The weather was kind to us again as we gathered to volunteer on a hot, sunny Spring day. We took our morning intention setting meditation to the shade of the forest school fire circle, and then split into two groups to take on the day’s tasks. Some of us spent time on our agroforestry project in the budding community garden, digging beds and trenches, and erecting a polytunnel frame. While it’s a bit late for a full season of growing, we still hope to have a late summer harvest, and plant the seeds for a project we envision will not only feed the community garden volunteers, but the wider elfwoods community and residents in the immediate vicinity.
The remainder of us worked on the heathland, removing gorse and bracken and making more benches for our numerous fire pits. This time we didn’t have a tenon cutter to speed up the process, but we learnt how to cut tenons on the shavehorse using a bearded axe and drawknife. While a slower process, we found it to be a lot more satisfying using hand tools, and appreciated our finished benches even more than the ones we’d made a couple of weeks ago.
Both groups reconvened for a delicious lunch of lentil and wild rice salad accompanied by sourdough bread, wild garlic pesto and rhubarb and almond cake brought along by some our volunteers. Unlike other volunteer days where we’ve gathered around the large communal fire, this time people were drawn to the newly rehomed large wooden table that was made by Dylan, our woodland manager and Built by Artizans carpenter extraordinaire. It’s a great addition to community meals.
After enjoying our food and the opportunity to catch up and chat with other volunteers we were keen to get back to it, and worked determinedly late into the afternoon right up until dinner time; with some volunteers again staying to cook their dinner over the fire before heading home well into the evening, tired but satisfied.
If you enjoy spending your free time in a stunning natural setting engaged in satisfying work with like-minded others, why not join us? Contact us if you’d like to come along to the next elfwoods volunteer day, or join our mailing list below to find out about future volunteer days.