Education

Join Mark Krawczyk - applied ecologist, grower and author of Coppice Agroforestry - Tending Trees for Product, Profit and Woodland Ecology, for a deep dive into the art and science of coppice agroforestry. 

Leveraging the working landscape of Wellspring Forest Farm as our living classroom, in this workshop geared to students of all experience levels, we’ll examine the many facets of resprout silviculture practices like coppicing, pollarding, hedgelaying and more, both in the field and in the classroom.

This weekend event kicks off with an introductory slideshow and book signing, examining the fundamentals of these practices, along with their varied histories from around the world. We’ll also explore why coppicing has been so crucial to peoples across the globe for centuries and discuss its potential to further diversity farms, homesteads and other working landscapes here in our bioregion. 

On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll spend time in the field, creating new coppice stools and pollards, discussing best practices, tools, techniques, and timing and then practice some of the most promising opportunities to transform small diameter rods and poles into value added products for the home economy, farm enterprises, and cottage industry. We’ll place particular emphasis on a half dozen or so local species that prove particularly promising for this type of management.

And we’ll conclude our workshop with a deep dive into a holistic design process that empowers participants to apply these practices to the landscapes they call home as part of a cohesive and functional whole. We’ll set aside plenty of time for in-depth Q and A so folks return home feeling prepared for the ensuing five months of dormancy as we kick off the start to coppicing season.