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Middlewood Trust
The Middlewood Trust exists to advance research and provide education for public benefit in techniques of agriculture, forestry, wildlife and countryside management, building, energy conservation and human lifestyle which are in tune with the natural cycle and do not upset the long term ecological balance.
Contents
The Middlewood Trust's guiding principles and working methods are heavily influenced by Permaculture ideas. Developed originally as a primarily agricultural system that sought to learn from and mimic natural ecosystems to create more sustainable productive growing methods, it has evolved as a design system that can be applied to all areas of life.
Location
Middlewood Trust, Backsbottom Farm, Roeburndale West, Lancaster LA2 9LL
History
The Middlewood Trust has been staffed by volunteers for the past thirty years and volunteering remains an important part of what they do today. They run monthly volunteer events that are open to all and have featured such projects as building the new wind turbine battery shed from local materials, planting trees, coppicing and traditional baking with carbon neutral fuel. Regular volunteer events take place on the second weekend of every month from January to November.
Today
The current volunteer programme is focused on the permaculture vegetable garden.
The Middlewood Trust hosts annual Permaculture courses, including introductory short courses and the full Permaculture Design Certificate course, and also accommodate students working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The site has access to extensive woodlands including Roeburndale Woods (Grade 1 Site of Special Scientific Interest) and many smaller Biological Heritage sites. Historically they were managed as coppice with standards and used for charcoal, wood turning, swill oak baskets, Lancashire clogs from alder, besom birch brushes, fence posts and riven oak beams. They are rich in unusual wild flowers, ferns, fungi and they contain many native species of trees including the rare small leaved lime.
The woods are used for teaching National Vegetation Classification and also make an excellent place to observe and learn from nature. The intricate patterns and interactions of plants and animals act as the living background for the teaching Permaculture courses.
At the same time as starting to manage the woodlands for wildlife, The Middlewood Trust try to use the timber and small wood products to develop local sustainable crafts. Over recent years they have had resident bodgers (pole lathe chair makers), swillers (oak basket makers), yurt makers (Mongolian type circular tents which use small ash, hazel or willow poles), and some charcoal production.