Off-grid Eco-friendly Woodland Classroom

Since the timber arrived from the sawmill (see previous report!), work has been steadily progressing on the eco-friendly woodland classroom, thanks to our amazing builder, Ben, and the help of our volunteers. 

Joists and beams have been used to create the subfloor and studwork. They will support the timber flooring and timber-clad walls. The floor is suspended timber so the use of concrete and other non-natural materials has been minimised.

Within the next few weeks the floorboards, cut from the larch and cedar logs as part of the 2021 milling process which created the main timbers for the frame and which have been seasoning for 12 months and now dry enough to be used, will start to go down. 

Once the floorboards and walls are in place, the windows - currently being made by a local carpenter - can be installed and the guttering and roof trimming finally completed. This will then allow us to finally connect to the underground pipework, installed by volunteers last December, that will take the roof's rainwater run-off to the ponds. We are already able to see the cabin taking shape and, with all fingers and toes crossed, it should be weathertight by December!

Thereafter, work will continue with the woodburner being moved over from the portacabin and a solar array being installed. By our next report - although not completed - we expect to be in and out of winter cold and rain.

Below are a few photos from the previous couple of months. We hope you enjoy seeing them as it is thanks to  your help that we have gotten this far. We are so grateful for the support from donors such as you, and for the hard work and time given by our volunteers.

The cost of materials continues to rise and our fundraising efforts must therefore continue. We thank you truly for your ongoing support in this.

Links:

• Our website

In the last report we were able to report that builders had been appointed and that the next phase of the build could resume. Athough, this is the case, acquiring the materials needed has required patience. Lead times for timber purchases are lengthy but we are happy to let you know that the timber needed to commence the next stage of the build finally arrived 2 days ago.

Now that the sawmill has been able to deliver the joists and beams, the subfloor can be constructed. The floorboards, cut from the logs as part of the process of milling the main timbers for the frame last year, have been seasoning for 12 months and are now dry enough to be used.

Good news though this is, it means that this report is quite a short one. We will post a further, interim report as soon as the next stage of construction has resumed and the floor is in place - about a month from now.

Timbershare
We thought, however, that you would like to know that a mini project 'Timbershare', is underway. Surplus timber and offcuts that cannot be used in the build are being shared with the community through a series of supported workshops. The first session saw offcuts used as a canvas for artwork and most recently, children and adults of all ages were taught basic woodworking skills through the construction of birdboxes. We have shared some images as part of this report.

We will be back with a further update as soon as the floor has been constructed and, as ever, we thank you for your ongoing support.