The coppicing season is underway! We have dusted off our trusty chainsaws and billhooks and are finally getting stuck in. With the help of some sterling volunteers we have been felling, snedding, brashing, planting and layering from dawn till dusk: our coppice cycles start here!

As the winter progresses we will create and update pages about the different sites we are working. Check back here for stories, descriptions and photos.

Blackbark is a workers’ co-operative committed to the health of woodlands in Calderdale. We think that engaging with woodlands in a way which benefits the land and allows people to make a living is a very sensible and exciting way forward. A lot of our projects revolve around coppicing. Please read more about us at the about page.

We have recently launched The Firebox. It is a pre-paid and regular seasoned firewood delivery scheme and is an example of Community Supported Forestry.

This site gives information about our services and products and news of what we’re up to, but hopefully it will grow into something more than a good-looking advert. Check back regularly to see the ongoing transformation of some of our projects, sources of more information about woodlands, and (though this may take a while) a page where we will describe how we understand woodlands and how we engage with them.

Try as you might, you will struggle to find the word “sustainable” here. That is because we strive for the next step: regenerative interaction with woodlands.