Woodland Valley

Courses for the new year

nospam@example.com (Chris Jones) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:19:03 +0000

We are about to begin some courses in February and March. We ran these last year with much success and great feedback so they are well worth attending

. Into to Permaculture, 2 day course on 5th and 6th February

. Intro to Permaculture, 2 day course on 26th and 27th February

. Bank Building, 2 day course on 5th and 6th March

. Coppicing Course, 2 day course on 12th and 13th March

. Brewing Course, 1 day on 19th March

For more information including costs and to book a space contact us on our email enquiries@woodlandvalley.co.uk

Some thoughts on carbon sequestration...

nospam@example.com (Chris Jones) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:31:51 +0000

This is the text of a (very) short piece on carbon sequestration work we are doing on the farm. We need help on this, so if you are a carbon expert, please get in touch. Or tell your carbon expert friends... I will try and put more stuff on here about this, as I believe that if we all stopped emitting tomorrow, we will need to be sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere like crazy to bring some stability back. And I know 'stability' is not really possible in a chaotic system, but I know you know what I mean.

Carbon Sequestration and Pasture Farming – The Woodland Valley Experience to April 2010.
At Woodland Valley we have been trying out Carbon Audits over the last couple of years, as well as moving the management regime in the direction of seeing Carbon sequestration as a major output. This ties in with the ecosystems services approach to land management, in which we seek to at least preserve these services, and ideally enhance them. These services include things like the provision of clean water, clean air, clean food, natural carbon sequestration, high bio-diversity, flood control and so on and on.
We initially tried the CALM (Carbon Accounting for Land Managers) calculator, which while I am sure gives good answers seemed to be relatively long winded. We then tried the Climate Friendly Food calculator, which seemed more user friendly. I can report that, using the CFF calculator and our figures for the year ending April 2010 it would appear that we fixed some 330 t net carbon during that year. Before we get too excited we need to note some health warnings.
Firstly, the previous soil samples we had were from 2006. We do not know what was going on with soil organic matter, or rather, it was not sampled, from 2006, until 2010. We hope in future to sample annually. Secondly, the sampling itself could be biased, we could do with some really solid conventions to base this sampling on. Our soils are fairly shallow, so I would like to think that we would be looking at topsoil, rather than a set depth, which could exhibit lots of subsoil, or even bedrock in our case! Lab anomalies – while the method for assessing soil organic matter is pretty straightforward there could be procedural differences between labs that might lead to skewed result (this is just me thinking here). All of these health warnings are making me think the direct support of a university department for sampling and analysis would be really useful, and ideally something that could be done across the whole group.
Jonathon Smith of CFF and I were interested to see the relatively high absolute SOM values, in excess of 6% in many fields. This could be the result of infrequent ploughing, and low levels of arable activity over the last 50 years, and indeed now our intent is to stop arable operations altogether, moving towards long term (perennial?) pasture based on large variety of grasses and herbs too (trefoil, chicory, salad burnet, sheeps parsley, ribgrass, yarrow being the main ones we are using). We have a climate that will support grass growing really well, but certainly not cereals. We were growing cereals for our cattle to eat, but have found they fatten anyway on quality forage and pasture.
The other factors that help with the high carbon sequestration are our 8ha of woodland, our 2.5ha of nut plantation and our disgracefully untrimmed hedges and banks.
12 Dec. 10

nospam@example.com (Chris Jones) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:26:38 +0000

Busy month, below is the text of the statement I gave to the planning appeal for the Truthan Barton Wind Farm on the 9th December. It was difficult to give because while I really want to see all good wind sites developed, I also want passionately that the developers make it worthwhile for the local community, by either allowing buy in, or giving money into trust for spending on resilience matters, or similar.

