Green Wood Centre Facts for Kids

The Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, is a special place that teaches people about woodlands and how to use wood in a smart, eco-friendly way. It used to be known as the Green Wood Trust, which started in 1984. Many volunteers and experts helped create it because they cared about the environment. Today, the centre is home to the Small Woods Association, a group that helps protect and manage woodlands.

Buildings at the Centre
Heating with Wood Fuel
- How the Wood Heating System Works
Reed Bed Water System
The Green Wood Café
- Events at The Green Wood Café
See also

Buildings at the Centre

The Green Wood Centre has several interesting buildings. Each one shows how wood can be used in clever and sustainable ways.

Woodland College: A Green Building

The Woodland College was designed to be a great example of sustainable architecture. This means it was built in a way that is kind to the environment. It uses very little energy and is made mostly from local wood.

Building Materials of Woodland College

The main support poles of the college are made from sweet chestnut tree trunks. These are set firmly in concrete. The upper parts of the building use peeled ash logs. Other types of wood include Douglas fir for window frames and outside walls. European larch is used for wall studs and ceiling beams. English oak forms the window sills.

What Happens at Woodland College?

The Woodland College is a busy place. It has offices and is used for teaching woodland craft courses. It also hosts conferences and community events. The college can hold up to 70 people sitting down or 100 people standing.

How Woodland College Saves Energy

The Woodland College has many features that help it save energy and protect the environment:

Sunlight Power: The building is positioned to get the most sunlight. This helps warm the building naturally.
Heat Savers: Special devices called heat exchangers take warmth from air leaving the building. They use this heat to warm up fresh, cold air coming in. This means less heating is needed.
Smart Windows: The windows have double-glazed glass and special coatings. These features let more heat into the building than they let escape.
Warm Walls: The inside walls are made from heavy concrete blocks. These blocks store heat from warmer times. They then release it when it gets colder. This helps keep the building's temperature steady.

The Station House

The Green Wood Centre is built on the site of the old Coalbrookdale railway station. The Station House, which was once falling apart, has been fixed up. It now serves as the main office for the Small Woods Association.

The Cruck Barn

The Cruck Barn, also known as the Coracle Barn, was built in 1988. It is made from wood found right in the local area. The main frame uses oak, ash, and elm. The roof is covered with chestnut shingles. The wall panels are woven from hazel and sweet chestnut. Its design is based on an old cruck barn from Herefordshire. You can see the original at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Coracles in the Cruck Barn

Inside the Cruck Barn, you can see a display of coracles. These are small, round boats. Coracles have a long history in the Ironbridge area. People used them to cross the river to avoid paying a toll on the bridge. They also used coracles to collect wood that had floated downstream. Sometimes, if floods trapped animals, coraclemen would use their boats to rescue them.

Heating with Wood Fuel

The Green Wood Centre uses wood fuel to heat its buildings. They have a large wood burner that heats water. This hot water then travels through pipes to warm all four main buildings. The boiler is in a special house next to the Cruck Barn.

How the Wood Heating System Works

The boiler burns about one wheelbarrow of logs each day in spring and autumn. The amount of wood used changes between summer and winter. Hot water from the boiler is stored in a large tank in the Cruck Barn. This tank is well insulated, so the water can stay hot for up to a week. The hot water then flows through pipes to the buildings when the heating is turned on.

The logs used for heating come from local woodlands. These woods are being cared for and restored by volunteers from the Small Woods Association. This heating system was put in place in December 2005. It has greatly reduced the amount of electricity the centre uses. It has also helped local woodlands grow healthier and improved the variety of plants and animals living there. The system was installed with help from a grant by the Onyx Environmental Trust.

Reed Bed Water System

In 1990, the Green Wood Centre installed a special reed bed system. This system cleans and recycles all the wastewater from toilets, sinks, and showers. It means the centre does not need to send its wastewater to an expensive main sewage system. The cleaned water flows into a clean pond near the centre's entrance.

The Green Wood Café

The Green Wood Café is located at The Green Wood Centre, right next to the Woodland College. It is a family-run coffee shop that opened in June 2016. The café serves delicious espresso coffees, teas, cakes, and light lunches. They also have many gluten-free and vegan options.

Events at The Green Wood Café

The Green Wood Café often hosts fun events:

Street Food Evenings: These happen every two weeks on Fridays from 5-9 pm. They offer vegan and gluten-free friendly food.
Sunday Brunch Chill: Every two weeks, you can enjoy brunch, coffee, cake, and music, including jazz and blues.
Late Night Opening & Hobby Night: Once a month, the café stays open late for board games, crafts, food, and drinks.

You can find more details here.

Green Wood Centre facts for kids

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