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About
Ignite is an innovative training programme of practical seminars and interactive workshops with a focus on woodfuel.
It is designed for those wanting to know more about woodfuel and to equip new and existing woodfuel businesses with the skills and knowledge required to meet the increasing demand from this growing alternative market.
With oil at high prices and concerns over supply, many people are increasingly going back to wood.
Advances in boiler technology and the introduction of woodchips and pellets as fuel sources, have seen a dramatic increase in the uptake of wood fuelled heating systems in recent years.
The Ignite: Managing Woods for Woodfuel course focuses on planting, managing and harvesting woodlands for use as woodfuel.
What timber is suited to what type of woodfuel (logs or chips), assessing woodlands, measuring timber, harvesting, extraction, conversion and the economic modelling of timber harvesting and woodfuel conversion are covered in this one day course.
Delivery method
ClassroomRecognised by
Lantra AwardsCourse description:
Who should attend?
Ignite courses are aimed at anyone involved in the woodfuel supply chain sector, whether they be woodfuel users, specifiers, processors, growers or woodland owners.What will be covered?
Morning Sessions:
Session 1 – Welcome and Introduction.
Session 2 – Management Systems:
This session includes a general introduction to woodland types and the management regimes that can be applied to these woodland types. We introduce the concept of the common silvicultural systems used in UK forestry and particularly those used for small, unmanaged and undermanaged woodlands.
Session 3 – Crop Assessment:
Afternoon Sessions
The afternoon will be made up of practical site visits including in-forest timber measurements and a visit to local woodlands. This will then be followed by two further sessions which will include a final exercise that will combine all of the day’s information.
Session 4 – Harvesting and Extraction:
This session introduces the common harvesting and extraction techniques, machinery and equipment in use in the UK today and what situations they are best applied to. It covers motor manual and mechanised harvesting techniques and the many different types of timber extraction system.
Session 5 – Conversion:
This session looks at how timber felled and extracted can then be processed into woodfuel, focusing on firewood and woodchip production. We discuss timber quality and how this affects the woodfuel product chosen, and indeed its quality, and we look at moisture content and its effect on energy content. Here we also cover seasoning techniques, production methods and quality assurance.
We finish the session with a look at how to maintain compliance with the woodfuel legal and sustainability requirements for the Renewable Heat Incentive and how to register on and maintain compliance with the Biomass Suppliers List for both self-suppliers and producer traders. Throughout the course participants are encouraged to contribute their own experience either of woodfuel or of other aspects of renewable to the course.
Other areas of interest
- Ignite: Firewood Production and Supply (1 day course)
- Ignite: Woodfuel Production and Supply (3 day course)
- Ignite: Woodfuel Quality Standards (1 day course)
- Basic Wildfire Training (1 day course)
- Forestry and Climate Change (2 day course)
- Trees and Timber Measurement (1 day course).
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