Autumn 2012 August - October 2012 An Appreciation Page 10 Open Afternoon Success! Tir Coed was thrilled to host an Open Af- ternoon at Poor Man’s Wood at the end of October. Over 35 people attended the event at this little-known oak woodland Reserve near Llandovery, including family of the volunteers, residents from a nearby sheltered housing project, local business owners and funders. There was a guided walk around the Reserve, before refresh- ments and a volunteer awards-giving at the new roundhouse wildlife hide. The Event celebrated the Community and Nature programme works at Poor Man’s Wood since April 2011. The project has seen 14 young people give over 1,000 hours of their time, and resulted in vast improvements to the facilities at the Reserve. Reserve Manager, Lizzie Wilberforce com- mented: “The work that these young people and Tir Coed staff have put into this Reserve is priceless. I am pleased with the number of visitors that have already been attracted to the Reserve by the Tir Coed project and would welcome more people to come and experience both the wealth of wildlife at this Reserve and the new works.” Newsletter WICKED Branching Out / Egin Inside this Newsletter • Communities And Nature • Engagement Gateway • The VINE Pilot • Monitoring and Evaluation • Accreditation • Branching Out/ Egin News • WiseWoods Wales Volunteer, Jeno Davies, presented with his Agored Cymru (OCN) Certificate R.I.P Simon Hewitt 1947 - 2012 Tir Coed Trustee Vacancies Could you have what it takes to join our Board? Interested? Find out more [email protected]
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Autumn 2012 August - October 2012
An Appreciation Page 10
Open Afternoon Success! Tir Coed was thrilled to host an Open Af-
ternoon at Poor Man’s Wood at the end of
October. Over 35 people attended the
event at this little-known oak woodland
Reserve near Llandovery, including family
of the volunteers, residents from a nearby
sheltered housing project, local business
owners and funders. There was a guided
walk around the Reserve, before refresh-
ments and a volunteer awards-giving at
the new roundhouse wildlife hide.
The Event celebrated the Community
and Nature programme works at Poor
Man’s Wood since April 2011. The
project has seen 14 young people give
over 1,000 hours of their time, and
resulted in vast improvements to the
facilities at the Reserve. Reserve
Manager, Lizzie Wilberforce com-
mented: “The work that these young
people and Tir Coed staff have put into
this Reserve is priceless. I am pleased with the number of visitors
that have already been attracted to the Reserve by the Tir Coed
project and would welcome more people to come and experience
both the wealth of wildlife at this Reserve and the new works.”
Newsletter
WICKED Branching Out / Egin
Inside this Newsletter
• Communities And Nature
• Engagement Gateway • The VINE Pilot • Monitoring and
Evaluation
• Accreditation
• Branching Out/Egin News
• WiseWoods Wales
Volunteer, Jeno Davies, presented with his Agored Cymru (OCN) Certificate
Volunteering In the Natural Environment (VINE) Pilot
Coed Tyllwyd, North Ceredigion, - August to December 2012
Taster sessions started at Coed Tyllwyd at the end of August and the group have been busy working 2 days a week on a variety of wood-land management tasks and crafts.
So far activities have included; bram-ble clearance with a traditional scythe, footpath creation using timber the group felled with axes & crosscut saws, gate construction using traditional hand tools and creating garden dibbers using a traditional pole lathe. The group are learning
to identify local flora and beginning to under-stand how ecology & biodiversity work at this woodland site. A relaxed, supportive atmosphere promotes a sense of wellbeing and positivity and this has helped to build individual confidence and has encouraged teamwork. The group has gelled and quickly and has learnt the importance of effective team work. This aspect has been very useful as Tir Coed’s new Social Enter-prise, WiseWoods Wales also started work at this site during September. The two groups of volunteers have occasionally joined forces to increase the productivity of an activity. Working side by side they have felled and extracted trees, split logs for firewood and stacked timber for drying. Everyone has a role to play and all have pulled together to achieve tasks successfully within a prescribed time limit.
Some individuals have already discovered the extra therapeutic benefits of being in a woodland environment, of doing physical activities and of working as part of a supportive team. A few of the group have chosen to work on accreditation whilst others are just benefitting from the overall experi-ence and skills.
