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. The allotments are currently full, but please get in touch via the Contact page to put your name down on the waiting list.
The wood allotment is managed under a licence which come 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 2018
- 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 he 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 2018/19.
