Small Woodland Owners' Group (SWOG)

News & Events

  • July 2105 Newsletter

    Summer seems to be with us (for a while, anyway). In this month’s newsletter we have a timely feature on finding water in woodlands, news of the RFS Excellence in Forestry Awards, as well as an article on green woodworking in Devon. We can also promise a SWOG meeting in September and a 25% discount…

  • Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp

    Charlton Clark from the The Forestry Commission has issued the following statement regarding the discovery of the orienteal gall wasp in an area of kent.

  • Axe-making course, Sweden, summer 2015

    Ken Hume of the Oxfordshire Woodland Group is looking for fellow enthusiasts to join him on an axe-making course in Sweden. Participants have the opportunity to make their ‘dream axe’ under the expert tuition and guidance of Lars Enander and Ulrika Stridsberg. Lars and Ulrika are expert blacksmiths, and Lars is the author of Swedish Blacksmithing, a book on…

  • June 2015 Newsletter

    Just in time for the glorious 1st of June, a glorious new SWOG newsletter. The deadline for the Woodland Capital Grant scheme is looming, there is news of a revised edition of the classic book, Badgers, Beeches and Blisters, and John Clark lets us into his firelighting secrets. We hope you enjoy it!

  • Launch of the Observatree Project

    Kate Hutchinson,   has  announced the official launch of the Observatree project today. More than 200 UK-wide Observatree volunteers have been trained as citizen scientists and we encourage everyone to be more observant and report possible signs of tree pests and diseases. Read the full story in our media release.     You can help us…

  • May 2015 Newsletter

    It’s an exciting week, but the SWOG newsletter is bucking national trends by ignoring the forthcoming election and recent royal birth. Instead, we have far more useful news for woodland folk. We discuss recent news to re-introduce the wild lynx to Britain John Clark passes on vital tips about firelighting Fran Southgate of the Sussex…

  • April 2015 Newsletter

    No, not an April  fool – just the latest edition of the SWOG newsletter. With news of a popular SWOG meeting in Yorkshire, it also includes a guide to handling and the maintenance of knives (and the law around them), as well as a feature about Rich’s long-term hedging project.

  • Planting a New Hedge

    For many woodland owners especially those with ancient woodlands, our hedges are our boundaries. They may have been planted 100’s of years ago, some still managed as hedges, having been layed, pollarded or coppiced many times, others are unrecognisable as a hedge, more a line of full grown trees which is what all hedges aspire…

  • March 2015 Newsletter

    It’s officially spring and the March newsletter has news of new DEFRA forestry grants, instructions on how to make a sturdy bushcraft bed, and an appreciation of the work of the late Oliver Rackham.

  • Woodfairs 2015

    Together with Woodlands.co.uk, the SWOG team will be attending Woodfest Wales, Treefest and Bentley. South Downs Show and Hampshire Woodfair 15–16 August 2015 Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire www.southdownsshow.co.uk Treefest at Westonbirt Arboretum 29–31 August 2015 Tetbury, Gloucestershire www.forestry.gov.uk Stock Gaylard Oak Fair 29–30 August 2015 Sturminster Newton, Dorset www.stockgaylard.com National Forest Woodfair 31 August 2015 Beacon…

  • Witherslack Forestry & Woodfuel Fair Saturday 28 February

    Witherslack Forestry & Woodfuel Fair – Saturday 28 February Come and join us at Halecat House, Witherslack on Saturday 28th February, 10:00 – 16:00 for our latest Forestry and Woodfuel Fair. There will be plenty going on in the woodlands of the estate throughout the day including: ·         Various felling and extraction demonstrations ·         Community…

  • February 2015 Newsletter

    The February newsletter is packed with useful information. Chris Latchford of the Surrey and Sussex Coppice Group has written a really useful guide to coppicing for beginners, while John Clark continues his bushcraft series with a timely discussion of the most versatile knives for bushcrafters. In other news, divers discover an ancient forest of the…