Episode 29: Building with Wood

The communal woodland is an intrinsic part of the Lammas project. How the Lammas Ecovillage residents manage the woodland and how they use the wood for building?

In recent years, much of Britain's native woodland has been torn down and the wood used for commercial purposes. Conifers have been planted as quick-growing harvests of valuable timber product, but the effect on the countryside has been harsh. The uniformity of cash crop woodland replaces variety and therefore biodiversity, destroying the natural habitat of many native species of birds and mammals.

The Lammas residents aim to manage the woodland in such a way as to benefit from the wood as a building a fuel resource, whilst creating a home for a variety of animals who will add to the biodiverse nature of the Land as a whole and therefore the well-being of both plant and animal species. In addition the thinning of the trees allows the remaining trees much more light and space so that there will be more and improved building materials for future generations.