Films exploring the future of our woodlands

Coppicing is among the oldest known forms of woodland management. Archaeological evidence from the Somerset Levels—specifically the Sweet Track—indicates that coppiced wood was used to construct trackways across the marshes as early as 4,000 BCE.  This traditional method of woodland management persisted from the Bronze and Iron Ages through to the relatively recent past, providing essential resources for fuel, tools, and building materials. As Jez Ralph noted in one of our early films, “Wood was the plastic of the past.”  

Over the past century, however, extensive changes in industry and material sourcing have led to a dramatic decline in coppicing. The availability of cheaper imported raw materials and shifts in domestic markets reduced its economic viability. In Kent, this decline occurred later than in many other regions, largely due to the fall in hop cultivation and the closure of the Sittingbourne pulp mill in the 1990s, which had previously purchased large quantities of chestnut coppice.  Many formerly coppiced woodlands have since been left unmanaged or lost to agricultural expansion and development.  

As explored in previous films, when a woodland evolves into an even-aged, closed canopy, a corresponding decline in biodiversity typically follows. Woodlands evolved alongside large herbivores to form dynamic, constantly changing ecosystems. Without the periodic removal of trees or canopy openings that allow light to reach the forest floor, early-succession species diminish. These early stages of growth provide critical habitats for numerous insects, birds, and mammals. The loss of such woodland—compounded by changes in agricultural practices—has resulted in the decline of many key species. Between 1967 and 2022, for instance, the UK’s Nightingale population fell by 90%, largely due to the loss of early-succession habitats needed for breeding.  Currently, it is estimated that around 40% of woodland in the UK remains unmanaged.  

In this film, we visit two contrasting coppice operations. The first was led by Tom Kemp of Working Woodlands Cornwall, who is restoring an oak woodland owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust after eighty years of neglect. His work seeks to balance ecological restoration with the sustainable production of firewood and charcoal for local communities and tourism. We also met John and Arthur Leigh-Pemberton, a fourth- and fifth-generation father-and-son team managing extensive chestnut coppice in Kent. They now produce chestnut pale fencing at scale for both UK and European markets.  Through these discussions, we aimed to explore the challenges each operation faces and to understand the differing contexts, objectives, and scales involved in contemporary coppice restoration.    Can the oldest form of woodland management bring our woodlands back to life?
 

Tom Barnes is managing director of Vastern Timber, a family owned sawmill and timber merchant that specialises in British grown timber. Tom is a champion of British grown timber in the built environment.

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