24/03/2026
Watch our new film!
“Coppicing - Can the oldest style of woodland management bring Uk woodlands back to life?”
https://lnkd.in/ebJkwpnC
Coppicing is among the oldest known forms of woodland management. Archaeological evidence from the Somerset Levels indicates that coppiced wood was used to construct trackways across the marshes as early as 4,000 BCE.
This traditional method of woodland management persisted from the Bronze and Iron Ages through to the relatively recent past, providing essential resources for fuel, tools, and building materials.
Over the past century, extensive changes in industry and material sourcing have led to a dramatic decline in coppicing. The availability of cheaper imported raw materials reduced its economic viability.
Many formerly coppiced woodlands have since been left unmanaged or lost to agricultural expansion and development.
As explored in previous films, when a woodland evolves into an even-aged, closed canopy, a corresponding decline in biodiversity typically follows. Woodlands evolved alongside large herbivores to form dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems. Without the periodic removal of trees or canopy openings that allow light to reach the forest floor, early-succession species diminish. These early stages of growth provide critical habitats for numerous insects, birds, and mammals.
Currently, it is estimated that around 40% of woodland in the UK remains unmanaged.
In this film, we visit two contrasting coppice operations. The first was led by Tom Kemp of Working Woodlands Cornwall, who is restoring an oak woodland owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust after eighty years of neglect. His work seeks to balance ecological restoration with the sustainable production of firewood and charcoal for local community.
We also met John and Arthur Leigh-Pemberton, a fourth- and fifth-generation father-and-son team managing extensive chestnut coppice in Kent and producing pale fencing at scale.
Enjoy!
