The Woodland Way: A Permaculture Approach to Sustainable Woodland Management

by Ben Law, Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud (Foreword)

Ben Law is an experienced and innovative woodsman with a deep commitment to practical sustainability. Here he presents a radical alternative to conventional woodland management that creates biodiverse, healthy environments, yields a great variety of value-added products, provides a secure livelihood for woodland workers and farmers, and benefits the local community. The author views the separation of agriculture from silviculture as unnecessarily limiting and argues for a new approach to planning that will encourage the creation of sustainably managed woodlands for the benefit of people, the local environment, and the global climate. Although specific to Britain, the principles of The Woodland Way will be understood by foresters worldwide. This brilliant book covers every aspect of woodland stewardship from both a practical and philosophical standpoint. Ben Law writes from the heart after long years of struggle with a whole host of naysayers who tried to convince him by fair means and foul to give up his vision for a renaissance in the countryside.

Genres: Gardening, Sustainability, Nature

Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Ben Law lives and works at Prickly Nut Woods in West Sussex, where apart from making a living from coppicing he trains apprentices and runs courses on sustainable woodland management, ecobuilding and permaculture design.

He is author of The Woodland Way, a permaculture approach to sustainable woodland management and The Woodland House, which charts the building of his unique cruck framed home in the woods. The building of his house was filmed for Channel 4's 'Grand Designs' programme and proved to be the most popular program of the series. Ben now runs occasional open days in response to the popular demand.

Ben's third book The Woodland Year, was published on September the 12th 2008.

Reviews

[Firstpersonnarrator · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic resource. The information is presented in straightforward text and handy at-a-glance lists, rendering it all the more useful as a reference. On top of this, you have the author's lovely way of conveying how do-able it all can be with the right level of motivation, mission, realism, and stick-to-it-iveness. It is a way of life, and this author loves it -- the sense of accomplishment in building such a life, the motivation of living in and *with* the forest, and earning a real living with an ecologically sustainable approach that doesn't just avoid having a destructive impact on the forest, but rather actually *helps* the health and regrowth of the forest. Not only is this way of life a celebration of living with and within nature, but also offers a fulfilling sense of community among other woodsmen who share similar values, and are a source of guidance and friendship.

The author is the real deal -- "Britain's greatest living woodsman." He walks the walk, and has done for over 20 years. He is internationally recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on living a woodland life. Below, I've lifted the description of the author directly from his profile within the book so that you can see just how impressive his contribution is:

"He has inspired millions with numerous TV appearances, training courses and lectures, and was most notably voted by viewers of Channel 4's Grand Designs programme as having the Best Ever Build with his Woodland House. He has also been on the BBC programmes Countrylife and The Green Team. In America...The World's Greenest Homes, The World's Most Extreme Homes (HGTV) and Nightline (ABC)." He holds an Advanced National Certificate in Agriculture, and offers apprenticeships. He was a founding member of both The Forest Management Foundation and the Forest Stewardship Council, and has published 5 bestselling books.

All of this goes by way of saying that you're in good hands with this excellent, worthwhile book.

[Will G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skillfully navigating bureaucracy in an ecologic wasteland.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This forest is in the UK but many of the ideas are similar to forest living here.

[North Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

We were given this book as a present when we bought a small woodland.
We already had a good understanding of permaculture, and it was interesting to see how Ben Law applies the permaculture framework to his woodland management.

At 100 acres, his woodland is a lot larger than ours, so not everything was relevant to us, not that this detracts from the quality of the information.

As time has gone by, we have moved more down the permaculture-based agroforestry/forest gardening road, rather than the traditional woodland management covered by Ben Law.

However, we still plan on coppicing, green woodworking etc, and so will refer back to this book in the future, without a doubt.

[Sigurður Unuson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like his designs a lot and what he was to say about the work means a lot and inspires me.