Below is a web version of our newsletter. If you would like a printed copy you can download and print the PDF version or contact us to be added to our mailing list.

See also issue 1, issue 2 , issue 3 and issue 5

WORD FROM THE WOOD

The Steward Community Woodland Newsletter

Issue 4 - Autumn 2001

IN THIS ISSUE: Events Poetry Corner Planning Appeal New Compost Toilet Steward Wood on TV Bender Building Guide Yurts & Geodesic Domes Moretonhampstead Carnival and this time the origional was all written on tree free hemp and reed paper.

Summer loving

What a great summer! We’ve been incredibly busy showing round visitors, running displays and stalls at green events, gardening, hosting the carnival campfire evening, not to mention all the work involved in our planning appeal and public inquiry (see page 5 for details).

We’ve had some great weather and the woods are as beautiful as ever. Summer brought many visitors and we built a visitor's bender to accommodate those staying overnight.

A large group of students from the Basque country visited the woods in July after contacting us by email from Spain. They were part of an exchange project with young people in Moretonhampstead

Room with a view

We built a new double-chambered dry compost toilet with a separate urinal and a great view (see page 4 for details).

Forward looking

Now that we have lived with the land and all its life for over a year, we feel in a better position to plan for the long term. We’ve spent much time considering plans for the next five years in terms of woodland management, structures, permaculture zones, forest gardening and public access. These ideas have formed the basis of our detailed Management Plan and Business Plan.

Winter Approaches

We’re planning to do a lot of forestry work over the winter (felling & planting trees, coppicing), and will also be redesigning and extending the growing area (including the erection of a geodesic green house or polytunnel).

Get involved

We will be having work parties most weekends and on Wednesdays to carry out our winter work schedule. Details of these work days, which people are welcome to come along to, can be found on our website, or by phoning us. If you want to get involved, please phone by the Wednesday of the week before to arrange it.

News... from the woods.

In June we opened the first stage of our woodland walk - a group of paths covering about half of the wood. A map showing the routes can be found near the entrance. We also plan to produce a set of themed activity leaflets. These are permissive paths and may occasionally be closed for forestry work.

The paths represent an interim arrangement while we source funding for a far more comprehensive and well signposted set of trails that will incorporate discrete information plaques to give visitors greater insight into the woodland, its flora, fauna and history.

We held our first course at the beginning of June, organised in conjunction with the Small Woods Association and it was attended by eight people.

On July 22nd, in the run up to the Public Inquiry, we held an Open Day and took groups of people on guided walks through the woodland showing them our communal structures, dwellings, the coppice area and gardens.

We also hired the Community Club on the day before our open day so that people who were unable to come up to the woodland had a chance to chat with us and look at photographs and leaflets on issues connected to the project.

Moreton to Bovey cycle track

We consulted with the Devon Wildlife Trust and the County Ecologist about best practise for future management of the highly diverse verges of the disused railway track. Following agreement with Devon County Council on this and other issues, we signed the deed giving DCC the rights to construct and maintain a cycle and walkway over our part of the disused railway track. We hope that construction of the cycleway will begin soon.

... in Moretonhampstead

Many local musicians performed at the Moretonhampstead Music Day in June. Pete from the woods played guitar and sang some of his own songs while the rest of us provided backing vocals. He also performed in the ‘Moretones’ male singing group, who edified the crowds with close harmony Elvis Presley, Vaughan Williams, the Drifters and others.

As part of Moretonhampstead’s 76th Carnival we again held our ‘Music Round the Campfire’ event, and it was good to see so many faces in the firelight despite the intermittent drizzle. Thanks are especially due to all those who came and shared their music. It looks like it is turning into a regular event for Carnival.

At the Country Fayre we exhibited a bender containing a photo display and information stall. Our woodstove and shelter were particularly useful in the occasionally rainy weather, and we supplied tea and toasted muffins to our visitors. There was a lot of interest in the bender and how it was constructed (see page 6 for more details).

We also entered a bicycle float called ‘The Wheel Thing’ for the Carnival Procession. This included a trike, a tandem, a homemade quadricycle (four bikes welded together), bike trailers, streamers and lots of second hand gloss paint (from Chagford’s Proper Job reuse/recycling RePaint scheme). We also got dressed up in silly costumes and had loads of fun. We towed a solar powered sound system around the carnival streets, and this time the sun shone all day.

and beyond...

