Forestry Commission Wales Education Officer Sheena O’Leary put a “green wood” training day to good use recently, just days before she gave birth to her first child.
Sheena joined her Woodlands for Learning (WfL) team colleagues at the Commission’s Garwnant visitor centre, near Merthyr Tydfil, to learn woodworking skills to pass on to children and young people.
Eight-month pregnant Sheena used her last day at work to turn a large beech log into a four-legged stool – and just nine days later gave birth to a 7lb 6oz baby boy named Aled Peter Phillips.
She said, “In my job, I’ve been used to teaching others about the value of growing trees and harvesting them for the many wood products they provide.
“Thanks to this training day, I was able to put into practice what I’ve been preaching by producing something which will come in very handy to rest on, now that I have a little son to look after!”
Members of the WfL team learned how to use shave horses, axes and other hand tools to turn pieces of wood into useful products such as bird feeders and musical instruments under the supervision of Scott Blytt Jordens, from Dragonfly Creations.
Using newly-cut – or green – logs, Scott demonstrated how easy it was to split wood to make a variety of products using the correct techniques and tools.
The green wood working course will be particularly useful for Forest School programmes and Forest School Leader training courses, as the projects learnt can be accomplished by learners over several sessions.
The skills are also useful when delivering sessions to older age groups, as well as children.
Carol Travers, the WfL team manager in South Wales, said, “Team members have been asking for this type of professional development for some time and it was well worth it.
“It has given the whole team the confidence to work with green wood and to pass on the skills learned to the many groups we work with in woodlands across Wales.”
