Coppice Club
We’re very sorry but Coppice Club is now fully subscribed for this season. Please do continue to register interest if you would like to be put on the waiting list and/or be contacted for the next round.
Do you need an excuse to spend more time in the woods? Learn how to use an axe and harvest your own firewood? Get some exercise while doing something good for nature? Connect with the cultural history of the High Weald? Meet like-minded woodfolk?
Coppice Club might be just the thing for you! Read on to find out more and sign up…
Wadhurst Park is making an area of hornbeam coppice woodland available to members of the local community who are interested in harvesting firewood using traditional methods.
The club will open in late October (28th and 29th) with a weekend training course on safe and effective felling of trees with axes and hand saws, delivered by woodsman Adrian Leaman. The club will then get together a couple of Saturday mornings each month over the felling season to harvest a coppice ‘coupe’. At the end of the season in March, the harvested wood will be extracted to a yard, processed into logs with power tools, and distributed amongst members according to how many sessions they have attended.
What this club is about:
- Woodcraft and learning
- Spending time in the woods, with nature and each other
- Experimental history
- Habitat enhancement
- Working safely and responsibly
- Enjoying the fruits of your own labour
What this club is not about:
- Chainsaws and noise
- Reckless risk-taking and misplaced bravado
- The domination of nature
- Mass production of firewood
We welcome all genders and ages over 18, including older members with woodcraft experience or knowledge they wish to share.
Memberships are limited to training session capacity in this first season. Wadhurst Park will sponsor most of the cost of training and tools, but we may ask for a small contribution from members. Only those who have received the training will be able to take part in felling for the rest of the season, so please do not occupy a space if you cannot commit to regular participation (at least once a month). The parcel to be coppiced is located at the Sharnden Old Manor Farm end of the estate, between Tidebrook and Coggins Mill.
Click this link to register your interest in becoming a member.