In May we revelled in the sunshine at the South West Permaculture Convergence, where we provided workshop space and slideshows, video and music. The event took place at the Plants For A Future site in North Devon.

On May 26th we were at Tavistock’s 'Alternatives Day' for the second year. We held a stall making handles for axes, providing pedal powered music, giving out information and meeting people.

Another local event was the North Tawton Midsummer Sunday Social where we provided electricity for the band playing using a four person cycle generator.

In June we took a renewable-energy-powered cinema to the first 'low impact forum' organised by the UK Eco-Village Network, and held at Tinkers Bubble in Somerset. We facilitated a workshop and got involved in some thatching which was very inspiring.

In July we did an information stall, photo display and a demonstration bender at the South West Forest Wood Fair near Okehampton. We met some amazing people and groups there, and again the bender proved very useful in the occasional torrential rain.

AS SEEN ON TV

A film crew from Carlton South West visited in May to film an interview and some background footage for a television documentary forming part of Westcountry Television’s "View from Here" series. Titled ‘How Green Is Our Valley?’, the documentary focused on housing and planning issues in Moreton.

Ben was interviewed in the morning and later in the day they filmed the presenterTony Robinson.

The programme was aired the evening before our public inquiry and repeated a week later. It compared our proposals for Steward Wood and the resulting planning difficulties with the situation relating to two recent controversies in Moreton: the Betton Way development where planning permission has been given for approx 60 houses on a greenfield site; and Thompsons Yard, a brownfield site where an application for housing was turned down.

The experience provided an interesting and revealing insight into TV documentary making and the programme explored the various issues and viewpoints pretty well.

We have since been inundated with letters of support by email, and our profile has definitely been raised, for better or worse.

A lovely compost toilet

In July we built a new structure, this time to house our humanure. It’s a twin chamber system, constructed mostly of pallet wood. One chamber composts while the other is being filled. When the material in the first chamber is fully broken down, we will take out the compost and put it around the fruit trees in our new forest gardens.

A mixture of straw, green matter, earth and ash is added to each human deposit to balance the carbon/nitrogen ratio, introduce useful bacteria and keep smells down. Users have the option to squat or use a wooden toilet seat box.

There is a straw urinal/swale directly below the toilet to catch any possible run off in the wet months and to discourage people from peeing in the toilet (this slows down the composting process). This also provides enriched straw for mulching out growing areas.

We plan to plant willow around the structure this winter to further use the nutrients that may choose to join the soil under the structure. The willow will be coppiced regularly, providing withies for basket making as well as visual screening for the structure itself.

The chambers are ventilated by passive solar convection chimneys (black drainpipes pointing at the sky) and an old window. We plan to collect rainwater off the roof for hand washing.

Compost toilets and tree bogs are an excellent way of making use of a resource that is unfortunately more usually added to large quantities of chemically purified mains water, turned into a pollutant, and then expensively treated in sewage works or sometimes pumped out into the sea.

Planning Appeal - public inquiry

Our appeal against the Dartmoor National Park’s decision refusing us planning permission to be resident at Steward Wood resulted in a public inquiry. The inquiry, adjudicated by a planning inspector, was held at Moretonhampstead’s Parish Hall from 1st to 3rd August. The DNPA presented two witnesses: Colin Jarvis (Planning Officer) and Rupert Lane (Head of Trees and Woodlands). Dan from the woods gave evidence on our behalf along with Simon Fairlie (a low impact planning consultant, and resident of ‘Tinkers Bubble’) and John Laflin (a local supporter). Local residents also had a chance to voice their concerns or support for the project and to cross examine the witnesses.

Proceedings ended after closing statements and discussion of the conditions that could have applied should the appeal have been granted. The inspector then paid a site visit to the woods.

The Planning Inspector’s Decision

We felt that things went very well and that the strength of our case was well represented, and this view seemed to be shared by many people who attended the inquiry. We were therefore very surprised and disappointed to find that unfortunately the Planning Inspector felt differently and on 3rd September we received his decision turning down the appeal. We have since been contacted by many people expressing support, sympathy and surprise.

We still feel, however, that the public inquiry was a valuable process in that it was a forum for ourselves, the DNPA and members of the public to raise the issues and concerns arising and discuss them in a thorough and mediated fashion.

When the rains come and the hydro electric is once more operative we will place the various witness statements etc on our website so that you can weigh up the evidence for yourself.

