Time for working in the woods has been a bit limited in recent weeks because of the other project we have on the go at the moment – building a house here!
Although the main reason for buying the land was for the woodland, not to build a house, we were lucky that it already had planning permission for one. This gave us the opportunity to live at the wood, which we decided to take. We set about making plans for a house and finally started building in June this year. At the same time we moved to the wood to take up temporary residence in our caravan, having sold the flat we owned in Glasgow. Jamie has taken a year’s ‘sabbatical’ from work and is in charge of the build.
We have used professionals to do the foundations and the timber frame (which is now largely complete), but we plan to do much of the remaining work ourselves. It’s looking like the winter is going to be busy! Our first major task, the roofing, is now completed. It was one that I was slightly apprehensive about beforehand, given the weight of the fibre cement roofing sheets we’re using, but in the end I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. The roof also gave a great view for watching the rich tapestry of autumn colours developing in the surrounding woodlands.
Being able to live in our woodland is a privilege that many other woodland owners do not have, or have had to fight very hard for. There are some well known cases, such as that of Ben Law, where people have had protracted planning battles for the right to live in the woodland they own and manage. In this country we do not currently have any significant culture of people both living and working in woodlands, so it is not seen as a normal or necessary thing to do. On the other hand, it is accepted that farmers need to live on the land that they farm.
For people who wish to make a living (or part of a living) from working in their own small woodland, being able to live on site helps to make it feasible. Although very rewarding, small scale woodland management is not particularly lucrative work and requires a lot of effort to make it financially viable. Living on site helps to maximise time available to do work in the woods (as opposed to commuting from elsewhere), while being able to self-build a house provides an option for affordable accommodation. Also, for me, owning and managing a woodland is about more than just working in the wood. It is about knowing the land and being in tune with its seasons. I don’t want to do a day’s work in the wood and then go away – I want to be one of its residents.
Living on my own piece of land full time for the last five months has really helped me get to know it better. Because it is literally on my doorstep, it is easy to go out and wander through different parts of the woodland, see what is changing, what is growing and what birds and animals are around. I have been able to start building up an intimate knowledge of the woodland. This knowledge is essential for managing a woodland in a way that respects its ecosystem and works with nature in order to produce timber, as I hope to do.
In his book ‘The Woodland Way’ Ben Law describes something similar when he talks of a way of life where ‘humans are integrated as fully as possible into the ecosystem in which they dwell’. He describes the importance of dwelling in his woodland for many reasons, including the need to tend his charcoal kilns, to protect coppice regrowth from deer and to observe sensitive flora and fauna so that he can ensure his management activities do not disturb them.
In order to manage Comar Wood in a way that is sensitive to its nature, but also produces timber, my planned approach is pretty labour-intensive (compared with most modern forestry) and involves frequent but small interventions. These will include thinning, felling and, when we have young trees, formative pruning and coppicing. Once timber is extracted, work will be needed to turn it into higher value products, such as firewood or sawn timber. Adding value to timber is a way of making the financial margins of small-scale woodland management slightly better. Whilst living on site is not essential for undertaking this work, it certainly makes things easier and the whole experience more pleasurable.
I remember chatting about this to the 27-year-long owners and residents of a woodland near Beauly, David Shepherd and Annie Griffiths. They are growing quality hardwood timber, including oak, which requires careful tending to optimise growth. Being local and able to do the work themselves as and when required is important in making this possible. They have also had to spend a lot of time undertaking deer control, another thing that is easier if you are resident in the wood. Annie and David are aiming to set up their woodland such that it could provide full-time income for a future resident through timber production and processing (milling and firewood). They have written an interesting two-part piece about their progress here and here.
Our new house is slowly taking shape but there is lots still to do. Meanwhile, autumn is in full swing, the days are shortening, nights are cold and the birch trees are golden. It feels like time to get back working in the woods. This winter is going to be a juggling act between getting the house built and making progress with the woodland. But soon enough the house will be done, a house purpose built for woodland living and a base for our woodland project. I’m looking forward to many years of being one of the residents of Comar Wood.