Lead: Bob Shaw Support: Ffion Farnell Tasters: 4 Sessions: 16 No. volunteer days: 73 No. volunteer hours: 573 Total no. volunteers 8 No. current volunteers: 5
Monitoring and Evaluation
Positive feedback comments from project participants.
How do you feel this project has helped you?
Do you think you have achieved more than you expected to?
Monitoring Questionnaire
“Enjoyed the course very much -
didn’t want the course to end!”
“Helped me get back into a
routine and also learnt new
skills”
“It’s helped me in loads of
different ways with skills
and experience and with
meeting new people.”
“Confidence, experience,
motivation, socially, fresh
air, exercise, Knowledge”
“It gave me the skills, confidence and
relationships to work professionally as
a woodsman. I have been successfully
employed and self-employed for
18months”
“The course helped me im-
prove on motivation and
really helped me learn
new skills that I am now
using on a day2day basis”
“ I didn’t expect to achieve
anything - so Yes!”
“ I especially gained more
experience than expected”
“Yes, I didn’t think that
I would be gaining a
job!”
“Yes, by the end of the course I
had learnt some skills I
didn’t think I would e.g. the
right size hole for the trees we
were planting”
“I learnt how to be kind to the
environment whilst being able
to make a living off it”
“Yes, I’ve gained skills
with tools I’d never
heard of before!”
Accreditation
Branching Out / Egin participants who have recently had their volunteer hours recognised for
giving enough time to their projects to achieve 50, 100 and 200 hour Awards are as follows:
Jeno Davies - 100 hours
Ben Morgan - 200 hours
Sion Evans - 50 hours Tom Knight - 100 hours
More success for Tir Coed
Volunteers as they are
awarded their Agored
Cymru (OCN) certificates
and workbooks for Level 3
Sustainable Woodland
Management
Damian Ratcliffe
Millennium Volunteers Achievements
Agored Cymru (OCN) - Level 3 Awards
Bob Shaw congratulating Anna Thomas
Branching Out/ Egin News
The recruitment process for the first 2 Woodland Management Apprentices is un-
derway! One apprentice will be hosted by Tir Coed’s new Social Enterprise, Wise-
Woods Wales and one by Woodland Manger, Rob Smith. Tir Coed was inundated
with applications for these posts, and after a very difficult sift we have selected 7
potential candidates for an interview in early November. As well as a standard formal interview,
the selection process will include a practical exercise. We wish everyone the best of luck and in
response to the number of applications, will hone our efforts to find further funding for more ap-
prenticeship placements.
Tir Coed has been successful in the first round of the Big Lottery funding for ‘People & Places’. A
consultation process is underway to develop the project ideas further as well as deciding the most
suitable woodland sites which are closest to a variety of potential communities in Ceredigion,
Powys & Pembrokeshire.
The VINE programme is being piloted at present but the plan is to extend the age range so that
other vulnerable groups within the community can become involved; a direct response to the local
needs created by the current economic climate.
Several other funding applications have been made to support this project. An update will be
given in the next newsletter.
Tir Coed was recently invited to attend a Celebration event hosted by PAVO (Powys Association
of Voluntary Organisations) at the Willow Globe near Rhayader. The event celebrated both the
success and end of the ESF Engagement Gateway (EG) funded programme.
Ben Morgan, a Volunteer from Tir Coed’s Coed Tyllwyd project agreed to go along with Project
Mentor, Angie Martin to talk about and show off some of the work from the EG project. Ben did a
fantastic job demonstrating some of the skills he had learnt and explaining to many interested
guests the personal benefits of the project. Little did he know that he would also be presented
with his 200 hour Millennium Volunteer award on stage! Use this link to PAVO website for more. http://www.pavo.org.uk/home/latest-news/latest-news-article/article/a-pavo-event-with-a-difference.html
Well done, Ben & Thank you.