Statement to the Planning Appeal in respect of Truthan Barton Wind Farm
I would like to make a few points in support of the Appeal, and one against it.
The first point I would like to make to this appeal is that we are in an emergency – albeit a long and slow emergency. It is a triple pronged emergency, consisting of climate change, the economic downturn and of course reducing domestic supplies of conventional energy.
The first prong means that we must seek ways to generate power that are far less environmentally damaging than current fossil fuel generation. The second prong demands that we must seek to improve domestic energy production rather than increasing our reliance on foreign imports from ever more unreliable sources. The third prong of the emergency is that we have now reached Peak Oil (2005 was the year of greatest global oil production, acknowledged by the International Energy Association) and that peak gas is sure to follow soon. It is worth mentioning that we passed peak production in the North Sea in 1999, and that the recent Gulf of Mexico disaster is an illustration of how far we have to go to keep oil and gas flowing. Our energy supplies don’t increase in value because they are becoming more abundant.
We still have considerable reserves of coal, a dirty and difficult fuel to exploit. If we want electricity in the way that we have become used to we will need to exploit all the different renewable technologies, and nuclear, and probably clean coal as well. And roll all these together and we will still have to learn to use less energy too.
Which brings me to Truthan Barton. The proposed site is technically a good one and is able to take an installed capacity of about 21 megawatts with the equipment proposed in this application. It should be able to supply about 6 megawatts on average (my figures) in averagely windy years. This potential should make it a national asset, in the same way that an oilfield or gas well would be a national asset. To not develop the site for its energy potential would seem to be negligence of the highest order, if not downright criminal. Planning officers considered that the proposal was a good one and recommended that it be passed
Accepted that the wind does not always blow, that it is a less than perfect solution to all our energy, or even electricity supply problems, but short of us finding the secret of perpetual motion we will have to make do with a number of less than perfect solutions, for the time being at least. The turbines themselves may be removed altogether if they are no longer needed at the end of the project life anyway.
I agree that change is in many ways difficult to accept, and perhaps no more so than when it is a change of view. But we should be able to apply some perspective to this – Not so many year ago Cornwall had a very industrialised landscape (and still does in some places) as a result of mining activity. Today, the remnants of mining, what was once an industrial eyesore, are a characteristic part of the Cornish Landscape, and in the case of Kit Hill in the east of the county, yesterdays eyesore is today’s World heritage site. And I have not heard too many people argue for shutting down the China Clay pits because they are ugly. All of us though, whatever our preferences, have to accept that change is coming everywhere, and we have to make the best of it.
There is a serious flaw though in the Truthan Barton Wind Farm, and this flaw lies wholly at the door of the developer, Coronation Power. So far as I can see no attempt has been made to consult with the community or bring it any benefit whatsoever. In these enlightened times I think we had all hoped that the smash and grab raids on Cornish resources so common in previous centuries had come to an end. However it would appear that another chunk of our landscape is up for grabs, with all the profits heading straight out of the county with no benefit staying here, beyond the lease fee for the site. I believe that not even a portion of one of the turbines production has been offered to the local community, which is frankly a scandal considering the high degree of taxpayer subsidy involved.
Cornwall is a hard place to make a living at the best of times. Much of our natural resources have already been exhausted, especially minerals and fish. Whereas many areas of the country have moved away from primary industry it still plays a huge roll in this county. We are blessed with a windy environment, and despite all our impression to the contrary we also are blessed with the highest insolation. This is attracting outside investment, which is a good thing, but some of the returns need to stay here to help ordinary local people prepare for harder times ahead.
There are mechanisms for doing this in an equitable and engaging way, some of which I have already been involved in in a neighbouring parish. Coronation Power has either not thought to find out about them, or has simply decided that maximising profit over community interests is perfectly OK, when much of that profit is subsidy. I am looking forward to the time, coming soon I believe, when no developer can just ride rough shod over the local community without recompense. We need renewable energy, wherever we can find good sites but developers must engage with communities as partners rather than as lesser mortals of no account.

