Going wild about wood at Castle Howard (From Gazette & Herald)

Going wild about wood at Castle Howard

8:54am Thursday 6th September 2012 in News

CHAINSAW sculpting, bushcraft and mini-beasts will be on show at a special festival within a 150-acre North Yorkshire woodland next weekend.

Visitors are also being invited to help plant more than 3,000 plants at the annual Wild About Wood event which is being held for the fourth year at the Castle Howard Arboretum.

Members of the Trust say this unique opportunity to play a vital part in developing the garden of trees at the launch of its wildflower meadows project, in association with Buglife, which will create swathes of wildflowers to attract butterflies, bumblebees and moths.

At the festival which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16 people of all ages will also be able to explore the Discovery Zone where they can take part in free activities and workshops.

Among these will be a mini-beast hunt, a chance to learn about the world of mammals, get close to spiders, slugs and snails, or try shelter-building. More artistic people can see what they can create from the arboretum floor.

There will also be a daily bird of prey display, offering the chance to meet – or even hold – a hawk or falcon.

Other activities will include paper-making and watercolour painting, a free mini-tour of the arboretum; the opportunity to paddle a coracle on the lake, archery and tree-climbing.

Demonstrations will be given of woodcrafts including pole lathe turning, heavy horse logging, willow weaving, blacksmithing, wood carving and charcoal burning while chainsaw carvers will be creating their own masterpieces.

Above the noise, traditional English musicians will provide entertainment throughout the weekend, when there will also be locally sourced food and drink, arts and crafts stalls.

The Wild About Wood festival runs from 10am to 5pm.

For more information including admission costs visit wildaboutwood.org