We have been hosting a Wood Allotment in Spud Wood since 2014. This is supported by both The Woodland Trust and Mersey Forest.
A “wood allotment” is mutually beneficial idea that matches people that need wood to a wood that needs some management. It gives the owner a carefully marked number of trees to fell for their own use, such as firewood, in a local woodland that is in need of thinning.
We set-up a Community Interest Company – Friends of Spud Wood CIC – to enable us to work with The Woodland Trust and now, under licence, have a wood allotment with places for up to 25 members in Spud Wood.
The scheme runs from October-March every year and we allocate the in late summer. Please email us if you are interested, fosw@lowcarbonlymm.org.uk
The wood allotment is managed under a licence which comes with certain conditions. We have agreed with The Woodland Trust that anyone that wants to take on a wood allotment must:
- Sign our Code of Conduct, see FoSW Code of Conduct 2020
- Complete a tree felling training session
- Undertake a certificated First Aid course, such as the Lymm & District Heart Start course, see HeartStart
- Pay a small fee, currently £30 per year
In addition we have a few further rules that need to be followed:
- All felling and woodland management is undertaken using hand tools only – no chainsaws or power tools are allowed.
- No lone working when felling.
- Only marked trees can be felled. The site manager marks the trees are to be felled and decides what is best for Spud Wood; so it’s not all about cutting down the best firewood.
See map above which shows, in yellow, the wood allotment area for 2019/20.
