Many thanks to Martin Severs for sharing with us the benefits of spending a day with an experienced coppice worker in his woodland.

To find out more about coppicing, regional coppice groups and the new Coppice Advisor network, visit the National Coppice Federation.

I am a small wood owner in Hampshire and have around seven acres of south west facing wood situated on a Hampshire Down. This means I have a small amount of woodland on the top and bottom of my wood but between is a relatively steep slope.

In times gone by there was definitely ash, sweet chestnut and hazel coppice. My plan is to have coppice on the top and bottom of my wood and to steadily rid it of larch whilst removing the dead and dying ash (from die back).

I have been growing my own saplings from seed since 2020 and consuming numerous books and articles on coppicing.

An experienced and retired coppice worker from the Hampshire Coppice Group offered to come to my wood with an offer to help me (and any others interested) improve both my competency and my wood. My reaction was outwardly: “Oh yes that would be wonderful”, whereas inwardly it was: “Oh no, I will be exposed for what I have done so far and how little I know!”. The right path prevailed and “Les” came to my wood and three friends with variable experience joined me.

So what happened? On a grey overcast and showery day, we had a really enjoyable day, which left me positive and upbeat. This positivity was shared with my friends and indeed Les says he wants to come back and do more, so that was an additional plus point.

The atmosphere was fun, the banter was light, the questions for Les were focused and informed and good work on my overstood hazel was completed.

The value Les brought to the day over what you can read in a book was an additional valuable lesson. What we learnt was ‘his way’ not ‘the way’ as coppicing is an art (as well as a science), but having a way gives a person confidence and a firm basis for improvement.

My changes in practice are as follows:

· I will be much more organised in my work environment for example my drifts will be neatly piled in the same direction to minimise walking distances, decrease hazards and enable easier product choices.

· My stump management is better considered especially for dormice, neater and more ordered.

· Stocking now includes laying as well as planting saplings. Choosing which stems to lay is something I struggled with before this tutorial even though I was comfortable with plashing and exposing the cambium. Picking the right stems to fit in a suitable resting place for a new stump was my biggest personal gain for the day.

· I understood at the end of the day the value of a side axe so much so that I am on the hunt for one!

My advice to any small wood owner is join your local coppice group and if you are ever offered some help or support from an experienced coppice worker grab it with both hands and have a great day!