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@copseworker

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Privileged to earn a living from #Woodmanship -Working Hazel Coppice & Hedgelaying. More graft than craft. #veganpowered

New Forest-South Downs
Joined May 2012
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@copseworker
Copsework
8 years
The house where I was born.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
A quick explanation of the Hedgelaying, the ancient traditional practice of maintaining a boundary from living trees.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
I had loads of binders left over. They are too thin to split so I just made this rustic bin to dump garden waste/compost.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
While I’m bundling up sticks in the wood my mate Simon is just up the road churning out stunning work like this.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Making some progress today in the sunshine.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
Sign on local river. Please RT 👍
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
I tried to avoid him but he seems to be under every woodpile I work on. I’m calling him Kenny. Kenny Leveret 😂
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
A quick explanation about the fundamentals of Hazel Coppice.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
A bit more progress today. Front and back of hedge shown for reference.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
The stakes are high.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
In all this doom and gloom I’ve made another video. Stay safe and remember that life still goes on in the wood.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
The day started with a deer and ended with this inquisitive hare so close I could have tickled him.
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@copseworker
Copsework
9 months
A view from the office this morning. For the avoidance of doubt, this is Coppicing. This wood has been harvested like this every 7 years for centuries.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
It’s vampire season again.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
This is Beyond the Pale.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Faggots have been used since the Roman Occupation to trap silt/reinforce banks and guide the flow in rivers/wetlands. Soft engineering like this is better than hard landscaping for flood management.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Mike the hurdlemaker is combined forces with Alan who is still going strong in his 70’s to make over 100 6’x6’ hurdles for one particular job. This is what Coppicing is all about.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
A thread on sustainable woodland management. Specifically my experience of working Hazel Coppice in Hampshire,England.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
1. A thread on heritage crafts and the problems of outsourcing. This lovely chap is making spars. Short lengths of coppiced hazel are split and pointed at both ends. Every time a roof is thatched it requires many hundreds of spars.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Great to read that the grants for hedgelaying have been substantially increased. @DefraNature
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@DefraGovUK
Defra UK
2 years
We are increasing money available to farmers for nature-friendly farming. By making our Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes more attractive, we want to help farmers enhance nature and deliver sustainable food production. ➡️
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
I’m glad my garden is wild and I’ve stopped mowing most of it.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Time to head home.
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@copseworker
Copsework
5 years
Just in case you’re wondering why I’m such a fan of the goshawk. Here’s a pic of a nest in the Forest of Dean. Natural pest control of Grey Squirrel.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
So pleased to finish laying the hedge @NewForestFruit today. It’s been great to have such a nice reception and plenty of decent coffee.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Fifth day without power.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Punctured wheelbarrow ? No problem when you have access to wood. Air dried heart of oak carefully selected knotty section hand crafted with a chainsaw 😅
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
I made a new haft for this lovely axe from a piece of elm out of this hedge I laid in W Sussex. The wedge is oak from a weathered old oak butt I found in the wood.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 months
A quick video to illustrate the wood in spring after it’s been coppiced and all wood and brash has been removed to allow maximum regeneration.
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@copseworker
Copsework
6 years
@ChrisGPackham Hedgerows need Hedgelayers. Only two breeding pairs in Hampshire. Here's one I laid earlier.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Short video on hazel coppice products.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
I made this short video this evening.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
I’m in the wood now and I’ve just seen my first swallow of the year.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
A thread on Hazel Coppice. This pic is of a wood in early spring after all the hazel has been coppiced (cut leaving low stumps) A few birch and oak trees have been left to grow on. 1/
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
I put him back where I found him using an old bucket so I didn’t leave scent. He’s now safe hiding under faggots so mummy hare can feed him at dusk & dawn as usual. So adorable.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
The village of Kings Somborne used to house 33 hurdlemakers and sparmakers. Trevor is still going strong and makes tidy hurdles but he’s the last of the line and doesn’t use social media.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
All this talk of grey squirrel reminds me of this Goshawk nest. Sorry I can’t credit the photographer but it was a project in the Forest of Dean. We need more Goshawks.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
I made this video today.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
A short video illustrating the coppicing cycle.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
My Sami warrior/boatbuilder friend on Facebook has restored this Nordlandsbat in Norway. Meanwhile a local Facebook friend has decorated a wall with pallets. What has happened to us ?
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Another load of spar gads and ligger rods to be made into thatching spars and liggers.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
Yesterday I saw this natural regeneration right next to trees planted in tubes @QECP Maybe the trees are a different species but it makes me wonder why we plant trees when natural regeneration is often better.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
It’s another lovely frosty start.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Thanks for all the positive responses to the video. Here’s another one I made last winter.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
The sky is perfect this morning. Maybe it’s #BlueMonday
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@copseworker
Copsework
11 months
Quick video demonstrating the use of the billhook, an ancient tool still used today for trimming hazel rods during coppicing.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
My main sparmaker took this load away on Wednesday (I cut about half of them) and he’s split and pointed them into thousands of thatching spars & liggers. Now he wants more.
