The Woodland Year by Ben Law

Packed with stunning color photographs, The Woodland Year is an intimate month-by-month journey through Ben Law's yearly cycle of work, his naturally attuned lifestyle, and his deep understanding of his woods. The Woodland Year provides a fascinating insight into every aspect of sustainable woodland management, including the cycles of nature, seasonal tasks, wild food gathering, wine making, mouthwatering and useful recipes, coppice crafts, round-pole timber-frame eco-building (pioneered by Ben), nature conservation, species diversity, tree profiles, and the use of horses for woodland work.

This is a profound book that is both practical and poetic. It describes a way of life that is economically and ecologically viable and sets a new standard for managing our woods in a low-impact, sustainable way. As such, it holds some of the fundamental keys to how we can achieve a lower-carbon society.

Ben Law trains apprentices and runs courses on sustainable woodland management, roundwood timber framing, coppice crafts, and permaculture design. He was a founding member of the Forest Stewardship Council. He also has worked for Oxfam as a permaculture consultant. He is the author of The Woodland Way: A Permaculture Approach to Sustainable Woodland Management and The Woodland House. He lives in West Sussex, UK. Law's woodland house has been featured on The World's Greenest Homes, a series of the Discovery Channel's Planet Green. Ben's latest book is Roundwood Timber Framing, a full colour guide to his building techniques. His website is www.ben-law.co.uk.