Archive: September 2021
British timber summit at Sylva Wood School
September 8, 2021
This week, Tom Barnes, MD of Vastern Timber, visited the Sylva Foundation. He gave a short talk on the British grown timber supply chain to Sylva Wood Summer School students, and then joined a fascinating tour of the Sylva Wood site - which includes a young forest, several woodworking workshops, a teaching 'barn' and more. Later that da...
Part ten of Wood for the trees, on rewilding
August 9, 2021
Hundreds of people have liked, shared and watched the latest episode of 'Wood for the Trees,' since its release 3 days ago on youtube and vimeo. This series, about wood, trees and tree planting, is a project from film-maker Charly Le Marchant and Vastern Timber managing director Tom Barnes. Part ten looks at rewilding, and was filmed a...
WoodBUILD podcast: Interest grows in low carbon materials
August 4, 2021
The WoodBUILD podcast is hosted by David Hedges at WoodKnowledge Wales, and the latest episode features Vastern Timber MD Tom Barnes, talking about trees and timber with chartered forester, Andrew Bronwin, director of Bronwin & Abbey. In the podcast, Tom Barnes says “The interest is growing in materials that have a negligible car...
Tom talks to Parliamentary Group on Forestry
April 28, 2021
Today, our MD Tom Barnes will take part in a debate hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting. He's planning to say "Last time I presented to you I talked about the benefits of using home-grown timber and why tree planting alone will not provide the benefits we desire. This time I am going to talk about ...
Agroforestry: Wood For The Trees film 7
January 30, 2021
Tom Barnes, MD of Vastern Timber, is making a series of films dedicated to the future of British forests, "where I try and balance my deep despair at the declining state of our woodlands with a healthy dose of optimism." In part seven, he visits a Somerset farm to discuss agroforestry, and discover how integrating forestry with farmi...
The benefits of building with wood
January 5, 2021
A new BBC series looks at proven ways to save the planet, including increasing use of timber in construction. "There are so many solutions to climate change, some proven and growing, others possible yet craving uptake." says presenter Tom Heap in '39 Ways to Save the Planet.' He described the many benefits of building with timber, incl...
Tom Barnes talks to Parliamentary Group
December 14, 2020
"You wouldn't talk about agriculture without talking about food production but I hear continuously about tree planting with absolutely no mention of management and wood production." Tom was invited to speak at a Parliamentary meeting on 10 December, to discuss "a co-ordinated UK-wide approach to tree planting, and planting targets, rec...
Vastern Timber pledge support to Future Trees Trust
November 30, 2020
Today we announce a three-year partnership with tree improvement charity Future Trees Trust. Vastern Timber is donating £5000 a year, for the next three years, to support the costs of Future Trees Trust’s work with sycamore. We will also feature Future Trees Trust’s work as part of our “Wood for the Trees” film series, to help...
Dave Madgwick retires after 46 years
September 24, 2020
We send our heartfelt thanks and best wishes to Dave Madgwick, who has retired after 46 years at Vastern Timber. We’ll miss his photographic memory for trees and timber, and his exceptional knowledge of wood and woodlands. Dave Madgwick joined Vastern Timber in 1974, just one year after the firm had purchased the Wootton Bassett sawm...
Wood for the Trees: the future for our forests
December 20, 2019
Our woodlands are at a critical moment in time, many experts say a tipping point. At 13% we have one of the lowest levels of woodland cover in Europe. The native trees that we do have face numerous threats including drought, pests and pathogens. And tree planting rates are pitifully low. However I believe and hope that 2020 will be a...
