Coppicing is a pruning technique where a tree or shrub is cut to ground level, resulting in the regeneration of new stems from the base. It is commonly used for rejuvenating and renovating old shrubs.
We worked with 1% For The Planet, Patagonia, The Coppice Coop and Cumbria Woodlands to improve the health and biodiversity of the woodland area by opening it up to the sunlight and allowing a wider range of plants to flourish.
If you’ve been following us on this journey, you’ll see we’ve done a wide range of activities to help improve a woodland close to WCH HQ. We had some snowfall, but it wasn’t enough to stop our team from heading out and getting stuck in!
Rigged out in some Patagonia gear, the guys and gals got to work and helped with the coppicing. The coppiced wood doesn’t go to waste. The thick stuff was used for firewood or charcoal, the medium-sized stuff was used for fence posts and the thinner bits were used for pea sticks, used in the garden. This ensures that nothing goes to waste and produces a cash flow for the local woodland.
Personally, I wouldn’t have trusted us lot with tools, but we were given the green light by real-life adults.
Once we’d put a shift in, the guys were kind enough to feed us with some Venison, which was locally sourced from Cartmel. Deer have a negative impact on the forest and can reduce the diversity of plants and other wildlife species found in the woodland.
One of our first jobs on this mission was to put a fence up to keep them out. Sorry Deer!
If you didn’t know, we donate 1% of all Patagonia revenue towards environmental solutions, close to home.
