Sorn Walled Garden

East Ayrshire Woodlands manage a willow crop and polytunnel in the grounds of Sorn Castle Estate.
The crop and tunnel have been a focus for a range of groups to learn about a varied range of skills and practices, from
short rotation coppice management, nestbox building, green woodwork and tree and wildflower growing.

    
Oak grown from seed & Buddliea cuttings in the polytunnel

    
Birch seed planting and willow cutting

Up until recently, when the Give and Take project closed, the CSV group regularly met at our
polytunnel at Sorn Walled Garden to help
plant seeds to grow on for eventual planting on our sites.

They group also helped in the harvesting of our willow crop, which is used both for planting and the creation
of woven willow hurdles for events and at various sensory / wildlife gardens.

aboriginal art project  aboriginal art project  aboriginal art project
Aboriginal Art created by CSV Volunteers

HAZEL COPPICING PROJECT

The group were involved in a FEI hazel coppicing project to provide a range of natural walking sticks,
both for use on some of our sites and as an event resource.

In the polytunnel  Choose your stick
Sanding the hazel sticks for staining and varnishing

Stick sanding  Action Earth day

Sanding  mmmm lovely orange varnish!

Some of the finished sticks

The hazel rods were coppiced from sites managed by East Ayrshire Woodlands,
bark stripped, dried, sanded and finished by members of
the East Ayrshire Give and Take project.

See our willow resources page for examples of willow structures at Sorn Castle