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May 11, 2023
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Summer School Report

in category: Announcements

Summer School 2022 report

We are delighted to publish a full report of the amazing 2022 Summer School run in partnership with the V&A Museum.

In September 2022, the third annual Sylva Wood Summer School took place in collaboration with the V&A Museum, and specifically the Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures programme to create ‘Field Notes.’

This exciting collaboration provided an amazing opportunity for the creative participants of the 2022 Summer School, and culminated in their work being displayed at the V&A’s Susan R Weber Furniture Gallery until October 2023.

We are now delighted to publish a report on this special event.

“The collaboration with V&A Museum has been filled with highlights and I truly believe we have created an inspiring experience, not just for participants, but for everyone involved in this year’s Summer School.It was amazing to see how the 12 participants engaged and worked over the two weeks -I am sure they are proud of what they have achieved during the project, and in seeing it displayed in the V&A Museum is a fitting legacy of their enthusiasm and hard work.”
Joe Bray, Head of Sylva Wood School

Download the Report

Summer School 2022 and the V&A Display

April 21, 2023
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Join us for Artweeks 2023

in category: Announcements, Sylva Wood Centre

Join us as we open the Sylva Wood Centre again to visitors on May 7/8 and 13/14 during Oxfordshire Artweeks.

Artweeks at the Sylva Wood Centre

The Sylva Wood Centre will be taking part in Oxford Artweeks this year! May 7th, 8th, 13th and 14th. Open 10am-5pm.

With open workshops on both Artweeks weekends, take the opportunity to talk to more than a dozen skilled craftspeople about their work making furniture, boats, and more.

The Sylva Wood School will also open its doors, for visitors to meet our tutors and students, and learn about a range of short and long woodworking courses on offer.

The House of Wessex – an Anglo-Saxon reconstructed house – will be open and living history society Wulfheodenas will be demonstrating various crafts including weaving and metal work (13/14th May only)

Parking is free and our Hardwood Cafe will be open with a selection of home-made cakes with tea and coffee.

Find us on the Artweeks webpages

Here’s a sneak preview of just some of the work of artists taking part this year:

December 12, 2022
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Sylva Summer School exhibition opens at the V&A

in category: Announcements, Sylva Wood School, WOOD

In September we hosted our third annual summer school. This year we collaborated with the V&A museum and specifically the Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures to create ‘Field Notes’. The work of the 12 practitioners taking part in the summer school is now on display in the V&A’s Susan R Weber Furniture Gallery.

in May 2022 the V&A and Sylva Foundation launched an open call to invite creative practitioners with an interest in wood as a material, and forests and woodlands as a place for learning and growing, to apply. We were particularly interested in applications from disabled people and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and from people who identify as queer or female as these groups are currently under-represented in the fields of forestry, design and making in wood.

We received more than 100 applications. After a selection and interview process overseen by the V&A and Sylva Foundation, with external support from designer and educator Huren Marsh, 12 practitioners within art, design and architecture were selected. They are: Georgina Bowman, Beatrix Bray, Rachel Cox, Krupa C. Desai, George Fereday, Hannah-Lily Lanyon, Nia Manoylo, Phoebe Oldfield, Henrique J. Paris, Matthew Rosier, Alisa Ruzavina and Adam Stanford.

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: a participant presents their work

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: tutors and participants

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: supporters, tutors and participants

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: exploring timber properties at the Sylva Wood School

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: milling timber at the Sylva Wood Centre

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: exploring timber properties at the Sylva Wood School

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: the exhibition in the V&A Furniture Hall

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: with thanks to ...

Sylva summer school 2022 with the V&A: exploring the forest

The Summer School was initiated with a week of inspirational online talks, seminars and mentoring sessions in August followed by a week in person at the Sylva Wood School in September. This week was a very special experience for everyone involved.

