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The Smokey Art of Charcoal Making
Charcoal making involves burning wood and controlling the amount of oxygen that is allowed into a kiln. The wood inside burns slowly at a very high temperature. At the beginning of the process there is quite a bit of smoke, but towards the end of the process there is very little - the colour of this smoke is all important!
Charcoal once provided the heat to smelt metals like iron and copper and was used to make gunpowder.
These days charcoal is mainly used for barbeques, but there are other uses, such as in Blacksmithing, traditional artists' charcoal made from willow and Bio Char which is used as a soil additive.
Now charcoal is mostly produced in metal kilns, but originally it was made in an earth clamp where wood was piled up and covered with turf to control the amount of oxygen.
Coppicing is the usual way to provide wood for producing charcoal.
Find out about the charcoal burns and training organised with local woodland owners and the Land of Oak & Iron Woodland Volunteer Team and their plans for the next charcoal burn.
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Tree of the Year 2020
The Woodland Trust are in search of the UK's Tree of the Year 2020.
Last year, the award went to the ancient Allerton Oak in Liverpool's beautiful Calderstones Park. A tree steeped in history - centuries old, it is believed to have served as a medieval courthouse for the 'Hundred Court' who would meet under its branches, the tree has links to the Domesday Book along with a local legend about how the large crack in its side appeared!
The Allerton Oak is a special tree to a member of our team - do you have a favourite tree that you would like to see celebrated? Who knows, maybe this year's winner could be a tree in the Land of Oak & Iron.
"Tree of the Year has helped to discover and celebrate lots of incredible trees across the nation. This year during lockdown, when many are appreciating local greenspace more than ever before, we hope to uncover some local tree treasures. The UK has some of the most remarkable trees in the world - and often they're found in someone's back garden." The Woodland Trust.
Find out more and nominate your favourite tree on the Woodland Trust website.
Nominations close at noon on 29 June 2020.
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And to finish - some more photographs from our collection to remind us of the beautiful Land of Oak & Iron and some of the special activities we have shared together as a community, we look forward to taking more photographs soon.
If you have any photographs that you would like to share, please tag us on our social media pages @LandofOakandIron
You can see more of our photographs on the Gallery page.
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