Green Wood Centre Facts for Kids

The Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, is a special place that helps people learn about woodlands and how to use wood in a good way. It used to be called the Green Wood Trust and was started in 1984 by people who cared about the environment. Today, it's the home of the Small Woods Association, which is a charity. They work to protect and improve woodlands across the UK.

Cool Buildings at the Centre
Heating with Wood Fuel
The Reed Bed System
The Green Wood Café
See also

Cool Buildings at the Centre

The Woodland College

The Woodland College is a really interesting building. It was designed to be an example of sustainable architecture. This means it was built in a way that is good for the environment and saves energy. The building uses a lot of local wood in its design.

For example, the main support poles are made from sweet chestnut tree trunks. Other parts use peeled ash logs. Even the window frames and outside walls are made from different types of wood like Douglas fir, European larch, and English oak.

The Woodland College is a busy place. It's used for offices, teaching woodland craft courses, and holding meetings or community events. It can fit up to 70 people sitting down or 100 standing up.

How the Woodland College Saves Energy

The Woodland College has many clever features that help it save energy and be kind to the planet:

Sun Power: The building is placed in a way that lets it get the most sunlight. This helps to warm it up naturally.
Heat Exchangers: These devices take heat from the air leaving the building and use it to warm up fresh, cold air coming in. This means the building stays warm without needing much extra heating.
Smart Windows: The windows have special double-glazed glass and low emissivity glass. This design lets more heat into the building than it lets escape, keeping it cozy.
Heat Storage: The inside walls are made of heavy concrete blocks. These blocks store heat from warmer times and release it when it's colder. This helps keep the temperature inside steady, even if it changes a lot outside.

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 holds 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's made from wood found right in the local area. The main frame uses oak, ash, and elm. The roof is covered with chestnut shingles, and the walls are woven from hazel and sweet chestnut. Its design is based on an old barn from Herefordshire.

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 them to collect wood or rescue animals during floods.

Heating with Wood Fuel

The Green Wood Centre uses wood fuel to heat its buildings. They have a special boiler that burns logs. This boiler heats water, which then travels through pipes to warm all four main buildings.

The logs come from local woodlands that are being looked after by volunteers from the Small Woods Association. Using wood fuel helps to reduce the amount of electricity the centre uses. It also helps to restore local woodlands and makes them better places for plants and animals. This heating system was put in place in 2005 with help from a grant.

The Reed Bed System

In 1990, the Green Wood Centre installed a reed bed sewage system. This is a natural way to clean and recycle all the wastewater from toilets, sinks, and showers. It means they don't need to send their wastewater to a big, expensive treatment plant. The cleaned water then flows into a clean pond near the entrance.

The Green Wood Café

Right next to the Woodland College at the Green Wood Centre, you'll find The Green Wood Café. This is a family-run coffee shop that opened in 2016. They serve delicious coffees, teas, cakes, and light lunches. They also have many gluten-free and vegan options.

The café often has special events:

Street Food Evenings: On some Fridays, they have street food, with vegan and gluten-free choices.
Sunday Brunch Chill: Enjoy brunch, coffee, cake, and music like jazz and blues on some Sundays.
Late Night Opening & Hobby Night: Once a month, they stay 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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