For once the weather gods played ball and despite the previous few days being wet we were blessed with a predominantly dry day for CD2 at Blunts Wood on the Saturday after Christmas.
25 cutters enjoyed a slightly different day's coppicing - mainly traditional coppicing on 3 distinct areas the Society last coppiced in 2019, but also a good amount of cherry picking across the wood. The aim was to secure a decent amount of binders , with any stakes gathered being a bonus.
Despite some travel difficulties for some, all cutters got stuck in and fully took on board the message of quality matters and the all encompassing way of working, marshalled by the team leaders and the chainsaw operatives.
By lunchtime the identified areas were all coppiced , material sorted and bundled and loaded on the log trolley for transportation to the waiting trailer.
A hot lunch of vegetable and beef soup was enjoyed by all, with the remaining time spent cherry picking through the wood for binders , which was remarkably productive.
In total the following product was harvested:-
Stakes - 200
Binders -1300
From what we can tell 1300 binders, in one day is a record for the Society and all those present should be very proud of their efforts.
Hopefully the day was a learning experience for all with selection , cutting, processing and bundling of product being well ingrained .Those that tried tying up bundles did a great job with no loose twine !
That concludes the coppicing season for the Society for this season with the following numbers being obtained :-
Event Stakes Binders
CD1 440 550
CD2 200 1300
Totals 640 1850
The next 3 events are
- Improver's Day- 6.1.24- Buxted Park Hotel - Contact Frank Wright [email protected]
- President v Chairman Competition 20.1.24- Waldron - Contact Frank Wright [email protected]
- Annual Competition 17.2.24- Patching near Findon- contact Matthew Beard [email protected]