As part of the as yet unwritten years resolutions, to get out more and see what others are doing, I went to see Andy Barsham at his work in Haley Wood. I’d been trying and failing for 3 years.
It is a good 1.5 hours drive to get to the woodland, close to Saffron Waldon. A 50 plus hectar of ancient woodland, worked for centuries, most notably by Oliver Rackham (who I sadly never met). It’s a SSSI site managed by the Wildlife Trust and Natural England, who in effect are Andy’s paymasters, his modest salary supplemented with products he garners from the woods. And that’s the key of the day for me. Andy walking around the small area of coppice we worked that day, observing each pole and stick for it’s potential use. Blackthorn was his particular interest, to make into walking sticks.
‘I’ll leave this one for a few years – it will make a fine straight stick then.’
On this cold but surprising sun spotted day, I saw evidence of the great industry that had taken place this winter. A good half acre of hazel had been coppiced, with all parts segregated into their use: bean poles, pea sticks, hazel poles for weaving into hurdles or hedge binders, brash for besom brooms, and bundles of faggots, (branches and twigs bound together, typically used along river banks to slow water flow and encourage the deposit of silt helping to prevent river bank erosion.)
I learned a new skill, hazel laying. I’d first seen it demonstrated in theory by a forester called Sid who came to my woodland right at the beginning, recommending it to me as a way of increasing my paultry hazel stools.
Now at the end of the coppice season, Andy and his team of volunteers had coppiced this coupe of hazel leaving one rod per stool. It was that rod that I learned to layer, to lay in the ground to root and augment the growth helping the hazel become more productive.
The day working with Andy and his friendly and hard working volunteer (name unfortunately forgotten) was nourishing and inspiring, reminding me of the beauty and industry of coppicing. It reminded me of the importance of getting out there, which I will now endeavor to do more of.
Kaliwood 