Leaving Tir Coed
Written by Tir Coed / Tuesday 06 March 2018
I’m sad to be leaving Tir Coed but I’m also very proud to have been involved in setting up the LEAF project in Pembrokeshire.
I was always going to be on a 9-month contract only with Tir Coed as Pembrokeshire coordinator so I always planned to leave the Tir Coed family at the end of February 2018 but it is still sad to be going.
Lowri and myself took on the post back in May 2017 and with a whole county to expand the LEAF project into, we had little choice but to hit the ground running!
Within a few weeks we had made links with most of the referrals agencies and organisations in Pembrokeshire and had set a date for our first woodland training course so had a clear date to work towards. With tutors to organise and places to fill on the first course there was plenty to do!
In no time at all the first course was booked up with participants and we were all set to build a timber frame building using traditional timber framing skills in a woodland near Bethlehem, Pembrokeshire.
As the course got up and running it was inspirational to see the participants engage with the skills they were gaining and with very experienced & motivated Tutors running the course, the group quickly got stuck in!
Seeing the LEAF project reach out to, and actively engage so many people in Pembrokeshire has been incredibly rewarding. It wasn’t long before our second 12 week course in Woodland Management was under way and another group of participants were engaging with and really enjoying the course.
It has been inspirational to meet the wonderful Tutors and woodland owners here in Pembrokeshire who have put their heart’s and mind’s into passing on their woodland skills to people who will benefit from them. It’s also been incredibly gratifying to see our participants gain so much from the courses, not just in woodland skills but in confidence and on many other personal levels too.
As a gardener and Tree Surgeon I am passionate about trees, I now hand over to Adam Dawson who has a vast knowledge of Trees and woodlands and great drive to develop Tir Coed activities further here in Pembrokeshire.
I will be focusing on my own tree surgery business again now but it has been a wonderful experience to be involved with all of the inspirational people who make up the Tir Coed family. I have great confidence that Adam and Nancy will firmly establish Tir Coed in Pembrokeshire in ways that really benefit the people who most need our support at this time.
Thanks to all at Tir Coed, it has been a real pleasure to work with all of you. Also a congratulations and thanks to all the participants who have really got stuck into our courses and make them what they are; inspirational, engaging and rewarding as well as bringing woodlands back into our everyday lives for the benefit of all.
Jim Scott