There were talks by curators, makers, conservators, foresters and arborists. There were forest walks, tree pruning sessions, milling of timber and hands-on making. All of these activities were underpinned by an open and ongoing discussion, with visiting experts and spending five days together. Each day started with the group assembling to share reflections from the previous day and ended with a communal dinner in Sylva Foundation’s Teaching Barn.

The brief for the summer school participants was to explore under-utilised, home-grown timber, and looking at issues of land use and ownership; management of forests; and questions of access and inclusion. As such each of the resulting projects was shaped by the practitioners’ own experiences.

All wood used during the summer school was sourced with the help of our partners, forestry charity, Grown in Britain. We provided a range of kiln-dried timbers, Alder, Ash, Douglas fir, Elm and Sweet Chestnut along with some freshly felled Ash and Birch from the Blenheim Estate. This offered the opportunity to explore the characteristics as well as the stories connected with them. We are very pleased that all of the timber used was certified as Grown in Britain guaranteeing its provenance.

The carefully curated display of the outcomes at the V&A act as a collection of ‘field notes’ that gather comments, questions and critical outputs regarding the future of forests and forestry. Rather than complete projects, they can be seen as prompts that invite further investigation and discussion. It looks amazing and we encourage you all to visit and let us know what you think – it will be on display until October 2023.

We would like to thank; Johanna Agerman-Ross, Maude Willaerts and Danilo Marques dos Reis from the V&A for driving the project forward and being great to work with. Dougal Driver and Rachel Lawrence from Grown in Britain for their ongoing support of our Summer Schools. All of the contributors during the two weeks, Huren Marsh, Dana Melchar, Sumitra Upham, Sharon Durdant-Hollamby, Mac Collins, Hattie Speed, Lynn Jones, Anthony Dain and Rae Sellen. Our Sylva Foundation team: Joe Bray, Phillip Gullam, Gabriel Hemery, Paul Orsi, and George Dennison. And finally, John Makepeace OBE for his support of the Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures and for sharing his knowledge and vast experience with us all over the two incredible weeks of learning.

“Without doubt this year’s Summer School has been the most amazing experience of my teaching career. Bringing together so many brilliant young people, from diverse backgrounds and creative fields then prompting them with inspiring talks, walks and access to our workshops and experienced teachers has led to twelve very special outcomes. Anyone interested in the future of our forests and the opportunities of using homegrown timber should definitely go and see the inspiring display.”

Make Good exhibition – a collaboration between the V&A and Sylva Foundation. Photo Gabriel Hemery

December 7, 2022
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Impact Report 2022

in category: Announcements

We’re pleased to published our Impact Report for 2022. The theme this year is ‘collaboration’. Through our many collaborations we can illustrate the diversity of our work, and just as importantly, shine a spotlight on our partners, and the impact we are making together.

Collaboration is one of our core values:

To work extensively and selflessly with others, recognising that collaboration is necessary to overcome the challenges of halting biodiversity loss and reducing climate change, while supporting the transition to a sustainable human society.

Sylva Foundation Impact Report 2022 – the year in numbers

The past year at Sylva Foundation has been one of steady growth and exciting development. We have worked with many people who share our vision for a society that cares for nature, while living with it in harmony. In this, our second Impact Report, I am proud to use it as an opportunity to recognise the hard work, willingness and dedication of all those who have contributed to our work.

At Sylva we sometimes describe ourselves as a small charity that punches above its weight, and in 2022 this has felt more apt than ever. In this Impact Report, we highlight one of Sylva’s core values — collaboration. Through our many collaborations we can illustrate the diversity of our work, and just as importantly, shine a spotlight on our partners, and the impact we are making together. Indeed, you will read how these different partnerships ensure Sylva continues to reach across Britain.

From our Future Oak Project with Bangor University, to the volunteers working at our Future Forest in South Oxfordshire, from the continued development of NatureBid our innovative environmental funding platform, to supporting Defra’s Resilient Treescapes Projects, all of these are exciting initiatives that we are working on to meet some of greatest environmental challenges facing modern society.

