Location: Talgarth
Study Time: 3 days per week
Course Length: 1 year from September to July
Minimum Age: 16 years old (no maximum age)
Equipment Requirements: Warm waterproof clothing and shoes for working outdoors, and chainsaw safe trousers, boots, helmet, and gloves.
Our Coppicing and Greenwood Trades NVQ will help you to develop skills and knowledge for a successful and rewarding career in the trees and timber sector.
A hands-on vocational course designed to equip you with practical skills in traditional woodland management and greenwood crafts. This unique programme allows you to work directly with the land, learning environmentally conscious methods of managing woodlands with minimum impact, improving biodiversity, and honing your craft skills with sustainable greenwood use.
What is Coppicing?
Coppicing is an ancient form of woodland management that uses nature's ability to regenerate continually to harvest wood from a living tree. It involves periodically cutting trees down to ground level which promotes vigorous regrowth, creating a sustainable supply of wood which can be used to produce both products and energy.
Coppicing is also fantastic for increasing the lifespan of trees, improving tree health and promoting biodiversity!
What will I learn?
We will resurrect old coppice woodlands by restoring them, and plant trees to create new ones! Modules covered include the following, each will have a particular focus on sustainability:
- Sharpen and maintain edged hand tools
- Carry out maintenance of chainsaw and cutting system
- Cut, process and extract coppice
- Identify tree species and their properties
- Fell and process trees up to 380mm
- Control pollution incidents
- Process coppice materials and greenwood products
- Plant trees
- Cross-cut timber using a chainsaw
- Monitoring and maintaining health and safety
- Prepare and produce charcoal
- Hedgelaying
Within this NVQ, students will also undertake a Chainsaw Maintenance and Felling Training Course, providing you with an additional, sought-after licence.
Why study Coppicing & Greenwood trades?
You will study in beautiful and unique woodland settings. This course is ideal for students who want to further their experience of working in forestry to increase their ability and confidence, or for anyone with a passion for nature, craft, and sustainability.
No exams! You will be assessed via practical observations and short oral tests.
After this course, students may be able to:
- Move onto a Level 3 course or higher in Green Woodworking and Coppicing, Forestry and Arboriculture, or Land Management
- Use transferable skills for employment opportunities in the trees and timber sector
- Start a career as a self-employed or salaried Tree Surgeon, Woodworker, Forestry Worker, Woodland Conservation Officer, or Countryside Ranger
Applications for a September 2025 start are now open! Apply early via our website to secure your spot. You will need to complete a short interview with our friendly team.