Apprenticeship Project
VINE Funding Update
EG Celebration
More Branching Out/ Egin News
Simon until April this year was the Tir Coed Chairman, having been a Director for a number of years. Sadly he passed away in October after a long illness and will be sorely missed by the Tir Coed Team
John Wildig, our Company Secretary writes:- Simon had a long and distinguished career in the public service, serving in a number of areas of England and Wales. A land agent by training, he started his career in the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food and finally became the Chief Conservator for the Forestry Authority for Wales from 1996; the First Director Forestry Commission Wales in the post devolution era. This brought him into contact with Tir Coed and when John Good re-tired as Chairman Simon was his natural successor. During the course of his Chairmanship he devoted considerable time and effort to Tir Coed, and we have much to thank him for.
He made great efforts to come to the monthly Team Meetings on a regular basis and on many occasions, Shep (my families Border Collie) and I used to take him to the meetings. I will forever remember those journeys with our wide ranging conversations over many of the issues of the day as well as on Tir Coed matters. The Team greatly appreciated his contribution to the meetings, never dominating them but, always helping and advising wherever he felt it necessary.
We, as a team, also came to know Simon as the committed family man and witnessed his great joy at the arrival of successive grandchildren.
Sadly the ill health which had started soon after his retirement came back last year and he finally passed away in October. His funeral at the Aberystwyth Crematorium saw all of the Tir Coed staff and a number of Directors joining the large congregation who had gathered to pay their respects.
Both myself and Roger Thomas, our new chairman, paid tribute to Simon at a recent Board of Directors meeting and we are planning to put a bench in his memory at a suitable location as a fitting tribute.
Simon will be sadly missed; may he now Rest in Peace
n
Simon Hewitt - An Appreciation
1947 - 2012
WiseWoods Wales (WWW)
Things have really taken off for WiseWoods Wales since the last report. A successful funding bid to the Ceredigion Social Enterprise Growth Fund will cover capital equipment and core costs.
WiseWoods Wales (WWW) now has sufficient funding to sustain the wages of core staff for at least one year, and a very significant help towards purchasing the essential equipment to allow the project to get fully underway. One of the most important outputs of the project is the number of paid posts it can sustain: Alongside Andy Bakewell the Business Manager, WWW now employs Anna Crane-Jones as Finance Officer and Rob Smith has recently been appointed as the Activities Leader to start 1st November. WWW will also benefit from two funded placements; Ben Morgan, a long term Tir Coed volunteer, starts a three month paid placement funded by the Shaw Trust, and an eight month paid apprenticeship, funded by the Princes Countryside Fund, will start in November after interviews have taken place.
Local craftsman Tony Eames ensured WWW got off to a flying start by sharing his expertise with volunteers as the supervisor on site. Fortunately, WWW has benefited from many Tir Coed volunteer graduates being very keen to continue working in the woods and so excellent volunteer numbers have been enjoyed from the very start. An enormous amount has been achieved with very few tools, and only a flimsy tarpaulin for shelter, thanks to the efforts of Tony Eames and the volunteers. Benches, firewood shelters, saw horses, timber and firewood have been sold totalling £1,000 so far.
The order book remains healthy with more benches and a potential future contract to supply the Council with benches along the length of the Ystwyth Trail.
Work behind scenes is also progressing well; most important equipment is now purchased & commissioned:
∗ A Norwood sawmill - arrived in 40 boxes & took 2 weeks of extra hours for volunteers and staff to build! The mill has since been used at Coed Tyllwyd to mill timber and to make products.
∗ A portable self-powered wood splitter - 5 staff have been trained in its use This splitter, capable of splitting logs up to 1 metre length, is central to the firewood production strategy
∗ One chainsaw, with accompanying PPE - A successful Environment Wales project grant application will pay for two more in the near future
∗ A tractor and winch - hired from a local benefactor, with the option to buy once hire payments reach the total value of equipment
The last piece of the jigsaw will be the timber trailer and crane, which should join the fleet in late November. Come & support WWW at Llanerchaeron Christmas Fair, Sat. 1st & Sun. 2nd December
Positive Progress
Business manager: Andy Bakewell Site Supervisor: Tony Eames Work Days: 23 No. volunteer days: 79 No. volunteer hours: 560 No. of volunteers: 10