The Woodland Skills Centre is based in the heart of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Bodfari and offers a range of courses in traditional crafts, bush-craft courses for family holidays and youth or community groups.
After meeting with Rod and Sabine, of the Woodland Skills Centre, the ambassadors were all escorted into the newly built extension of the centre (which was home to a nice warm log fire) and were given an overview of the courses and types of groups that the Centre work with on a daily basis. These include families, tourists, local youth and community groups and also local school groups.
Following the small introductory talk we were lead out into the surrounding areas of the centre where Rod explained about the types of conservation projects that were on-going at the Centre. He explained that they were having problems with their conservation of bees as 3 out of 4 of their colonies were queen-less, which would impact the local wildlife. They are also working hard on tree conservation planting 2 trees for every tree they take down.
Rod went through the types of courses that they run at the centre from being more traditional bush-craft courses to the recently set up Mindfulness courses which sees groups being taken to the seclusion of the local forest to escape their stresses within a tranquil setting.
After lunch we were taken into the woods to experience the tranquillity of the forest and were told the main benefits of the mindfulness course that was on offer. Sabine took the group through the woods to learn more about a uniquely designed cabin that is designed, built and preserved by a group of students from Liverpool University. Following this we were taken back to Rod who had built a temporary fire in order to show us some cooking skills that the Centre provides to the group bookings, and we created delicious woodland pancakes that were topped with Rod’s own homemade jam (very filling!)
Finally we were lead onto the viewpoint which gave stunning views of the Clwydian Range and we were told about the area a bit more and the work that the centre are planning which includes promoting and preserving the natural beauty of the area.
Interested in booking any courses or volunteering with the Centre? Then contact them directly through their website.
If you interested in becoming an ambassador or attending the next ambassador event visit this page