In our opinion the inspector’s decision is flawed for various reasons, including that he fails to grasp the holistic nature of the project. He says we could live in Moreton and travel to the woods to undertake the project. But how can there be a sustainable living project without living sustainably? Living in conventional housing and commuting to the site could only be supported by having full-time jobs elsewhere, leaving us with little or no time to carry out the project. Living in the woods, we can dedicate all of our time to the project and be fully committed to it. We are demonstrating the ability to live without connection to any of the utilities (water,electricity, gas, sewage disposal), providing all of these services ourselves by ecological and sustainable means (filtered spring water, reed bed ‘grey water’ filtering, compost toilets, renewable energy). In short, integrating people with nature and with low impact production is a vital ingredient of sustainable development.

We feel the inspector’s decision was a missed opportunity to support a valuable sustainable working woodland and conservation project which is demonstrating sustainable solutions on a local, grassroots level to some of today’s environmental problems. This accords with, for example, Agenda 21 of the international Rio Declaration, under which all local authorities have commitments to support and encourage sustainable developments and practices.

We are not just undertaking this project and continuing to work through the legal processes for ourselves but also for people locally and further afield who are supporting us and see the project as a valuable one; and for the sake of the future well-being of the environment, animals and people.

Treat the earth well -
It was not given to us
By our parents;
It was loaned to us
By our children.
Kenyan proverb

The planning saga continues...

We had been fairly hopeful of success and an end to all the legal work we have been spending so much time and energy on, but our journey through the planning system continues...

The next stage will probably be an appeal to the High Court on the grounds that our human rights (as set out in Articles 8 & 9 of the Human Rights Act) were not given sufficient consideration in the Inspector’s decision.

We are also looking for funds to help pay the £6,000 legal costs that our planning struggle has so far incurred, as well as to meet future bills. The amount is a lot higher than we expected because the inquiry over ran. We are very grateful to all who have sent us donations towards these costs.

How to build a Bender

You will need:

* Coppiced poles (Hazel, Ash or Willow preferred)
* Water proof tarpaulin (breathable canvas preferred)
* String will be useful

Benders have been a traditional form of woodland workers dwelling for many centuries because they are affordable, quick and easy to build and are efficient in heating and materials.

You will need coppiced poles that are about 2 inches in diameter at the base. The best wood to use is hazel or willow but ash or even sycamore will do.

The number needed depends on the size of your structure, fifteen should do it. The bender’s diameter will depend on the size of your tarpaulin(s). As a rule of thumb, if the height in the middle of your bender is to be around half its diameter, your bender’s diameter could be up to two thirds the length of your canvas.

Place the two biggest poles in holes at opposite ends of your chosen site. You may need some help to bend them over to meet each other overlapping most of their length. If you can, tie or twist them around each other so they stay in place on their own. Repeat this with poles for the opposite corners, joining them all together in the middle.

There are many ways you can arrange the poles to form the frame. They can be placed so they all meet in the middle like a spiders web - good for a round structure. They can form a 'rib cage' - good for an oval or oblong structure. Another approach is more organic and involves simply putting the poles where they best fit. If using uneven coppice wood, this is may be the easiest method but not the neatest.

As well as poles from the ground going up, horizontally ones weaved in and out of the verticals will add strength. You should be able to hang your full weight from the centre of a good bender frame.

All that's left to do now is drag your tarp over the frame and secure it at the edges. You could bury it or hold it down with logs or stones but your canvas may rot on the damp ground. Some tarps have plastic edges to prevent this. Blankets can be used between the canvas and the poles for insulation.

Windows and doors can be added either by lifting the canvas at one end and building a solid wall with windows and/or doors, or by cutting it and fitting them in.

What is a Yurt?

Yurts have become a very popular structure in resent years - whether for use as a ‘summer house’ for the back garden, for camping, or as a permanent low impact living space. The Yurt is a tent-like structure originating in Mongolia. They are round with a dome shaped roof and vertical walls.

The walls are a lattice of wood and the roof is usually made with steam bent poles fitted into a circular crown. The whole structure is covered in canvas - normally separate pieces for the wall and the roof.

And a Geo-Dome?

A geodesic dome is another free standing structure that can be used as a dwelling. Although there is no specific construction method implicit in the design, they are often made using coppice poles and canvas. The structure is formed from a number of polygons created by connected poles in triangles. Short lengths of piping are often used at each node, flattened in the middle and bolted together to slot the poles into. We may be using a construction similar to this to create a greenhouse in our gardens.

