Archive of 2009 Courses at Coed Gwern

See our Short Courses website for new 2010 courses at Coed Gwern

Coed Gwern has provided new opportunities for CAT to expand courses in land and woodland management. Woodlands are a unique habitat that resonate with the human spirit and encourage a connection with nature. Wood allows us to create beautiful, artistic and useful products with very little outside energy in the form of fossil fuels or manufactured goods. Working with wood and in woodlands allows us to better understand the natural world and our place within it.

Woodland Structure course (Mon 02 Mar - Fri 06 Mar, 2009)

This year we built our first structure in the woodland, a woodworkers hut, which was be run as a course that allows the participants to follow the entire process from processing the timber, using horse loggers and constructing the building from timber found on site. Perfect for those who have a woodland and need a structure to work in.

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Tools and Devices for Coppice Craft (Mon 23 Mar - Thu 26 Mar, 2009)

Following on from this course we constructed all the kit that a woodcraft worker needs inside the structure. There will be a course on pole lathe, cleaving brake and shave horse making, and how best to position such devices for ease of work. Later in the year we will be teaching the art of Greenwood working (Mon 07 Sep - Fri 11 Sep, 2009) with the devices made on the course.

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Coppice Products (Mon 06 Apr - Fri 10 Apr, 2009)

April is the time to look back on the woodland and the pile of timber you have thinned and start to think about practical or creative things to do with wood. This course at the Centre for Alternative Technology taught the process of selecting timber from our woodland and turning it into something beautiful. Our local woodsman Bob Shaw will guide you through woodland management as well as the type of timber that is best suited to your needs. Traditional terminology and tools, and ancient practices of charcoal making will be explored. Participants learnt how to make spoons, turn wood on a pole lathe, make chairs, stools or candlesticks!

The beauty of this course is that it can be tailored to specific interests of the participant. Not only do you receive a qualification at the end to prove your skill, but you will also take away a wealth or wisdom and memories. This course is held in Coed Gwern woodland at the Centre for Alternative Technology. An escape to a rural paradise, the first to use our new woodland structure in the heart of the welsh countryside. It is accredited by the Green Wood Centre, Ironbridge.

Charcoal Making (1 day, Sat 26 Sep, 2009)

Charcoal making is an ancient practice steeped in interesting history. The original charcoal makers lived a grinding life in the woods, living in tiny shelters and breathing in the dense smoke. These days there is less demand for charcoal due to fossil fuels, but here at CAT we demonstrate traditional and modern uses of charcoal and new and more efficient ways to produce it. Creating a value for coppice products is an essential way of conserving our woodlands, and charcoal can be an important element of this. On our charcoal making course you will learn how to build a charcoal retort, an improvement on traditions kilns that allows a much faster and more efficient burn. We will also discuss the uses for charcoal, ranging from drawing sticks to soil improver. Biochar will also be discussed, and the use of charcoal as a carbon sequesterer. The potential market for this product is very exciting.

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Compost toilet making (Fri 03 Jul - Sun 05 Jul 2009) and Traditional Bridge Building (Sat 4 Jul, 2009)

Coed Gwern is a woodland with very little manmade infrastructure, which is how we would like it to remain in the most part. However, we will be needing a compost toilet and bridges in certain places. We took this opportunity to run courses in compost toilet building from both a theoretical and practical perspective, and traditional bridge building across some of the large drainage ditches.

See also other courses at CAT in woodland and wildlife

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While some will be interested in traditional craft based practices, it is important to consider the biodiversity of the woodland when using timber from the site. It is with this knowledge that management plans are written. Coed Gwern will therefore host a range of courses in woodland management and wildlife identification.

Sustainable Woodland Management (Mon 04 May - Fri 08 May, 2009)

Sustainable Woodland Management is an Open College Network accredited course run in collaboration with the Greenwood Centre in Ironbridge. The course explored a variety of woodland types, and included elements from habitat surveying through to timber processing. Coed Gwern sits at the foot of a larger forestry site that is developing exciting strategies in sustainable woodland management , and we will have the benefit of walking in this estate and discussing these techniques. One interesting example is the use of guinea fowl to eradicate spruce beetle. This course is a comprehensive guide for anyone keen to learn how to approach woodland management, with a practical and theoretical approach.

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Coed Gwern Wildlife Courses

At the Centre for Alternative Technology we are blessed with a rich diversity of wildlife on site. There are lesser horseshoe bats in our boiler room, dormice in our woodland and peregrine falcons in our quarry to name but a few. However the new Coed Gwern site is a completely different habitat type and will enable us to expand our courses in wildlife identification.

Identifying Mosses and Lichens (Fri 20 Mar - Sun 22 Mar, 2009)

The incredible richness of lower plants in this area of Wales provides a great resource for our Identifying Mosses and Lichens course. Run in collaboration with and accredited by Aberystwyth University, this course explored the secret world of these spectacular building blocks to the plant world. A real treat.

We also provide a wide range of walks, talks and events on wildlife and natural history throughout the year. See the events programme:Wildlife and Nature, Craft and Identification Events