I’ve never opened a tampon before, so my newfound friend Tamsin showed me how. Then I started unpeeling it to find it’s really just compacted cotton wool. Tampons turn out to be ideal for lighting a fire if you don’t have matches because they are really compressed cotton wool and can be lit with a small spark. I did have a fire steel in my survival kit box and just like our friendships, we were soon creating sparks and warming up.  We were at the Ultimate Activity Company’s short course on what to do in the wild when things go awry. Andy, our trainer, with his background as a marine, explained the imaginary position we were in: on a sailing trip eight of us had moored our boat in a sheltered sea loch on the west coast of Scotland and during the night the wind riled up causing the boat to hit a rock. It sank, leaving us just enough time to get off with little more than what we stood up in (along with my survival kit in a watertight tin).   Two of the crew had gone off to get help - leaving six of us to survive outdoors, perhaps for several days. Read more...

The quince is endemic (native) to south west Asia, the Caucasus; an area occupied by countries like Turkey, Georgia, Northern Iran, Azerbaijan, and Armenia - where it can be found growing on rocky slopes and woodland margins.  The quince can survive in a variety of climates.  It even flourished (in historical times) in the heat of Mesopotamia, however,  in order to flower properly it needs to experience a cool or cold period when the temperatures drop below 45oF. It belongs to the Rosaceae (Rose) family, which also includes apples and pears.  The fruit of the Quince is not dis-similar to a pear but it is generally larger, ‘knobbly’ and a bright ‘golden yellow’ colour.  The tree itself can grow to a height of 5 to 8 metres and to a width of some 5 metres.   Read more...

There are not many signs of mushrooms about at the moment, as we transition to a time of emergent Spring greens and Monty Don back on telly. Resupinates  continue to flourish in the dank places beneath logs, while the remnants of certain brackets  persist on trunks and stumps. Nevertheless, aside from a few notable exceptions, like St. George’s Mushrooms or Morels, there won’t be many of the more obviously mushroom-shaped fungi around over the coming few months. Read more...

The Woodlands Awards for 2019 have just been announced and launched, and we are already accepting entries. Now in their third year, the aim of the Woodlands Awards (sponsored by Woodlands.co.uk) remains the same: to celebrate – and give due recognition to – all the wonderful and innovative things that are taking place in the woodlands sector year on year. From the winner of a 2018 Best Woodfair Trade Stands Award: “WHOO HOO! We are absolutely delighted to have won one of the Woodlands Awards, how very exciting. Thank you so much for letting us know.” Read more...

For some years now, the United Nations has promoted an ‘international day of forests’.  Essentially, the day is a celebration of forests and woodlands; it seeks to raise awareness and importance of all types of woodland (large or small).  Woodlands and forests offer a wide range of ‘ecological services’ : Read more...

Having put in place the basic infrastructure so that I can store tools, equipment and firewood and have somewhere for shelter and to work, my attention turned to the top two priorities on my ‘to do’ list – well actually, numbers 2 and 3, number one will always remain ‘relax, do nothing and just enjoy it’. Firstly there is a semi-circular clearing near the eastern side of what is essentially a triangular plot. I have planted a ‘family copse’ Read more...

Wood is made up of three main chemicals - cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin.  Cellulose is a long chain-like molecule made up of glucose residues; it is the main component of both hard and soft woods.  Hemi-cellulose is chemically more diverse than cellulose - with a variety of sugars present such as xylose, mannose, galactose & arabinose.  Lignin is a very complex chemical, again a polymer with much cross linking.  The lignin binds to and holds all the components of wood together. When wood is burnt completely about half the mass of the wood is converted to carbon dioxide, and about half to water.  This process releases large amounts of energy - approximately 20MJ per kg.  This represents light energy that the tree trapped through photosynthesis.   What is termed the primary combustion of wood is the burning of the solid material - the embers, the charcoal, whereas secondary combustion is the burning of the gases /fuels producing the flames of a fire. Read more...