The Green Wood Centre in

Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge. This is where iron ore was first s ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

– formerly the Green Wood Trust, which was formed in 1984 with the help of many volunteers and specialists who were concerned about the environment – is now the home of th
Small Woods Association
a registered charity.

The buildings

Woodland College

Woodland College, designed for the Green Wood Trust by architects Simmonds Mills, is an example of

sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...

. The design incorporates high levels of energy efficiency and an innovative timber structure utilising local timber. The main support columns are

sweet chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

tree trunks concreted into place. Upper structure are peeled ash logs that could be replaced if necessary. Other species used in the College are Douglas fir (window frames and external cladding), European larch (wall studs, ceiling rafters and also external cladding) and English oak for the window sub sills. Woodland College is used as an office space, a teaching room for woodland craft courses, a conference venue and for community events. The Woodland College holds 70 people seated and 100 standing.

Woodland College efficiency

The Woodland College has several environmentally friendly features. Solar radiation – The orientation of the building enables the optimum usage of solar energy entering the building. Heat exchangers – The heat exchangers take the heat from outgoing air and preheat the cold, fresh incoming air, which is then sent around the building. It is calculated that the heat exchangers will maintain an average temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, which means that only a small use of the heating system is needed to top up the building's requirements. Windows – incorporating double-glazed units and low emissivity glass, together with insulated spacer bars and extra deep window frames. The windows thus allow more heat in over the year than they let escape. Heat storage – The internal walls are built using dense concrete blocks in order to store heat gained during warmer periods and retain warmth in the colder periods. This helps to maintain the temperature inside the building while the outside temperature fluctuates.

The Station House

Green Wood Centre is situated on the old

Coalbrookdale railway station Coalbrookdale railway station is a disused station at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England. The station was situated on the now mothballed freight-only line between Buildwas Junction and Lightmoor Junction. The station buildings are now used b ...

site. The once-derelict Station House has been restored and now houses the head office for the Small Woods Association.Small Woods Association
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The Cruck Barn

The

Cruck frame A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

d or Coracle Barn was constructed in 1988. The barn is made from wood sourced from the Gorge. The frame is made from oak, ash and elm whilst the roof is covered with chestnut shingles and the wall panels are woven hazel and sweet chestnut. The design is based upon a

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

cruck barn at

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings is an open-air museum of rescued buildings which have been relocated to its site in Stoke Heath, a district of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1963 and opened in 1967, the museum was conce ...

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. A display of

coracles A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of s ...

is held in the Cruck Barn for the general public to view. Coracles have a long history in Ironbridge. As there was a toll for using the bridge, locals would use a coracle instead to cross the river. They were also used to collect driftwood and, if the floods had trapped an animal, the coraclemen would paddle across to net them, giving them a reputation as poachers.

Wood fuel at Green Wood Centre

Green Wood Centre uses

wood fuel Wood fuel (or fuelwood) is a fuel such as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most easily availabl ...

in a Froling 50 kW Log Burner. A heated main runs the length of the site heating all four main buildings. The boiler is situated in a boiler house attached to the Cruck Barn. The boiler burns around one wheelbarrow's worth of logs a day during early spring and autumn but the load varies between summer and winter. Hot water passes through the burn chamber and is stored in a buffer tank in the Cruck Barn. The well-insulated water can stay hot for a week. The water travels along the pipes to the buildings where the thermostatic controls have been switched on. The logs are sourced from local coppiced woods that are currently being restored by Small Woods volunteers. The system was installed in December 2005 and since then has not only reduced considerably the amount of electricity used on site but also has helped the restoration of local woodlands and improved conditions for biodiversity and timber production. The system was installed with the help of a grant given by the Onyx Environmental Trust.

Reed bed system

In 1990 a

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

sewage system was installed at Green Wood Centre. A reed bed system purifies and recycles all waste water from toilets, sinks and showers. It avoids the need for an expensive water cleansing and processing through a mains system. The purified water leads to a clean pond near the site entrance.

The Green Wood Café

Situated in The Green Wood Centre next door to the Woodland College is The Green Wood Café, a family-run coffeeshop that has been open since June 2016, serving artisan espresso-based coffees, teas, cakes and a variety of light lunches, snacks etc. (inc. many gluten-free and vegan options). What's On at The Green Wood Café: Fortnightly Street Food Evenings - Fridays 5-9pm, vegan and gluten-free friendly. Fortnightly Sunday Brunch Chill - brunch, coffee, cake and music, including jazz and blues. Monthly Late Night Opening & Hobby Night - Board Games, Crafts, Food, Drink... More detail
here

References

{{Reflist

External links

Small Woods Association official website

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust

Coppice Products
Environmental charities based in the United Kingdom Coalbrookdale Tourist attractions in Shropshire Organizations established in 1984 Education in Shropshire