WHERE WE WERE 12 MONTHS AGO

nospam@example.com (Chris Jones) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 17:25:11 +0000

The text below is a summary of where our transition group was at the end of 2009, and was submitted as part of our bid to the Low Carbon Communities Challenge (LCCC). What intrigued me particularly was the look into the future bit at the end - we have in fact been so engaged with the renewable energy work that has come out of the LCCC that we have not been keeping up with the activity that we need to to keep the various other balls in the air. I suppose inevitable given the relatively small number of activists we have in Transition here.

So, if you are not too far from Ladock parish, and want to find out about Transition, and join up with some rewarding and worthwhile community activity please get in touch! We need help...

Introduction

The Parish of Ladock includes two villages, Ladock and Grampound Road and a good number of outlying farms and isolated rural dwellings. It is a mixed community of large and small mixed farms, small businesses but most adults are employed in local towns. There are two thriving primary schools and two village shops / Post Of?ces and two pubs to boot. Each village also has a cricket club and Community Hall. The parish is typical of many rural Cornish communities in settlement style and size.

Since formation in early 2008, Transition Ladock & Grampound Road (now with 50 members) has taken several steps towards preparing for a low carbon future. These have been the first steps on what will inevitably be a long journey for such a small rural community, raising awareness and using an integrated cross sector approach to creating greater levels of low carbon sustainability.

Our work here has in itself spurred on the neighbouring village Grampound and nearby Roseland Peninsula to set up their own Transition groups which are now thriving.

Actions to date

Taking a lead from an existing local monthly produce market in Ladock, 12 months ago a second market was started up in Grampound Road; held in the village school, this involves children from the school and parishioners from the local church as well as several local producers and makers. This market regularly features home made conserves, fresh and cured meats, bread, cakes, cheese and vegetables as well as a gardening stall.

The transition group carried out an initial energy survey in Autumn 2008 with Ladock school involvement, producing a very high rate of response (51%) and some very interesting results. This provoked further debate, gave us indications of where action needed to be concentrated, and led into a presentation on renewables for the village. A follow up survey is now planned to chart progress and obtain more detail about homes in the area.

Increasing long term resilience is at the forefront of everything we do. A part of this is raising funds to establish community orchards, the first of which was planted with volunteer labour in the grounds of Grampound Road school. This happened in early 2009, on the first of 4 sites we have identified within the villages. More planting can be expected in the coming planting season using old locally adapted Cornish apple varieties into the area on a wider scale. This kind of project is excellent for motivating the community, a resource for study (and eventually a lot of fruit!) for the school and wider community. We are also seeking larger sites in the parish to do more with fruit and nut growing.

These initiatives typify the close connections the group maintains with the local schools on sustainability and other topics. Some of our members have also produced a series of outline
schemes of work for KS1 and KS2 Science, Design Technology and PSHE designed to
examine local food production and consumption.

We have set up a monthly joint oil-buying scheme to keep costs of domestic heating oil to a minimum which has been very successful. In an area like ours, many residents have no access to gas so getting the best deal for oil for heating homes and cooking is crucial. The scheme also leads to reduced transport costs for the supplier, and thus reduced carbon footprint. Over the 14 months of its operation, the scheme has saved participants an average of 6 % on their oil bills over current prices. It is also getting people used to the idea of acting collectively, which is still something of a novelty. A local farmer is also trialing a wood burning stove for cooking and heating which has displaced oil entirely from his house – a saving of about 2000 litres of oil per year.

Several well attended public meetings with national speakers have provoked good
discussions and action on subjects as diverse as Farms for the Future, Fife Diet (a very successful initiative in the Fife area to increase people’s consumption of
locally grown and produced foodstuffs), procurement of local foods for the Royal Cornwall
Hospital Trust, growing nuts and so on - all linked to reducing food miles, increasing local food security, climate change and the low carbon future.

