Blog 2: 25 Anniversary Agroforestry Day-Bambra.

I attended a celebration day at a privately owned and operated Agroforestry project in Bambra, a small hamlet close to our family farm.

It’s 25 years since the owner first established the many tree varieties now growing on his property. I haven’t been there for at least 12 years, so walking among the mature trees and on-going plantings was very pleasant. Being a gorgeous sunny, autumnal day added to the ambience!

Members of the local Agroforestry group organised the day-there were plant stalls (indigenous & locally grown), demonstrations on planting tree seedlings, shitake mushroom logs, timber craftsmen and pruning demonstrations to mention a few.

Tree planting demonstration

 

Shitake mushroom logs.

Agroforestry means to grow and manage trees for multi purpose use on farms and rural properties. Rowan, the owner has set about to do just that. He uses his property as a working example to educate both local and international people

about the possibilities of tree management. He has established both indigenous and exotic species, many experimental with regard to growing conditions and growth rates. If suitable varieties are pruned correctly, they can be used as a sustainable source for the furniture and building industries.

Sequoia sepervirens Californian redwood, is proving very successful, also Quercus robur English oak, as well as Grevillea robusta Silky oak. Due to its strength and durability, English oak was the major timber grown and used for construction and ship building in Elizabethan England (Field Guide to the    Trees and Shrubs of Britain,1981).

English oak pruned to produce straight
 trunks for furniture manufacture.

Rowan grazes sheep among the trees, a very happy relationship.

Several hundred people wandered about the property, totally engaged in the talks and demonstrations or simply basking in the wonderful environment. Visiting such a successful ‘experiment’ is truly heartening with regard to the future of sustainable energy and products.