All the logs we use on our woodburner stove in the railway wagon are from fallen trees around the site, as trees often come down along the footpaths and tracks. We keep the public footpaths clear of fallen branches and trees so walkers can get past, we also keep our riverside access track to the mill clear.

The woodburner stove was second hand, it was refurbished by the volunteers and installed in the wagon after it was taken to the mill in 2016, its used in winter to heat the wagon. An oven was made from steel plate to fit above the stove for heating food, which we use in winter for hot sausage rolls.

Fallen trees and branches were cut up in the early days using my own battery chainsaw and foot operated log splitter which I used to bring from home when needed. When we got our Green Community Grant we bought identical tools and a wooden logstore so we always have the tools we need to deal with any fallen trees as well as somewhere suitable to keep the logs. The chainsaw battery is charged with our solar panels.

We ran out of room for logs as our logstore was always full, so we made another one from salvaged wood in 2025, this is used for recently cut wood, the old one is for seasoned wood. We also made a chrome log rack for the railway wagon from old notice board frames.

When trees and branches fall, we cut them to fit into the Gator truck or wheelbarrows, then take them to the mill and cut them small enough for our woodburner stove using a saw horse we made from re-used wood.

The use of fallen trees and branches for fuel is fully sustainable, as over 300 trees were planted around the site fairly recently from several free tree schemes. An advantage of burning only wood is that ash from the fire can be used on the gardens as its full of nutrients.

As well as fuel, we also use logs and brash for wildlife habitats. There is a pile of awkward shaped logs which would be difficult to cut and split near our logstore which has been left for wildlife, we have seen lizards there, and we used small logs and sticks around the hedgehog boxes under the railway wagon, as hedgehogs like them for camouflage and insulation. Small logs with holes drilled in them were also used to make insect hotels.

Graham Bartlett

Project Co-ordinator

Green Grant   Woodburner      Oven    Bought Logstore Home Made      Log Rack   Saw Horse    Tree Planting    Wildlife Habitat