Archive: November 2021
Proud supporters of Shared Earth Forest School
November 29, 2021
Vastern Timber is proud to announce our support for ‘Project Grow,’ from Shared Earth learning forest school. We asked Shared Earth Learning to tell us more about the project. “Thanks to a generous £5000 donation from Vastern Timber, we can do more to support young people, and nurture a love of nature,” said Alex Hart, co-di...
What is biophilic design and how can it help you feel better?
November 17, 2021
Want to feel better, recover faster, concentrate for longer and be more productive? Then, here’s how. No, it’s not the latest fad diet or the newest exercise craze. It’s much simpler than that. Spend more time in nature. During my film series ‘Wood For The Trees,’ I spoke to Suzi Martineau, from the Tree Sisters Charity, a...
Wood for the Trees, 12 ideas to help Britain’s forests grow
October 27, 2021
Wood for the Trees is a series of films about the future of Britain's forests, from our MD Tom Barnes, and film-maker Charly Le Marchant. In these films, experts from different backgrounds and perspectives talked about their hopes and fears and suggested one policy for the UK government. This five minute film summarises those polic...
Part ten of Wood for the trees, on rewilding
August 9, 2021
Hundreds of people have liked, shared and watched the latest episode of 'Wood for the Trees,' since its release 3 days ago on youtube and vimeo. This series, about wood, trees and tree planting, is a project from film-maker Charly Le Marchant and Vastern Timber managing director Tom Barnes. Part ten looks at rewilding, and was filmed a...
WoodBUILD podcast: Interest grows in low carbon materials
August 4, 2021
The WoodBUILD podcast is hosted by David Hedges at WoodKnowledge Wales, and the latest episode features Vastern Timber MD Tom Barnes, talking about trees and timber with chartered forester, Andrew Bronwin, director of Bronwin & Abbey. In the podcast, Tom Barnes says “The interest is growing in materials that have a negligible car...
Tom talks to Parliamentary Group on Forestry
April 28, 2021
Today, our MD Tom Barnes will take part in a debate hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting. He's planning to say "Last time I presented to you I talked about the benefits of using home-grown timber and why tree planting alone will not provide the benefits we desire. This time I am going to talk about ...
The benefits of building with wood
January 5, 2021
A new BBC series looks at proven ways to save the planet, including increasing use of timber in construction. "There are so many solutions to climate change, some proven and growing, others possible yet craving uptake." says presenter Tom Heap in '39 Ways to Save the Planet.' He described the many benefits of building with timber, incl...
Tom Barnes talks to Parliamentary Group
December 14, 2020
"You wouldn't talk about agriculture without talking about food production but I hear continuously about tree planting with absolutely no mention of management and wood production." Tom was invited to speak at a Parliamentary meeting on 10 December, to discuss "a co-ordinated UK-wide approach to tree planting, and planting targets, rec...
Wood for the Trees: watch part 4 of our series
June 15, 2020
This year, our MD Tom Barnes is making a series of films exploring the future of our forests. “I’m concerned about the many risks facing British woodland, but hopeful that we can protect and enhance them for future generations.” Part 4 looks at the health benefits of trees and was filmed during the Covid-19 lockdown. Tom ta...
