Archive: July 2023
Solar power for prize-winning British timber cladding
July 14, 2023
Exciting news. We’re now using solar panels and the sun’s energy to transform local British wood into our Brimstone timber cladding. It’s our aim to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. And the installation of solar panels to power our timber cladding plant is an important step in the right direction. If you’re not already...
Ash from Bathurst estate
June 8, 2023
Where’s this wood from? This amazing ash is from the Bathurst estate, in Gloucestershire. The Bathurst estate is one of the country’s oldest privately owned parks. It was originally laid out in the 1700s as a deer park. In the First World War it became a military camp. It’s now open to the public and contains a number of woo...
1% Woodland Tax helps GiB TechScope explore Remote Sensing and AI
May 26, 2023
We’re always blown away by the people and projects that our 1% Woodland Tax helps to fund. All of them are doing amazing things to keep British woodland thriving. Over the last 12 months, our funding has helped Grown in Britain (GiB) to carry out a scoping project. Grown in Britain works at every stage of the forest product supply ch...
A hat trick of awards for Vastern Timber
March 6, 2023
Normally, we let the quality of our timber products and our promotion of local woodlands speak for itself. But just this once, we’re going to toot our horn, fly our flag and bang our metaphorical drum. Why? Because we’re celebrating winning not one, not two, but three national awards. And, as you can tell, we’re pretty chuffed....
MD, Tom Barnes, brings home the Confor Changing Attitudes Award
March 1, 2023
We’re delighted that Tom Barnes, our MD, has been presented with the Confor Changing Attitudes Award. This award recognises an individual, business or organisation that’s promoting the forestry and wood sector in a positive, impactful way. Tom was presented with the award by Trudy Harrison MP, the Minster for Natural Environment and...
Seven success stories from our 1% Woodland Tax funding in 2022.
December 22, 2022
In 2022, we decided to donate at least 1% of our turnover to support people and projects that are helping our local woodlands. We called it the 1% Woodland Tax. Over the course of the year, we’ve had the pleasure of supporting a whole collection of projects. All very different, but all with the same aim: to improve local woodlands an...
Grown in Britain Techscope AI project
December 20, 2022
What’s the potential for remote sensing and artificial intelligence to help woodland management and creation? A new project from Grown in Britain sets out to find the answers. We asked Dougal Driver and the team working on this ‘GiB Techscope AI’ project to tell us more. GiB Techscope AI Project The ultimate aim of this w...
Built demonstrator project from Material Cultures, supported by the 1% Woodland Tax
December 13, 2022
‘Clearfell House’ is a built demonstrator project from Material Cultures, supported by our 1% Woodland Tax. This project explores the impact of plantation woodlands on the landscape, using timber from local forests. We’re looking forward to seeing the completed project in 2023, and we asked the team to tell us more. "The new ...
Sycamore success stories at Future Trees Trust
November 8, 2022
Since 2019 Vastern Timber has supported the Future Trees Trust in their work to help future forests thrive. The FTT is the only UK charity working to improve broadleaved trees by conventional selective breeding. Their researchers work to ensure that the next generation of broadleaved trees will deliver all the environmental, social and ec...
Is England suffering from deforestation?
October 11, 2022
Despite headline-hitting pledges to oversee a massive expansion of our woodlands to help combat climate change, progress in England has been incremental and there is growing evidence that we are losing trees quicker than they are being replaced. Deforestation? In England? You’d be forgiven for thinking that deforestation can’t be a ...
