, if a session is full and you would like to attend, please add yourself to the waiting list. While this doesn't guarantee you'll get a space it does give us an indication of demand.
March wood fuel sessions will go live to multi skilled members on Monday 15st January at 6pm and to all members on Thursday 1st February at 6pm.
As always, if you are booked onto a session or are on the waiting list and can no longer attend please book off as this could allow another member the opportunity to attend a session.
David Gravett | Membership Co-ordinator
email:
Website Updates
There have been a couple of updates to the website.
User Profile. Two new items have been added to the User Profile screen, Safety Helmet expiry date and an additional Contact Phone number.
- Safety helmets have a lifespan, this is normally 3 to 5 years depending on the Manufacture. further guidance will be circulated by email.
- We have had to cancel or relocate a number of sessions this season due to forecast heavy rain / high wind or poor ground conditions. Contact Phone numbers are only used as a last resort or when a response to an email hasn't been received. A mobile number is preferred if you have one.
Forum. We have added a forum to the website, found under the Members menu. You can use this to post questions, photos, ideas, tips, etc. We expect that the forum will grow over time.
David Gravett | Membership Co-ordinator
email: