An exciting development for 2017 is the formation of our first Forest School group, which will be led by Lucy, an experienced Forest School teacher. Ever since hearing about the idea of forest schools or outdoor schools we’ve been excited by the idea of getting a group going and an amazing bunch of children and parents have come together to make this happen.
This course is aimed at those who are keen to find out more about the potential of small scale renewable energy and heating, and the opportunities for DIY and home energy storage where a grid connection is not always practical.
We get a lot of requests from folk who would like to come and have a look around, find out more, and share their stories with us, so this year we have decided to have an open day on June 17th , when anyone can come and see what we get up to, and ask questions about any aspect of what we do here at Lackan Cottage Farm.
Green woodwork is one of the most accessible and enjoyable woodcrafts you can experience. Using traditional tools to shape green (unseasoned) timber with the rhythm of the pole lathe and versatility of the shave horse is pleasure that is hard to match. The beauty of green wood lies in its ability to be shaped easily as it is soft and easily worked by handtools.
This workshop will teach you the skills needed to make your own piece of furniture in the form of a rustic stool, encompassing the use of the shave horse and a variety of handtools including the axe, draw knife, auger drill and spoke shave.
Whether you have a project already started, or are dreaming of your ideal plot, this course will help you turn your dreams into reality. A hands on course for all abilities and experience levels.
Nearly two years after building the classroom, we thought it was about time that the floor got finished. It’s lovely Douglas Fir, and was getting progressively more filthy, but deserved better.
After my recent visit to Bantry to learn some more about working horses, it was time to get things moving here at home, and so Rain has gone off to hoof camp for a couple of weeks in Glengormley, with John McDermott, to learn how to pull things.
This week I made a somewhat epic trip down to Bantry to spend a day learning about working horses, and have a go at driving 2 experienced and patient horses under the tutorage of Sandra (and Tim). In the morning we did a bit of long reining, and looked at harness, and in the afternoon we got stuck in, and pulled a couple of different things – a sled and some chain harrows, before trying our hand at working 2 horses together, and finally some logging.