RCC Awards Evening

Works Team

Landowners and Woodlands

The Hub Update

Biochar Project


RCC Awards Evening

The awards ceremony for the RCC (Rural Communities Council) was held at the beginning of October. We didn’t manage to win the Environmental and Sustainability award, but we were runners up to another excellent woodland project. Here is official photo from the awards ceremony. Emma is from the RCC and has been working on the Community Woodlands project with the NFC. She was also the person who nominated us.

We are also finalists in the Leicestershire Community Champions awards in the “Environmental Project of the Year Award”. Mark Eydman and Helen Bralesford will be representing us at the presentation evening on the 7th November. Fingers crossed!

RCC Awards RCC Certificate

Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Works Team

The recently created “Heartwood Works Team” is proving a great success. We are looking to carry out small woodland work on a paid basis with a team of Heartwood members who volunteer to support group income. Depending on the work there may be logs available, but not always. We have already carried out work for South Derbyshire District Council (SDDC) and a provide landowner tree stump removal. There is other work planned, but please be aware that we do not carry out tree surgeon type work, it must be woodland based to conform with our insurance. Anyone wishing to join the works team drop me a line.

Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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Landowners and Woodlands

We have created a woodland “pipeline plan” which manages all the woodlands we are currently working in, others we have started work on and a few we have on the RADAR but as yet are not active.

One reason for the plan is to ensure we have woodlands available to meet the demand of our woodland management sessions, but it is becoming more and more important to create a diverse plan to mitigate the potential threat of Ash Dieback. Currently we have processes and methods in place to manage the felling of Ash trees, but with the progression of the disease we need to ensure we have a plan. One aspect that is likely to become important to us is the type of woodland we work in. Currently when we work in mixed woodlands (conifer & broadleaf), we try to ensure a mix of logs for members, but that mix may vary over time and could become softwood dominated in some woodlands. It is important that members understand that we are a woodland management group first and foremost, so the logs we all take home reflect the woodlands we work in. Our woodland work is driven by the management plans of landowners to thin their estate, some of which may be conifer dominated.

Please talk to us about this plan as it’s important we all understand how we come to work in the woods we currently enjoy and how we manage the future whatever that may throw at us.

Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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The Hub Update

Christmas preparation has got off to a fantastic start. At the TOITW session on the 11th October 50 Reindeer were put together ready for an early order from the Forestry Centre at Rosliston (RFC). Of the 20 we have delivered; half have already been sold and it’s only October! All of the Besoms we made have been sold and at TOITW on the 26th October the Hub Elves created 60 snowmen, again ready for the RFC order. There has been a real creative buzz at the Hub and with a few more sessions leading up to Christmas we can expect lots more of the same. You do not need to be an expert, always something you can help with.

Hub Reindeer

In addition to our Christmas elves, we have:

  • nearly completed our new composting toilet, a few more hours work on it with the finishing elements hopefully in November.
  • continued to run the retorts – Calke are still asking us for charcoal, we usually put them to rest over winter.
  • built a new log store to season more wood for charcoal.
  • collected the wood from Heartwood woods for processing.
Hub Toilet

And of course, we all enjoy the social aspect of the Hub with some great sausage and bacon cobs round the fire.

Chris Adams, Kevin Banton, Dave Barker | Hub Team
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Biochar Project

Biochar Project As advertised in last month’s newsletter, Sophia Williams has now delivered a fascinating presentation to the Heartwood membership via Zoom on the outcome of her research into Biochar.

The mobile solution (Kiln mounted on a trailer,) has now also been modified based on what we learned on the last burn. The main operator is now a little further from the kiln! If you would like to get involved in the next burn to test the mobile set up drop an email to Kev.

Kevin Banton | Heartwood Chair
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