Did you know that Monday 8th October was the start of Grown in Britain week? What is Grown in Britain? It was launched in 2014 as an independent, not for profit organisation to support UK woodlands and assure woodland and timber products through its licensing scheme. Its a bit like the red tractor logo only for woodland products.
Its aims are to increase demand and visibility of homegrown timber. It also aims to stimulate supply and increase management of the UK’s woods and promote stewardship of our woodlands. Since its inception it has seen more than a million tonnes of accredited timber put into the supply chain!
The UK is the second biggest importer of wood after China. Whilst we don’t have the capacity to be self sufficient in homegrown timber there is capacity amongst the currently unmanaged woodlands to boost the supply of homegrown timber and so reduce the imports and benefit the local economy.
This should make sense in terms of making the most of what we currently have but also has an additional benefit that the carbon footprint of locally grown timber is a fraction of that imported from overseas. Public perception of where timber comes from is sometimes way off the mark. Who knew that we import “British” oak from Canada and Romania for example?
So I thought that it would be good to get accreditation for the products that come from Pop’s Wood and I am happy to say that I now registered with Grown in Britain and can use the logo on my products.
Next year I will be adding sawn planks onto the products list. These will include wild cherry planking, some turkey oak and some spalted beech.
It is odd but the simple addition of a logo does actually seem to raise the credibility of the product. I think that Grown in Britain have created a very useful and positive impetus behind making the most of our woodlands. This has always been the intention of my buying and working in Pop’s Wood; to see whether the wood could be gently brought back into being productive without losing the magical, natural feel of the place itself. Some way to go yet but another piece of the jigsaw maybe has just gone into place.
More next time……………………..
Tim Burr 