Family realize their dreams with their own forest and sawmill

John Cushnie bought a Logosol sawmill to take care of timber from his woodland property, situated in the middle of the English Lake District, one of the UK’s most visited tourist destinations. “My wife Jane comes from the area and our neighbors are all her relations,” says John Cushnie, looking as though he is the cat who got all the cream as he lifts an oak log onto his Logosol saw.

“I’m a qualified engineer,” says John, who currently works for a mobile telephone company. For him, the forest is not only an opportunity for relaxation. The engineer in him also sees an opportunity to improve and create. That’s why a few years ago he bought a Logosol M7 to deal with storm damaged and thinned out trees. “It’s economically better we take care of the trees ourselves than to bring in a contractor,” says John.

USEFUL AND RELAXING

According to Jane, her husband’s motivation is not quite as scientific as he makes out. “When we have parties for our friends and their families, the dads always congregate around the sawmill,” she says. She means that the sawmill awakens the boy in both her husband and other men. John admits that there could be something in that. “Sawing is both interesting and relaxing. It’s also useful. There are worse places you could be working in,” says John, sweeping his arm over the lake vista.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Currently, the forest and sawmill are just a hobby, but in the long term, the forest will become part of the family’s source of income. The idea is to build a few overnight cabins and run courses associated with the forest. Having a forest with its own sawmill in one of the UK’s hottest tourist areas makes these plans all the more realistic.

Logosol is a Swedish based international company developing and selling unique machines and services within wood processing and woodworking. With innovative and affordable solutions, we have visibly changed forestry and woodworking for more than 20 years. Our products are known for simplicity of design, reliability, and efficiency. See more about their chainsaw mills, bandsaw mills, planer/moulders & joinery machines by visiting their website www.logosol.co.uk.

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When will the lies about paper stop?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The other day I received a press release with regards to an Eco Comics having won an award and the claim was made, in the statements by the CEO of the publisher as to why they work digital, that paper use and the paper industry was responsible for the deforestation of the tropical rainforests.

Now this is a blatant lie that continues to be perpetuated by those that should know better and I am sure do know better. So, what's the agenda?

Well, if we would but know that.

The truth is that tropical hardwood, in fact all hardwoods, are unsuitable for the production of wood pulp from which to make paper and thus it is a little bit on the difficult side for the paper industry to be responsible for the deforestation of the tropical forests.

While it is true that one particular company – Kimberly Clark – is not a very environmentally friendly outfit considering that they are involved in the destruction of Canada's boreal forests in that, unlike the majority of paper companies, do not replant and in fact just fell under a license from the government.

The majority of the paper industry, however, at least in Northern Europe, owns its own forests (though they do buy in from private and state forestry) and replant a minimum of three trees for each single one felled to make paper.

Were it not for the paper industry those forests would not even exist and the land would, more than likely, be used for something else, though not agriculture or forestry in any other sense.

Most of those forests are on very marginal lands that only support the likes of pine or birch and thus making paper from the timber is, basically, the only answer. Without the industry those forests would not exist and/or be managed and be lost as carbon sequesters to the environment.

Don't allow yourselves to be deceived by ignorance or by an agenda where the myths of how bad paper is for the Planet is being peddled.

Rather than being bad paper can be a force for good...

© 2012

Selective coppicing

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Under selective coppicing we must understand the difference between removing all stems from a coppice stool, as is the general practice, and just removing large (overgrown) ones. Selective coppicing is the latter.

Selective coppicing should be considered in order to have a continuous supply of wood available, especially when a wood is being restored, which can take many years. This available wood is what pays, to some degree, for the restoration of the wood and gives an income to the coppice worker.

All too often a coppice stool is being entirely cleared of stems, including small regrowth that is nowhere useful at the time. This regrowth, however, is often a year or two, or even three, old and thus, in the not so distant future could provide income already from the stool, well before others stems have grown enough to do that.

Cutting all stems, including the young ones, when coppicing, is a case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, proverbial speaking, and thus one has to be a little farsighted in this department.

Forestry is such a trade where one has to look further ahead than one has to do in farming, for instance, and this also goes for rotation coppicing, even though here rewards arrive earlier than in forestry per se.

Planning, good planning, is part of the process and selective coppicing, is part of this, even though this method seems to be rarely used, it would seem, but should be one to be considered, if it is not.

© 2012