We also use this opportunity to remember and celebrate Martin Wood. A Co-Founder and Patron of Sylva Foundation, Martin embodied the culture of our charity, not just through his commitment to the environment, but his willingness to share with others in an open and respectful way to get things done. Martin’s generosity of spirit and innovative approach is at the very heart of Sylva’s value of collaboration, and we will continue his legacy of respecting the knowledge and merit that others bring to all aspects of our work.

Impact Report 2022. Click to download

November 16, 2022
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Innovative support available for existing and new woods across England

in category: Announcements, FORESTRY

Landowners and managers across England are invited to apply for an innovative package of fully-funded advice, providing vital information to support them in taking the next steps in managing existing woodland and/or creating new wooded areas.

The fully-funded advice is being delivered under the PIES (Protect Improve Expand Sustain) project. It is run by a consortium of partners involving Sylva Foundation, the Forest Canopy Foundation, and Grown in Britain, supported by the Forestry Commission and the NFU.

Image (c) Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt

The PIES project includes a network of independent Expert Providers who will deliver high-quality and standardised advice to landowners across England, supporting them in developing plans to manage existing woods and/or for new woodland creation projects. The support will help compliance with the UK Forestry Standard, support achieving Grown in Britain certification, and improve access to the Woodland Carbon Code. Landowners taking part in the project will receive fully-funded support, including one-to-one advice with ongoing online support and technical services. The advisory visit and other outputs have been carefully designed to avoid overlap with activities covered by government incentives. This means that any subsequent activity could still be supported by other grants.

Applications are welcomed that seek to bring existing woodland into sustainable management, and/or from landowners/managers interested in creating new woodland. The advice package is open to landowners and managers in England. It is not open to those with an up-to-date woodland management plan, while those who have the support of an existing expert provider (e.g. land or forestry agent) are also excluded.

The PIES project is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund. The fund was developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission and is being delivered by the Heritage Fund.

Applications are now welcome from eligible landowners and managers across England.

Find out more: sylva.org.uk/pies

ENDS

More Information

To speak with a member of the project team, please contact Sylva Foundation:
01865 408018 or info@sylva.org.uk

Applications are invited using an online form available here: sylva.org.uk/pies

The PIES project is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund, developed by Defra in partnership with the Forestry Commission and administered by the Heritage Fund.

Sylva Foundation is an environmental charity focussing on trees and woodland. It uses its forestry knowledge and information technology skills to provide innovative solutions to some of the greatest environmental challenges facing modern society. Its platform myForest helps more than 9,000 woodland owners and managers care for 160,000ha across Britain. It also provides an environmental matchmaking platform NatureBid which has supported the £24M of funding in the last three years. From its base in south Oxfordshire it runs a Wood Centre and Wood School supporting training and the use of home-grown timber.
www.sylva.org.uk

Forest Canopy Foundation is a not-for-profit partnership of professionals from across the forestry industry who have come together to play their part in mitigating climatic change and reviving biodiversity in the UK. The FCF now manages an innovative scheme combining public and private finance to make it more feasible for landowners to plant trees and is also supporting the industry through an ongoing research and development programme. The FCF has a national network of 11 Expert Providers (EPs) operating under the Foundation’s umbrella. Each EP is certified by FCF’s independent auditor Grown in Britain. Each EP can support landowners with various forms of tree planting, including woodland creation, agroforestry, and hedgerows by providing expert advice and practical support on funding streams available, establishment and long-term management. www.forestcanopyfoundation.co.uk.

Grown in Britain is a not for profit, independent certification body supporting UK forestry and global plant health. GiB works to create a sustainable future for forests and forest products, to increase canopy cover in the UK and to protect our natural habitats from the threat of pests and diseases. Their vision is to put trees and plants at the heart of a healthier, more biodiverse, resilient and prosperous UK economy. www.growninbritain.org