Sustainability? wots that then?

At a UN conference in 1987 sustainable developments were defined as those that "meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs".

No exclusivity is given to human-kind and therefore sustainability represents the protection of the resources utilized by all living organisms on the planet.

A ‘sustainable lifestyle’ is therefore a way of life that provides for needs - food, shelter, community - while respecting the earth and the rights of other people, other species and future generations. Some believe it is everyone’s right to be able to live this way, so the resources needed for a sustainable lifestyle should be within everybody’s reach.

Lifestyle begins with how we satisfy the basic needs of shelter, food and community. Land, along with air and water, is a basic building block in meeting these needs.

As a society we have a long way to go before coming close to meeting the intent of these definitions. However, when successfully implemented; in our homes, housing developments, communities, cities, and regions - sustainable developments may help to head off environmental problems such as global climate change, thinning of the Ozone layer, food-chain disruption, top-soil depletion and erosion, desertification, and ground water contamination.

"Sustainable means using methods,
systems and materials that won't
deplete resources or harm natural cycles"
Rosenbaum, 1993

Steward Wood Album

We are putting together an album of songs and poems written about the woods and people’s experiences there. The CD will be sold as a benefit for our legal fund. If you have written anything which you think will be suitable and would like it to be recorded for the album please let us know.

Focus on trees - Hazel Corylus avellana

Hazel forms deciduous shrubs and small trees. It is frequently coppiced or used for hedges. There is lots of hazel in Steward Wood that hasn’t been managed for a long time. We intend to extend that hazel area and bring it back into coppice rotation.

Hazel grows to 6m in height and lives for 70-80 years, or a few hundred years if coppiced. It doesn’t like acid soils and is often found as an understorey in oak woodlands. Its distinctive catkins flower from Feb to May, it has leaves from May to Sept, and its nuts ripen in Oct & Nov. Seedlings are easily grown from nuts kept cool and moist till spring. Natural dispersion is aided by birds and animals such as squirrels.

Hazel wood is white to reddish, tough and flexible. When seasoned, it is very hard. Some sources say it makes good firewood but that is not our experience. Hazel has been traditionally coppiced extensively to provide long sticks for a variety of uses such as cask hoops, basketry, walking sticks, hurdles, wattle and daub constructio, and thatching materials. Coppiced hazel is popular for building benders, and is often used in constructing yurts and domes.

SAMHAIN / HALLOWEEN
(31st October)

Samhain (pronounced ‘sowain’) is named after the Aryan Lord of Death and marks the beginning of winter in the Celtic wheel of the year. At this time, the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest - it is a doorway between the seen world of matter and the unseen world of spirit, a crack in the fabric of space-time. It is a good opportunity to honour death and the ancestors whose spirits visit the living. Winter is fast approaching: darkness is increasing, leaves are falling, birds are migrating, frosts come, animals go into hiberation. It is a time of forced adjustments which, once accepted, reveal a new set of possibilities, a new phase, a new power to life.

TREE PULP FREE

If you are reading the original paper version of this newsletter (rather than a copy or the online version) you may have noticed that it’s printed on some fairly unusual paper. We are trying out a paper that contains no tree pulp, which is instead made from hemp and reed. These plants are both fast growing and do not require masses of chemical input to produce large yields. They offer a viable alternative to the use of trees for paper which continues to be one of the main causes of world-wide deforestation.

This newsletter was brought to you by Dan, Clare, Merlin, Pete, Beccy, Cheryll, Suzanne & Michael.

We manage and live at Steward Community Woodland, set up to encourage and enable environmental awareness and solutions by providing examples of sustainable land use.

How to find out more and get involved

You can send us your details and be added to our mailing list – you’ll receive information about upcoming courses, workshops and work parties, as well as our future newsletters. Donations to cover costs would be appreciated - any donations are welcome, but your active participation would be worth far more (see the website for details of our work weekends).

You are welcome to come and have a look round the woods. If you would like to visit us

(for either a short or long stay) please phone first to arrange this.

How to contact us

Phone 01647 440233, expensive mobile 07050 674464 or fax 07050 674467.

Email and website www.stewardwood.org

Steward Community Woodland, Moretonhampstead, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ13 8SD