OBJ Border Morris - 2005 Coppicing at Dinton Pastures

We enjoyed our November coppicing outing so much that we could barely wait until February for another session of "slash and burn" - or "Woodland Management" as the Countryside Agency experts call it.

The day dawned amid fears of flu outbreaks and blizzards, but we arrived at Dinton Pastures to find most of OBJ there, and the weather was quite mild considering the daily snowfall that had preceeded it.

Stuart Croft hosted us, with the help of the lovely Katie. They helped the day along, and educated us a little along the way. I can't wait to use the word "snedding" in a sentence. Seriously, they were lovely company.

The coppicers were: Anne, Chris, Colin, Diane, Ian, Jenny, Linda, Nikki, Rob, Susie&Dave, Tiff.

The star of the day's coppicing was undoubtedly the fire. Tiff appointed herself as fire monitor - she claimed prior experience of rubbing boy scouts together (Hmm..)

Tea break arrived all too soon. Below left: Diane, Susie, ian and Anne Below right: Tiff and Linda

A "work break" then followed, and a good deal of carnage was done to Sandford Copse. It was rather uneventful. No-one disturbed a wasps nest and got stung. No-one had a tree land on them. No-one needed any first-aid at all. Better luck next time! This bit has not been captured on camera, as Colins waterproof trousers are not a pretty sight.
	This small, slow-moving creature was observed high up in the tree canopy. It is rarely seen during daylight hours.
Katie (left) is a volunteer helper at Dinton Pastures. Here, Katie and Chris are watching as Stuart cuts down the tree previously inhabited by Tiff.
	Jenny's aura shows up really well in this picture
The results of the days efforts - just over a hundred potential sticks (and Chris's bike). They'll be seasoned for a year or so and then bashed into pieces.