Alvecote Wood: Nurturing Growth with Grown in Britain Certification
If you’re a small woodland owner, you may wonder what commercial opportunities there are. You might not have a management plan, or know where to start bringing your woodland into management.
It can be helpful to hear from others – their approach, challenges and benefits. Grown in Britain spoke to Stephen Briggs, owner of Alvecote Wood, near Tamworth, about his experience…
A Small Woodland Owner’s Journey to Sustainable Commercial Success
My wife and I bought Alvecote Wood in 2007, a designated Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, intending to develop it as a wildlife conservation site and small-scale timber source for the local community and environment. Shortly after, we were lucky to be able to purchase an ex-arable field adjacent to the boundary of the Woods making the total site area 20 acres.
Little did we know how steep a learning curve we had embarked upon!
We became passionate about the need for proactive management of woodlands, and especially Ancient Woodlands. Contrary to common belief, leaving nature to itself is invariably not what is good for the environment. We’ve found rapid establishment of trees and creation or improvement of habitat is far better achieved and easier through appropriate planting and ongoing management.
Useful resources:
- The Smallwoods Association – Offers training sessions on a variety of Woodland Management topics.
- SWOG, the Small Woodland Owners’ Group – A great source of like-minded help for woodland owners, with a lot of guidance.
- The Forestry Commission – Monitors and regulates woodlands and forestry. The Woodland Officers are a brilliant source of advice as well as sometimes grant support.
Woodland Management Benefits
Woodland management not only helps preserve the good of what you’ve got, but it helps improve carbon capture, timber quality and the quality of habitat for wildlife: it is truly a Win-Win-Win!
Neglected woodland deteriorates in each of these aspects – an unhealthy, unmanaged woodland will fail to produce the volume or quality of timber it could otherwise achieve. Not only does that reduce commercial value, in extreme cases it can mean the difference between valuable and high-quality wood, and something worthless and little better than a nuisance.
Recent research also shows there can be more than a factor of two in terms of carbon capture when a woodland is managed vs. unmanaged.
Grown in Britain Certification
Grown in Britain was established in 2013 and Alvecote Wood was proud to become the very first certificate holder. We’ve been happy to champion GiB and Woodland Management ever since.
Their Expert Providers are a fount of knowledge in bringing your woodland into management and the GiB certification gives prospective customers confidence, immediately, in the source of the timber involved in the products you sell. The GiB logo is only awarded to woodlands which satisfy multiple eligibility criteria, such as having an approved Woodland Management Plan and conforming to the standards associated with it.
Balancing Wildlife and Timber
There can be a split in opinions between managing for wildlife and managing for timber, but to us, these are the same. Managing timber gives proper consideration to the quality of the wood and, therefore, tree health. A healthy tree is likely to live longer, contributing to healthy wildlife and habitat for longer too!
In addition to the ‘timber benefits’ of healthy trees, a well-managed woodland produces a sustainable source of wood as a by-product of the management (especially in the form of coppice products and firewood). It can also sustain a wider variety of habitats. Habitat variety leads to biodiversity, without you having to be an expert on every type of creature.
Expert input is incredibly valuable, but over time you’ll also learn what your woodland likes: what it responds well to and what it doesn’t. You can update your Management Plan with your knowledge to achieve the best result for your woodland.
Positive Impact
While we continue to be a small-scale craft product producer with our firewood and coppiced products, we plan to increase this significantly, e.g. making rustic-style furniture, all proudly bearing our GiB logo. It’s important customers know where these products come from, and they can trust we look after our woodland sustainably.
Engaging with the public and local community has been a positive and uplifting process. When we explain to visitors on Open Days, or organised group visits, about what we do, and why, it opens their eyes to the importance of it all and increases engagement immediately.
By bringing Alvecote into management, we’ve inspired other woodland owners to follow suit. I often ask visitors if they want to be part of the problem or part of the solution. Bringing woodland into management is certainly #PartOfTheSolution in my book. Go for it!
Learn about certification today by emailing enquiries@growninbritain.org
