Awards

A ring at the doorbell by the postman (postperson?) with a parcel is always welcome, and the other day was no exception. I signed for an extremely well wrapped and sealed box sent by Woodlands.co.uk.  I managed to open it to find a cornucopia of exciting prizes, as can be seen in the photo. Old Copse Blog had won in both the Blog and the Woodland Building categories in their Woodland Awards 2017. So, two awards!  Not quite like winning the Lottery or the Turner Prize of course, but most welcome and appreciated all the same. We're looking forward to reading the new woodland books, trying the two new Japanese Silky saws. One each!  - jotting down 'nature notes', or something anyway, in our respective sturdy new notebooks. Oh, and framing our certificates, which might find a home in the cabin.

I'm wondering how many woodland blogs were nominated. My guess is, very few, not least because I've not managed to find many over the years. I've visited Alan Waterman's knowledgeable  Ninewells Wood/Catbrook Wood Blog since he started it in 2013, but I hadn't come across Joanne Hedger's Raiswood Blog before, so will enjoy following that. I found one or two others that either weren't very interesting, or faded out quickly, perhaps after the novelty of writing a blog wore off, or just that life got in the way.

So perhaps our award was partially for persistence and longevity, having kept the Old Copse Blog going since 2009.  It was begun purely as a record of restoration work in what was initially 15 acres, (OC1) , before an adjoining 15 acres, (OC2) were added in 2012. A diary, meant for us, and those friends and family who might possibly drop by to read it now and again. The ongoing work of restoration and management of 30 acres of partially PAWS woodland continues to be documented, and added to with people, wildlife, and the simple pleasures of being in the wood and seeing things change. I hope that Old Copse Blog will encourage other wood owners to start one for themselves. It's  easy to forget all the hard work done, changes effected , and good times had, over the years, so it's great to have some sort of record as a reminder.

As for the Woodland Building Award, well, we love our log cabin which fits so unobtrusively into the woodland, and makes Old Copse just perfect. It well deserves an award, and I feel I can say that without boasting because, a) it was my grandson's idea, and b) a small team of fantastic Polish craftsmen built it from Scots Pine felled in the wood.

Here is what the Awards panel  said about the Blog, and the Cabin :

' A blog maintained since the first entry (“New 0wners” ) on 10 September 2009: “We are determined to manage our wood for for conservation and diversity – learning a lot and at the same time having a lot of fun.” The entries (mainly short, sometimes more of a photoblog) contain a good mix of well-researched information and history and practical experience (e.g. about rhododendrons), plus wildlife observations, supported by copious photographs, many of them excellent. Example: “Purple emperor behaviour: thugs of the butterfly world, they will attack and see off creatures much larger than themselves, including birds and dragonflies. Lurking in the top of an oak waiting for something to invade their territory they will shoot out and scare them away. Often drunk on fermented oak sap, they also like to fight among themselves and will swoop and wheel in a distinctive movement, swooping and swerving at an astonishing speed...” The blog records the year of woodland management (planting, clearing, projects) and sets out a Management Plan (30 December 2017) for the coming year – with useful comments on the value of such plans. It also contains the story of their cabin, which won an Award for the best Woodland Buildings/Shelters (see below). All in all, an impressive blog for its clarity of information and purpose, excellent to read and browse through, and inspirational.'

'This is a traditional round wood log cabin. The story of the construction is told in their blog, starting 21 February 2014, continuing through the spring of that year. “Last year we obtained 'permitted development' approval to build a small woodland structure that would give us somewhere to shelter in bad weather while carrying out forestry work, and also provide a social focus and a place to enjoy the wood in considerably more comfort than squatting on a wet log under a flapping tarpaulin.” The sequence includes an excellent photographic (and video) record of construction, and shows how the cabin blends in with the woods. Because it proved difficult to locate builders with experience in log cabins, they found “a small group of Polish craftsmen  who had the skills needed to build us a log cabin in our wood using our timber.” Hence they have ended up with a traditional Polish log cabin: “Ours is the first ever in England.”