Firewood supplies become a countryside growth industry

Increasing numbers of people are looking to grow trees to provide their own supplies of firewood, the Woodland Trust said today.

According to the trust, one in 10 landowners now applying to its Morewoods programme, which supports the creation of new broadleaf woodland, want to plant their own sustainable fuel sources.

The Woodland Trust also said there was renewed interest in the ancient art of coppicing, in which semi-mature trees are cut back to encourage new shoots, repeatedly producing sustainable small logs.

And forest nurseries are experiencing a run on suitable saplings for fuel, with ash, field maple, beech, birch, hawthorn, hornbeam, hazel and oak among the trees most suited for growing for firewood.

Ash is the top choice, because it needs less drying than other species and burns hotly.

In the wake of the harshest winter for 30 years last year, wood fuel is also the most visited area on the Woodland Trust’s “plant your own wood” website, the organisation said.

With the nights drawing in and thoughts turning to cold evenings with a crackling fire, the trust said anyone who wanted to plant this winter should start planning now.

Morewoods programme manager Clare Ollerenshaw said: “We need more woodland and we need more firewood. People can now design their new wood to suit individual needs.

“Imagine having a regular supply of high quality, easy-to-fell firewood that’s close to the house, doesn’t need splitting, throws out heat and could be worth 100 a tonne.”

Trees should be ready for initial cropping within seven to 10 years, resulting in small logs that do not need cropping, and then can be harvested again within another 10 to 15 years.

She also said people did not have to make a choice between growing woods for fuel or to create habitat for wildlife.

Managing woodland through measures such as coppicing provides good conditions for wildlife including bluebells and primroses, butterflies, nightingales and hazel dormice.

“New planting benefits wildlife from day one, and resulting woodland can be managed to produce sustainable firewood as well as continuing to benefit wildlife,” she said.

The harsh winter last year seems to have played a part in encouraging people to think about growing their own firewood, with one forest nursery surprised at the demand for their packs of ash, hazel, chestnut and willow saplings sold for woodfuel last winter.

Judy Davy, at Perrie Hale Forest Nursery in Devon, said: “We were surprised how well our wood fuel packs took off last winter.

“A lot of our customers have some land next to the house that they want to plant up to grow their own firewood for a log burner.

“It’s an investment in their own future fuel source and if they ever move on it’s a sales asset for their property.”