We have arranged and sponsored visits to a local farm where a ?rewood coppicing plantation was planted 5 years ago and more recently to the Agroforestry Research Trust Forest Garden in the grounds of Dartington College have provided practical knowledge and advice on just what is involved
in such ventures and how much food / ?rewood can be produced from relatively small
areas of land. In fact, two of our members who had made earlier visits to the Dartington forest garden will be making their first forest garden plantings this December. with a view to making a
demonstration sites for local people.

A local farmer has made land available for allotments, adjacent to Grampound Road
village, setting aside an area for a physick garden and facilitating erection of sheds etc for
the allotment holders. The same farmer is also experimenting with land share agreements, new permanent pastures (excellent for carbon sequestration as well as providing high quality grazing).
The same farmer has built two straw bale structure for use as a community meeting room on his land
and commissioned a project undertaken by a BSc student from Cornwall Universtity at
Penryn to identify potential wind turbine sites in the parish.

Early in 2009, discussions were opened with the local Authority on the re-opening of the
old rail halt in the south of the parish - sadly the land where a proper station used to stand
in Grampound Road has now been built on and so is not an option. These discussions are
on-going and though the process might be lengthy, there are positive signs that low carbon commuter transport may be available again in the parish.

The ?rst Unitary Authority local elections in May 2009 saw three members of this and the
neighbouring Transition group join forces to form a One Cornwall, One Planet group of
independent candidates focused on low carbon issues. All three of the candidates
succeeded in polling very respectable numbers of votes and one candidate was elected
and now sits as a representative on the new Cornwall Council.

Members of the group gave direct support to the Davidstow wind farm applicants - a project which has just now been passed by the Cornwall Council Strategic Planning Committee against very strong opposition. The group has also been very active in Climate Change / Footsteps to Copenhagen and
other local events in support of national and international campaigns for climate change mitigation and lowering emissions.

Going Forwards

We have an ambitious vision of what can and needs to be done in the coming 5 years covers the following crucial areas:

transport examine car sharing for both commuters and shoppers 2010

explore opportunities for community buses 2010/11

continue to pursue re-opening of a rail halt (for transport to Truro & St
Austell - ongoing

energy continue with energy surveys (residential, business and agricultural) and collect greater detail across the parish 2010

encourage every home to critically examine energy use and adopt
some low energy alternatives and energy saving technologies 2010

identify and plant sites for parish ?rewood cultivation 2011 -15

identify the best site(s) for wind turbine(s) and develop a parish project to
install enough capacity to power down 2011 - 2015

food with local schools, design & conduct a shopping habits & local food
questionnaire in the parish 2010 - 11

develop local markets & make more appealing to local people 2010 - 13

research food coops and develop a model for our community 2010 - 15

work with village shops and producers to encourage the purchase of more
local, seasonal foods and products 2010 - 14

increase the land available for allotments or community supported agriculture and explore implementation of a “share a garden” scheme 2010 - 2015

use forest gardens as demonstration sites to encourage expansion of this
low maintenance, low carbon & largely perennial food production system 2011 - 2015

Education & by identifying barriers and motivating factors within the community, develop
Community events / means to reach out to existing groups to raise cohesion awareness of issues arising from a low carbon future 2010 - 2015

provide resource materials to support the outline Schemes of Work produced
for Primary Schools. 2010 - 12

Provide local training opportunities for a host of practical subjects – cider making to coppicing, bacon curing to hedge laying – some of these already in progress

devise community events and initiatives to foster increased cohesion within the parish (to overcome a) geographical obstacles b) dormitory village for Truro effect which may be leading to less identi?cation with village concerns) 2010 - 2015

Greatest Problem so far

Achieving enough awareness of peak oil and climate change issues amongst the wider community (we find that those who are already aware, or who become aware, quickly begin to engage in community activity).

Greatest Success so far

Our work with the village schools, which has allowed us to reach a large proportion of the community.

Welcome to the Woodland Valley Farm, news and blog...

nospam@example.com (Chris Jones) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:44:11 +0000

Welcome to the Woodland Valley Farm, news and blog - come back for the all the latest news and information from Woodland Valley.