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@copseworker
Copsework
5 years
A thread. This basket of split hazel was made by a friend. It takes about a day to make even when you’re experienced so it’s unlikely that folks would want to pay a day’s wages for one. 1/3
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
Lovely light this evening. I’m in the zone and I’ll be glad to start a different job tomorrow.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
100 stakes for #rivermending Only another 1400 to go.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Mike the Hurdlemaker’s latest job. It’s like a tapestry in split hazel.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
Busy day with the billhook. It looks messy but in this scene there is wood ready for 4’ & 6’ stakes/faggots for rivermending, hurdle rods/zales,round rods & wood for thatching spars/liggers.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Flailing a hedge isn’t always bad. It can create dense growth which is great nesting habitat for farmland birds like Yellowhammer. They are a red listed species and need hedges like this and you can hear one calling while I ramble on here.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Another stunning fence by my friend Mike. Apart from a few round rods at the base, every piece of coppiced hazel is split lengthwise before weaving into place. This frugal use of the wood also creates a tight durable weave.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Today I had a quick look at a hedge that I laid a while ago on a green lane in the Meon Valley in Hampshire.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
A lovely way to admire your local chalkstream and cool down in this heatwave.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Nice natural light for filming today. Binding the first hedge of the season at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery,West Sussex.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
The stakes are high
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
A few words on hedge planting.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
I was ready for the #emergencyalert
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
A short video thread about the practical aspects of Coppicing Hazel.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
A short thread of videos about Ancient Woodland managed as Hazel Coppice.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
There goes another load of Hazel Faggots for wetlands restoration.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
So sick of posts like this bashing farmers because they don’t understand hedges & their required management. I’ll say it again-flailing each winter is often perfectly good maintenance and often a legal requirement on roadside hedges.
@OurSacredGrove
Simon Leadbeater🍃💚🍃HerbiⓋore & sheep keeper
3 years
Another hedge flailed to within an inch of its life; no wonder our farmland birds starve…
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@copseworker
Copsework
6 months
Short video to illustrate the scale of coppicing & the way almost every twig is utilised to leave the wood clear for maximum regeneration and sunlight to promote flora/fauna reliant on the coppice cycle.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Another little video.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
The funniest thing on Twitter right now.
@ClareHymer
Clare Hymer
3 years
oh my lord this is UNREAL
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
It’s not all doom and gloom. Work in progress on a recently planted hedge.
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@copseworker
Copsework
7 months
This oak died from beefsteak fungus (fistulina hepatica). Now all the sapwood has rotted leaving the brown coloured heartwood. Splitting the wood follows the grain and makes it easier to move and saw into planks.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
The office today.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
The second load is ready.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
My local car boot sale restarted today and I found these for £8. Living the dream 😅
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
Another day in the stick factory.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Another hedge video I made yesterday.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Lovely day for Coppicing.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
In my youth salmon were relatively common. Sadly they’ve been in decline for decades so it was absolutely awesome to see this on the Itchen Navigation today.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
@IoloWilliams2 @PaulTubb1 This is why Hedgelaying needs to be featured on Springwatch.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
First proper frost of this winter.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
Mike the Hurdlemaker popping a 6’ Hurdle out of the mold.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
Hopefully this video illustrates the mosaic of different of habitat created and maintained by coppicing.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
It was hare raising in the wood today 😅
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Nice to see that Stuart from @Sparsholt_Coll has done a proper job teaching students hedgelaying on the lower drive. Highly visible job that’s a great advertisement.
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@copseworker
Copsework
9 months
This is a typical scene in the wood during the first spring after cutting. Early Purple Orchid and Bluebell.
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
That’s another load of Hazel Faggots for #rivermending Tried and tested since the Roman Occupation, they are made from the wispy tops of the stems and it’s a great use of a waste product.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
The offcuts make a welcome fire on a frosty day like today.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
My new best friend 😍
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
The bark is lifting off this dying oak tree and it’s left a tiny gap for this wren to build a nest in.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Another busy day. Stakes and binders for Hedgelaying.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
Lovely weather for Coppicing.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
I have been asked to do tree work that’s unnecessary and ecologically wrong and I always turn it down with an email explaining exactly why it’s wrong. If only others could do the same ?
@sophiasgaler
Sophia Smith Galer
2 years
6,000 trees were planted in King’s Lynn by the council to tackle climate change. But they were poorly planted in species-rich grassland with rare wildflowers. In April. *90% of them* have died. I went to this ‘tree cemetery’ with @CharlieJGardner .
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
The best thing about laying a hedge at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery is chatting to the monks on their way back from their stay in the forest. One of them is from Thailand and he had this lovely kindling chopping tool.
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@copseworker
Copsework
10 months
I’m really enjoying the last few days without rain and the bright sunshine highlights the autumn colours.
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
@M_Z_Harrison Thanks. Here’s one I laid earlier. I found two inner tubes and a gas canister with a valve. Pesky cyclists. 🙄
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@copseworker
Copsework
4 years
@FrankJWood2 @IMPeachlander @MarcDavenant Frank. I’ve just checked your tweets and sadly it appears that you have been lied to and caught out quite frequently by every fake news anti vaccine and wacky conspiracy theory. Stay safe.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
I turned up late this morning and my new best friend was waiting for me.
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@copseworker
Copsework
1 year
Work in progress. So far this coupe has provided materials for 400 river stakes,300 hedging stakes,1500 binders, 425 faggots and thousands of thatching spars. Well managed Hazel Coppice is abundant and sustainable.
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@copseworker
Copsework
2 years
Transformation in progress @WessexRivers on the River Test at Chilbolton Cow Common. Great to see my faggots and rods forming new banks protected by chestnut paling and posts. Coppice Products in action 👍
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
It was a great privilege to spend the last day of the year on this hedge and realising that the peregrine I’ve been watching has been launching surprise attacks on the wood pigeons & rooks from this pylon. Happy New Year 🥳
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@copseworker
Copsework
3 years
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