Head of Wood School appointed
Our recently-appointed Head of Wood School, Joseph Bray, introduces himself and his new role with Sylva Foundation.
news about wood products from the OneOak tree
Crafting a future in wood
Sylva Wood Centre craftsman, Alistair Buchan, talks about his journey becoming a furniture designer maker.
Farewell to Paul Sellers
Last week we said farewell to Paul Sellers and the team at Rokesmith, who have built up an incredibly successful business over the last two years.
Forestry Yard opens at Sylva Wood Centre
Sylva Foundation is delighted to announce the opening of the Forestry Yard at the Sylva Wood Centre. The Forestry Yard will be occupied and run by Face North Forestry, a local and expanding forestry contracting company.
Guitar Maintenance and Repair Course
In this new one-day course learn how to perform guitar ‘set-ups’ so that your guitar sounds and plays at its best. The course is run with expert tuition by local luthier Steve Kendall. All types of guitar catered for: acoustic, electric, and bass.
Charter poles emerge from the Sylva Wood Centre
The new Charter for Trees, Woods and People will launch on 6th November — the 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest. Sylva Foundation has been a keen supporter of this Woodland Trust-led initiative. Last year we collected stories from hundreds of woodland owners (read more) and behind the scenes we’ve been lending our weight to help make this national celebration of trees a success. We’ve also been quietly busy at the Sylva Wood Centre, helping one of the main celebratory moments come to life in the form of 11 dramatic sculptures. The Tree Charter Poles are being carved from 15′ oak logs by Sylva Wood Centre-based sculptor Simon Clements. Simon takes over the story . . .
Work gets underway on new Forestry Yard
Work has started constructing our new FORESTRY YARD at the Sylva Wood Centre – thanks to support from Oxfordshire Leader funding.
BBC investigates future forests
The Future of Forestry was this week’s theme on the BBC Radio 4 flagship environmental programme Costing the Earth. Reporter Tom Heap visited the Sylva Wood Centre to interview Sylva CEO Gabriel Hemery and one of our resident furniture makers.
Hot-bench spaces available at the Sylva Wood Centre
Start-Up is our new flexible hot-benching system at the Sylva Wood Centre, aimed at people of all ages who would like to try their hand at setting up a wood business without the burden of taking on a long-term lease. Users can also gain access to a shared machinery workshop which means they don’t have to spend large amounts of capital to get started.
UK could double its hardwood timber production and reduce reliance on imports
The UK currently consumes more than 0.5M cubic metres of hardwood timber every year but less than 10% of this is grown in the UK. Yet sustainable home-grown timber production could be doubled by 2050, reducing timber imports by 50 million cubic metres. This would underpin investment in innovation both in the utilisation of or our woodlands and their management.