We would like to express our gratitude to Sarah Holloway and Gareth Chalmers at Groundwork East, as well as all the participants who joined us at Celtic Harmony Camp as part of our Woodland Workshops programme from January to June 2024.

In both searing heat and pouring rain, participants turned up and shared their skills and knowledge with us. They gained a greater understanding of sustainable forest management and woodland conservation through the experience and expert tutelage of Gareth (Groundwork East) and Megan (Celtic Harmony Heritage Ranger).

We will miss the enthusiasm and camaraderie of each of the four cohorts that attended, but the impact of their work will be felt for years to come. 

Our partnership with Groundwork was part of our Lavina’s Legacy Project, a 12- month programme with the goal of reinvigorating and broadening the volunteer community at Celtic Harmony Camp. Lavina’s Legacy is named for Lavina (Joyce), one of our longest serving volunteers who sadly passed away.  

Our final session served as the perfect end to the programme as we revisited the herb spiral that Joyce loved and looked after for many years. Since her passing it had begun to rewild, so our volunteers did their best to make her proud. They got stuck in- clearing, weeding and identifying the useful herbs and plants that turned out to mostly still be quietly thriving beneath all the new growth.  

With just a few hour’s work from a motivated group of volunteers, we were able to take a significant step towards restoring the herb spiral. Eventually we aim to re-establish it as the source for some natural resources that school visitors use on-site every day in our traditional skills workshops.

We hope that our Woodland Workshop volunteers will keep in touch and spread the word about the opportunities available at Celtic Harmony Camp.

Remember, you are all welcome back any time!