The Worcestershire Woodland Project (WWP) offers participants an opportunity to experience working in an outdoor woodland setting, learning new skills, building social skills and raising levels of confidence. The project aims to equip participants with vocational skills to use in the workplace whilst also involving people in conservation work and improving levels of physical and mental health and wellbeing through the use of social forestry. Activities range from coppicing, weaving fences, pole lathe wood turning, cooking on camp fires to walking through the woodland learning the history and dynamics of the woodland environment. Our base camp is in Churchill Wood, Spetchley. Materials are sourced from the wood itself.







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Sunday 11 December 2011

Worcester Volunteer Centre

Well despite a very cold Friday this week we still managed to have a great day, especially as we were joined once again by a group from The Worcester Volunteer Centre. The group kindly shared with us their feeling about attending the project and I'm pleased to say they were all positive! Here are a selection of some people's comments:

David - I enjoy coming because it means I'm outdoors and not stuck in a factory like in the past. I did a YTS years ago and all my skills from then I am using again.

Matt - I enjoy being outdoors in the environment. I enjoy the work and learning new things.

Gail & Penny, some of the trusty volunteer centre staff said - we have watched our volunteers grow in confidence........and commented that the WWP group are welcoming, with a friendly atmosphere and work as a team.

This week Amanda felt a little unwell so she came and sat around the campfire for some quiet time and a warm up. This was great to see her able to do this on just her second visit to the WWP. The first visit Amanda was scared to join the group circle sat round the fire and found it hard to pluck up the courage to join in anything. However by the end of that first day she had a grin from ear to ear - I said "you look like you enjoyed that Amanda" to which she replied, still grinning "It was brilliant - there's no stopping me now!"
That's we like to hear!

Thursday 1 December 2011

The Shave Horse

This is Mike shaping a spatula on a "shave horse", using a hand tool called a draw knife. The shave horse is like a medieval "Black & Decker work mate. It allows you to secure wood in a stable place while you work and shape it. All of our regular group members can now use the shave horse with confidence.  


Worcester Volunteer Centre group


Once a month a group of people that access the Worcester Volunteer Centre join us at our woodland camp at Spetchley, Worcester. They get to learn about the ancient woodland and to have a go at different jobs that we do at Spetchley to manage the woodland, like coppicing. After a hard mornings work they get to have a well deserved cuppa, made on the camp fire. This photo shows the WVC group enjoying pre-work campfire cuppa whilst group leader Mike Maguire talks about health and safety rules for being in the woodland.

Reindeers made by the group



This is Ian with one of the 'herd' of reindeers that the WWP gang have made!
The reindeer bodies and heads are made out of ash and shaped with draw knifes on the shave horse. The legs, neck and antlers are made from coppiced hazel. The nose is made from hazel wood and shaped with a rounding tool before being painted red!  The reindeer will be sold at our market stall in Bewdley on the 4th & 18th December 2011  http://www.bewdley.org.uk/whats-on/?event=9748&d=4&m=12&y=2011

Story Teller Chairs


This is one of the "story teller" chairs which the group have made from hazel wood. The wood was cut from a hazel coppice that the group manage.

Saturday 29 October 2011

Pole Lathe

Participant having a go on the pole lathe. A pole lathe is a traditional wood turning lathe. This ancient device has been used for centuries and was a popular Viking tool!

Traditional fence

Gary constructing a rustic park pale fence. These are traditionally used in parks to keep deer out. The wood was sourced at the camp base in the Wyre Forest. It was split by hand using a method called cleaving, using a tool called a froe and constructed using traditional methods. It looks fantastic.

A froe. 

Traditional tool demo



Chris Atkins demonstrates the use of the Millers Falls Boring Machine. Which is far from 'boring'! This rare tool hails from Massachusetts, USA. It helps us to create angled bore holes.
Some of the group learning about the traditional hand tools and techniques.