Growing a woodland community from the roots up

Lost Woods community development worker Cathy Cross shares her experience of setting up a new woodland community group, Roots West Sussex CIC, with her husband Stephen.

Based near Ashington, the volunteer group are working together to coppice trees (periodically cutting back trees to encourage growth and boost biodiversity) and improve the condition of the wood. Cathy reflects on the benefits the group's work will bring to the habitat as they learn traditional woodland management skills, and the social benefits of getting involved as new friendships are formed.

Somewhere in the heart of West Sussex sits a small but beautiful long-established woodland, full of hazel coppice, oak, ash and birch. Right now it’s bare of canopy cover, and carpeted with the remains of last year’s leaves, now rotting down into the hummus below and reflecting shades of rust, copper and brown.

A crackling fire burns merrily away, heating a big campfire kettle ready for the next round of tea. Meanwhile a group of people, from various areas and walks of life but united in a love for woodlands, are industriously returning the hazel to a coppice rotation, one stool at a time. The group share an appreciation of spending time outdoors and the many benefits of 'A Good Day in the Woods'.

Cold hands grip bow-saws, the air rings with the sound of a billhook cutting into timber to lay a hazel whip into the ground, where it will root and form another tree. An amused green woodpecker laughs in the distance. We humans do so love to make messes, one of the many gifts we bring to woodland environments.

Come spring, as the bluebells emerge, the heaps of timber produced will be turned into stakes, pea and bean sticks, stools, spoons, walking sticks, sculptures, curiosities and artefacts. The slender whips harvested will be woven into wreath bases, future Christmas decorations or on display on their own, showcasing the beauty and versatility of hazel. The bigger stems, from overstood coppice, are destined to heat homes as firewood or cook lazy summer suppers as charcoal. We plan to burn onsite, with the community, in a celebration of the transformational magic of charcoal.

Social forestry

This is our vision of a sustainable woodland community, a model sometimes known as social forestry. Coppicing and management for biodiversity, and using as much of the product generated as we possibly can to create a circular economy that will sustain our group and keep us in tea, bacon sandwiches and early evening dinners as the lights start to fade and our tool-work is done. Whittling and woodworking, using hand tools and honing traditional skills (some of which are in danger of becoming as red listed as the nightingales and dormice we hope to find evidence of in these woods).

The journey from idea to inception has been a long and winding road, but every step has been driven by our values, which tie in perfectly with the values of the Lost Woods project, which has supported us to turn our vision into a reality.

Sustainable woodlands managed by local sustainable communities, for love and for sustenance, to regenerate a once-widespread woodland ecosystem, sometimes known as ‘the wood wide web’. Woodlands, sometimes long-forgotten and neglected now humming with biodiversity, and a local community able to access the myriad of health and wellbeing benefits of time in these precious habitats.

West Sussex is the second most-wooded county in England, one of our favourite facts here at Roots. Surely such a woodland-rich area should have an equally rich network of people deeply connected to these landscapes, spending time in them, serving them, being served by them. Eating locally grown and sourced food cooked over a fire, sharing ideas and stories with a cup of hot tea, growing connections like mycelium that will sustain us all as we navigate the increasing uncertainty of our everyday lives.

When we're back at our desks or our day jobs, with seemingly endless demands for our time and attention, the group can remember for a moment that when Saturday comes around again, we’ll be out in the woods, working with our hands, chatting to people who love the things we love, feeling that deep grounding, that rootedness, that comes from a sustained connection to place.

Join us

We coppice in Ashington, West Sussex fortnightly during the winter (End of October – end of March) and create product during the summer. Come and join us – no experience is necessary, full training, food and drink is all provided. Email Cathy and Stephen at rootswestsussex@gmail.com.

Can the Lost Woods support your idea or woodland group?

Get in touch. We'd love to hear from you and offer you support.

Do you have woodland that you would allow a community group to manage or use?

If you own a woodland in the Lost Woods project area and you would be interested in opening it up to a community group to manage or help look after, then please get in touch lostwoodsteam@ruralsussex.org.uk.

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