The Living Classroom - Bondsley Wood Countryside

Woodland managed by the members of The Dorset Coppice Group which is available for the public to visit and learn about the many woodland traditions and skills that are still practised in the county today.

The Living Classroom was created so that visitors could get a greater understanding of woodland products, and discover the skill and time invested in Coppicing. Several areas of coppice have been bought back into rotation, the wood has its own charcoal kiln, and all the wood is extracted by horses.

This is a classroom with a difference; it is a learning environment within the wood itself. The classroom encourages the education of sustainable woodland practices and techniques, stimulating the desire to learn, with a practical and “hands on” approach.

Traditional skills which have been used for hundreds of years are showcased by the woodsmen and women working the woods. Coppice is a completely sustainable form of management as in many cases these woodland stools are as productive now as when first coppiced.

Today’s woodsmen forefathers were the first true conservationists; harvesting poles yet preserving their woodlands without the need for planting. Dorset has a particularly strong connection with this type of woodland, as a glance at any local map will reveal with the prevalence of woods named “……….. Coppice”.

Our woodland heritage and its wildlife will only continue if woodlands are managed and conserved. Buying woodland products such as timber furniture, fencing, charcoal, firewood, hazel hurdles and other coppice products, all help to support the management of our woodlands.

If you would like further information about the Living classroom, training courses, would like to arrange a group visit, or source local coppice products, please contact the Dorset Coppice Group on 01258 472299.

Directions

From Blandford:
At the Bryanston Roundabout turn Left, just around the corner take the right hand turning towards Bryanston. Continue up New Road for approx 2 miles. You will come to a small triangle, turn right for Durweston, as you go past Shepherds corner farm, take the left run signed Private road. Continue up this road through the farm, up a small hill, turn left onto forestry track. This track brings you directly into Bonsley wood.

From Durweston:
Take the turning to Bryanston, continue along this road until you meet the turning on the right signed Private road. Continue up this road through the farm, up a small hill, turn left onto forestry track. This track brings you directly into Bonsley Wood.

Additional Information

The Best Kind of Classroom

This is the best kind of classroom:
No walls, just sky and trees
This is the best kind of classroom:
No radiators, just a gentle breeze.

You can learn well here,
As the birds sing,
About your place
In the scheme of things.

You can make up poems
About woodland flowers
Why, it’s almost as interesting
As the Literacy Hour!

This is the best kind of classroom
It’s a journey through time and space
From the smallest seed to the largest tree
This is a forest and a learning place;

This is the best kind of classroom
Where the seasons don’t happen in books
Where the learning is watching and thinking and talking
And everyone notices, everyone looks.

by Ian MacMillan

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