The event was held on Saturday 14th March 2009, when
both a portable wood saw and team of horses were in Old Park Wood to
demonstrate low impact extraction and the commercial potential for sawn oak
timber. Following advice from Kent Wildlife Trust it was decided to focus
the event in Rustle Wood, where there are dense areas of mature oaks,
requiring thinning to enhance the woodland flora and its value for wildlife.
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| The arborist was commissioned with grant funding to spend 3
days in total in Rustle Wood, using two on selective felling of a small
number of oaks and the third day to extract the timber using a horse team to
a waiting Woodmizer and operator.
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| Invitations to the Sunday were circulated widely in advance
and over the course of the day some 50 people attended. Lunch was provided
for visitors, and there were many opportunities to talk about the day’s
activities around the Rustle Wood campfire, lubricated by the Lovestone
cider. |
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The day was extremely valuable in providing an opportunity
for networking and building a stronger partnership between the owners and
with organisations such as Kent High Weald Project and Kent Wildlife Trust.
In that sense it clearly met its objectives. It was also very useful in
providing a practical demonstration of how value can be added to timber
through processing, following the sequence through from felling to sawing
into planks and posts, to stacking for drying and pricing. There’s wealth in
them there trees !
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| The sun shone and there was a hint of spring in the air….a
great day out in the wood. |
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| Many thanks to the Rustlers for hosting the day, to Kent
County Council for funding it and to everyone who turned up to make it a
success. But as always, a pity that we failed to draw in any of the owners
that do not figure in the Association….they don’t know what they are
missing. |
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