What a Show! Last week saw the first-ever Cumbria Woodlands Forest Festival at the Westmorland County Show!
The festival in Numbers-
- 2 fantastic days at the Show
- 8 tree felling demos
- 12 seminars
- 80 of cups of coffee
- 100s bags of charcoal
- 2500 people through the arena area
- 4,000 axe throws (at a guess)
- Endless discussion and learning about woodland and trees...
The event brought together people and organisations from all over the forestry and woodland world for two days of talks, demos, learning and discussion. Bringing all of the forestry and woodland exhibitors into one place created a one-stop shop for all things trees whilst creating a fantastic atmosphere for all those attending.
Whether visitors wanted to learn about woodland management, crafts, how to coppice or even how to fund woodland creation on their land, the Forest Festival had it all covered. Don't just take our word for it, here are some thoughts from those who came along:
"I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who came to the Forest Festival, and that includes not only the partners and organisations that made it possible but also all the members of the public who came and chatted, hung out and watched demos whilst learning about the fascinating world of woods and trees"
Graham Watson, Cumbria Woodlands
"Cumbria Woodlands have done a fantastic job... there are lots of benefits in working together, for networking between organisations but it is also really powerful to be speaking to the public and be able to direct them to any of our partners. I definitely think we should do it again, we should do it next year"
Colin Binnie (Partnership and Expertise Manager, Forestry Commission
"It's been great, we've been to the show a few times... we've definitely experienced a lot more traffic this year. I've really enjoyed speaking and listening to some of the talks and there has been a strong sense of collective endeavour within the forestry industry
Sam Ansell, Coppice Coop
"It's great to come along and get our name out there and discuss what I do and how I can help people create woodland. It was great to have all the forestry creation partners in one place as a focal point of the show"
Anna Holiday, Eden Rivers Trust