Broadleaf trees


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Broadleaf trees in our woodland

There are around 50 species of broadleaf trees native to the British Isles.  We’re fortunate to have about 20 of them present in the ancient woodland we run our courses from.  Broadleaf trees are a fantastic, renewable resource and provide the materials for many of our activities.  These include hazel for pot hangers, birch for carving, some of the best tinder and kindling nature has to offer, as well as good wood for fire by friction, ash for turning on our pole lathes, hornbeam for beetles, sycamore for carving and fire by friction, whitebeam, hawthorn wild cherry and blackthorn for their fruits, sweet chestnut (OK, naturalised and not native!) for our building materials and bark weaving, elder for the flowers and berries, and on it goes!

We have a woodland management plan in place to ensure that what we do has a positive effect on the trees and associated flora and fauna.  We have a moral duty to ensure that we look after where we work.  We want future generations to enjoy the woodland as much as we do.

The woodland was damaged in the hurricane of 1987 and has made an astonishing recovery, but some areas still need a helping hand, which we do with a group of volunteers over the winter months.

You can view loads of photos taken on our bushcraft, wilderness, and woodland skills courses on our Facebook page.