About

Working Woodlands Cornwall is a Community Interest Company, a not-for-profit organisation, established in 2017 to improve the health and biodiversity of Cornwall’s woods, bring neglected woodlands back into sustainable management, and increase access for all.


MEET THE TEAM

TOM KEMP – DIRECTOR
Tom has been involved with woodland management for the last fifteen years. He actively manages a number of woods and woodland creation projects in Cornwall as well as providing forestry consultancy. His latest personal projects include using rare breed pigs for woodland creation ground preparation and close-to-nature pork

NICK JARVIS – DIRECTOR
Nick first got into woodland management in 2014, volunteering with his local community woodland group. In 2015 he completed his Permaculture Design Certificate, and then began a 3-yr apprenticeship in traditional woodland management. He now works in woodland management operations, consultancy and planning. He is passionate about integrating farming and forestry to create a biodiverse, productive future.
Previously, Nick had been working as an Events Manager in the Arts and finding a route into a forestry career seemed difficult at first. This sparked a particular interest in making forestry more accessible to all.

EMMA EBERHARDT
Emma has a background in environmental science and is currently studying towards an MSc in Agroforestry and Food Security.
She is working with WWC to apply her learning in a practical context, and gain skills in woodland management, forestry consultancy and design implementation. Her hope is to become an experienced agroforestry designer and woodland advisor to help secure a resilient food and fuel future.

GRACE FINNIE
Grace began her time with WWC as a Kickstarter Apprentice and is now officially the newest member of our team. She has great enthusiasm for wildlife and working amongst the trees, with a particular passion for ancient tree conservation, and is continuing to grow her practical knowledge of what sustainable forestry can entail.  At the same time Grace is a visual artist; her infrared tree portraits aim to reignite human connection to our environment and spark a new fascination towards plants.

A blog post that Grace has written, about her experience doing an apprenticeship with us, can be found through this link – https://workingwoodlandscornwall.com/apprentice-blog/

CHERYL YARHAM – DIRECTOR
Cheryl grew up in Hampshire between the New Forest and the Solent. From a young age she always loved nature, animals, and the environment. As an experienced team leader and scientist, Cheryl is helping WWC develop citizen science projects.
Currently Cheryl volunteers at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust 1-2 days a week. She started off helping ERCCIS with the mapping of Cornish hedges using ArcGIS. When that project came to fruition she was asking to stay on and help with the Marine Strandings Network as a data analysist.

Sam Turner MSc Sustainable Development student doing a work placement in agroforestry

SAM TURNER
Sam is a MSc Sustainable Development student at the Exeter University. From rowanberries to medlars he has an interest in rare and heritage fruit tree varieties as well as heritage fruit more generally. He says…
“From a passion that started with making jams and chutneys out of such rare fruits over the previous summer I now find myself extremely excited and privileged to be working with WWC to help research potential agroforestry designs for sites in Cornwall. As well as wanting to build my own practical skills during this placement I also hope I can help promote the viability and commerciality of rare and heritage fruit varieties in Cornwall.”

MOIRA CONNOR
Moira is our latest Kickstart Apprentice. Her desire to work outdoors led her to study Conservation and Biology at Exeter University in Cornwall, and she’s looking forward to learning a bunch of new skills to put her degree into action and kickstart a career in sustainable forestry. She says…
“I’m excited to join such a dedicated and forward-thinking team who are particularly supportive of diversifying the forestry sector. I’m already seeing the woods with new eyes after just a few weeks of halo thinning in Devichoys woods. I look forward to getting to know the woods in Cornwall even better and seeing how they change as we work.”


A FEW OF OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS…

ABOUT DEVICHOYS WOODLAND

Devichoys Wood Nature Reserve is an ancient, semi-natural woodland (Sessile Oak with Hazel, Holly and Rowan understory) with a long history of coppicing and charcoal burning. Active management appears to have ceased around 1940 resulting in the current neglected state of the wood.
Working Woodlands Cornwall will restore Devichoys wood to a productive coppice that is a valuable asset to the local community – producing firewood, charcoal and many more woodland products.
Coppicing is an extremely sustainable woodland management technique practised in Britain since prehistoric times, and selected by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust (who own the land) as the best way to manage the woodland for biodiversity and conservation benefits.