Getting more people into the woods and interested in woodland management, coppicing and heritage crafts is hugely important to us here at The Coppice Co-op. Collaborating with other organisations and forming long term relationships is key to ensuring the sustainable management of woodlands and landscapes long into the future. Our on-going project with Cumbria Woodlands, The Lake District National Park and Working Class Heroes is a great example of the work we can achieve when we collaborate.
In case you don’t know, Working Class Heroes is an independent clothing store based in Ulverston who take their environmental commitments seriously. So seriously that instead of simply donating 1% of their profits to Patagonia’s 1% for the planet scheme, they also teamed up with Cumbria Woodlands to find ways of having a positive impact on the land locally.
Cumbria Woodlands brought us onboard to offer guidance and practical tuition when it came to restoring an area of neglected coppice in a woodland owned by the Lake District National Park a couple of years ago and we have been involved ever since. Our collaboration has seen us working on coppice restoration days, charcoal burning, thinning, putting up deer fencing and generally helping Working Class Heroes on their journey to becoming good stewards for the woods and the environment. One of our favourite days included an amazing venison stew cooked over fire on a cold and snowy day.
We’ve had a lot of fun on our days in the woods with Working Class Heroes and it’s been super rewarding to see the woods come back into management over the course of the project as we seek to improve the diversity and resilience of the woodland.