Green Wood Centre

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The Green Wood Centre, Coalbrookdale (formerly The Green Wood Trust) offers a Ironbridge Woodland Experience just a gentle 10 minute walk away from the Ironbridge. Green Wood Centre is the national body leading the revival of the coppice industry and the training of new coppice and woodland workers

Contents

[edit] The Station

Green Wood Centre is situated on the Old Coalbrookdale Station Site. The building was left derelect in the 1950s but has since been restored to its former glory (without the platform) but is now the Offices for Green Wood Centre and Head office for Small Woods Association. Trains still pass today but are only ferrying Coal to Ironbridge Power Station

[edit] Cruck Framed Barn

The Cruck Framed Barn or Coracle Barn was constructed in 1988. The Barn is made from wood sourced from the Gorge. The Frame is made from Oak, Ash and Elm whilst the roof is covered with Chestnut shingles and the wall panels are woven Hazel and Sweet Chestnut. The design is based upon a Herefordshire cruck barn at Avoncroft museum in Bromsgrove.

A display of Coracles is held in the Cruck Barn for the general public to view. Coracles have a long history with the Ironbridge. As there was a toll for crossing the Ironbridge, locals would use a coracle instead to cross the river. It was also used for collect driftwood and if the floods had trapped an animal, the coraclemen would paddle across to net them giving them a reputation as poachers.

[edit] Woodland College

Woodland College has been designed especially for the Green Wood Centre by Architects Simmonds Mills.

The design incorporates High levels of energy efficiency, non toxic and environmentally low impact building products focusing on the use of renewable timber and wood products, on site biological system to treat the buildings waste i.e. Sewage and 'grey water' from showers and sinks and innovative timber structure utilising low value local timber.

The Main support columns are sweet chestnut tree trunks concreted into place. Upper structure are peeled ash logs that could be replaced if necessary. Other species used in the College are Douglas Fir (Window Frames and external cladding), European Larch (Wall Studs, ceiling rafters and also External Cladding) and English Oak for the window sub sills.

Woodland College is used as an office space, teaching room for woodland craft courses, conference venure and used it is used for community events (such as the monthly music night). Woodland College holds 70 people seated and 100 standing but is also used for smaller meetings. In the summer of 2007 Green Wood Centre gained its marriage licence to perform weddings in the woodland college, since then people have been flocking there to have a woodland wedding

[edit] Woodland College Efficiency

These are what makes the building environmentally friendly and one of the focal points to the site Solar Radiation- position of the building was directed by railway regulations. However the orientation of the building enables the optimimum usage of solar energy entering the building.

Heat Exchanger – The heat exchangers take the heat from outgoing air and is used to preheat the cold fresh incoming air, which is then sent around the building. It is calculated that the heat exchangers will maintain an average temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, which means that only a small use of the heating system is needed to top up the building’s requirements.

Windows – The windows were made by Green Wood Centre, incorporating double glazed units and low emissivity glass, together with insulated spacer bars and extra deep window frames means the windows allow more heat in over the year than they let escape, leading to a net gain.

Heat Storage – The internal walls are built using dense concrete blocks in order to store heat gained during warmer periods and retain warmth in the colder periods. This helps to maintain temperatures inside the building when temperatures are fluctuating outside.

[edit] Wood Fuel at Green Wood Centre

Green Wood Centre hosts a Froling 50 kW Log Burner. A heated main runs the length of the site heating all 4 main buildings. The Boiler is situated in a boiler house attached to The Cruck Barn. The boiler bruns around one wheelbarrow's worth of logs a day (during the spring and autumn) but the load varies between summer and winter.

Hot water passes through the burn chamber and stored in a buffer tank storedin the Cruck Barn. Well insulated water can stay hot in there for a week. Where the demand is need the water will travel along the pipes to the buildings where the thermostatic controls have been switched on. The logs are sourced from local coppiced woods that are currently being restored by Green Wood Centre volunteers.

The system was installed December 2005 and since then has reduced considerably the amount of electricity used on site but also has helped the restoration of local woodlands and improveed conditions for biodiversity and timber production. The system was installed with the help from a grant given by Onyx Environmental Trust (Now known as Veolia)

[edit] Reed Bed System

In 1990 a Reed bed sewage system was installed at Green Wood Centre. A reed bed system purifies and recycles all waste water from toilets, sinks and showers. It avoids the need for an expensive water cleansing and processing through a mains system. The purified water leads to a clean pond in the Goose Pen for Fred and Georg(ina)

The Reed Bed system is an artificially created wetland planted with selected reeds that absorb oxygen from the air and releases this through the roots. It also increases the huge neumber of micro- organisms which are able to break down soluble material present.

[edit] Courses

Green Wood Centre has been running courses since it opened 20 years ago. Now the Centre runs approximately 60 woodland craft courses and coppice courses a year. The tutors are sourced from woodland and craft people with years of experience who have a strong reputation to up hold therefore through the quality of the courses Green Wood Centre courses are nationally respected.

A course schedule is available on the Green Wood Centre website

[edit] Volunteering

Green Wood Centre runs a joint volunteer project with Severn Gorge Countryside Trust (who own most woodland around the Ironbridge Gorge). Volunteers are given full instruction in Coppicing, scrub removal, deer fencing, tree planting, step building and woodland management. Volunteering is not a permanent commitment and whilst volunteering you can earn points towards one of the woodland craft courses.

[edit] Cinnamon

In Easter of 2007 Cinnamon was opened at Green Wood Centre. Cinnamon is a popular vegetarian cafe based in Bridgnorth with a monthly music night. The Vegetarian food and music night are now recreated in the woodland setting and supply visitors and staff with hot, home made vegetarian food and drink

[edit] See also

[edit] External links