Designing and managing a regenerative woodland for degraded land
Saturday 17 May 2025
This one-day course runs from 10.30am – 4.30pm in Stanmer Park, Brighton
Ever wanted to own or plant a woodland? Perhaps you already do and would like a little more advice.
Owning a woodland is a rare privilege not open to many, but the planting of a new wood is a more realistic option and has a far larger impact on habitat and carbon capture.
Existing woodlands require management due to the fragmented nature of the modern woodland landscape. Adding to this stock with new woodlands has so many benefits there is not enough space here to list them, so we will be discussing them in depth on the day.
Existing woodlands contain a relatively even volume of carbon whereas new woodlands capture on average eight tons per hectare per year over the first 100 years. Many people think of time in terms of weeks; foresters think in decades.
What to expect
The Woodland management course will cover all aspects of planning, planting and managing a woodland.
It is open to absolute beginners and people already engaged in woodland management.
We will cover these key points:
- Reading the land, soil types, species choice, spacing, planning and planting
- Biodiversity, companion/appropriate species
- Weed control and mammalian protection
- Nutrition, disease management
- Managing your trees: thinning to promote growth, selection for products, regeneration
- Legal protection, felling licences, planting grants and support from national bodies
- Local markets and the balance between woodland health and contribution to income
The course will be entirely outdoors and we will walk approximately one and a half miles, so please dress appropriately. Some of the day will be out looking at examples in the woods, some will be theoretical in our outdoor classroom.
For a taster of what to expect see this video by Andy:
You might also be interested in our Local timber for building course.
Course tutor
Andy Reynolds will lead this course, with assistance from Fran Pickering. Andy is an author, instructor, forester and promoter of self-reliance. He has spent the last 20 years rebuilding a home and changing the surrounding fields from dead agricultural land into an oasis of natural life. Read his blog here.
Meeting point
The Fruit Factory
Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex)
Brighton
Sussex
Get directions to Stanmer Park.
Fees
- £175 – Sponsored/organisation rate
- £175 – Individual income more than 25k/yr
- £140 – Individual income 18-25k/yr
- £105 – Individual income less than 18k/yr
- £70- Individual, concessionary rate (check eligibility)*
Booking
If you have completed the booking process but you haven’t received a confirmation email from us please contact us to check your booking has gone through.
If you are booking within two weeks of the event, or the event is nearly full, you will not have the option to pay by BACS. Instead, you will need to pay immediately using a credit/debit card or PayPal.