Women and Diverse Genders in Forestry Skill Share

Join us at Groaten Farm, Ashton Under Hill for a special forestry skill share run by women and diverse genders, for women and diverse genders!**

**We are fiercely committed to trans inclusion and understand that some trans- inclusive landworking spaces are AFAB (assigned female at birth) dominated. We want to make it explicitly clear that this space is for trans women or transfemme non-binary people too!

This is going to be a special weekend of community building, skill sharing, tasty food, fireside chats and deconstructing capitalism and patriarchy! We invite people with any level of experience to join us and we especially welcome new entrants or those interested in dipping a toe into forestry.

A taste of what to expect (program is not set yet):

Practical Skills - Felling trees with hand tools, wood splitting, chainsaw use/ maintenance, farm machinery, edge tool sharpening

Theoretical Skills- farming systems, hedgerow walk and talk, pathways into forestry/mentorship,

Culture Building- Diverse genders workshop, trans/queer sharing space, diversity in forestry, zine making

About Women and Diverse Genders in forestry (WDG) and this event.
WDG focuses on events aimed at women and diverse genders, this means we are inclusive of people who identify as trans masc, trans fem, women, non-binary, and any folk with gender expressions that fit outside the binary. We aim to create spaces which acknowledge the inherent power dynamics of race, class, religion, ethnicity, ability, gender, neurodiversity, age, and other unique identity experiences. We intend to create a safe and reflective atmosphere in which we all feel considered and encouraged to be curious, learn from each other, and express our needs. Please reach out if you have concerns around attending this event for any reasons.

** This event is not intended for cis male folk. For those reading, we hope you understand that this is purely for the fact that we have found that creating spaces exclusively for women and diverse genders enables people to access a deeper vulnerability and to feel more confident to share, both skills, and experiences when not influenced by the inherent power dynamic shift that occurs with cis men present. In the future we will hold events inclusive of cis male allies too, but not this time!

Contact us: wdg@landworkersalliance.co.uk

Read about WDG's first skill share here

Logistics and Important info

Meals

This event will be catered and will work with dietary needs of participants. More information about catering will be provided upon purchasing a ticket. But if you have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We will also have a bar offering some beer and cider at a low cost, the sales of which will be put toward organising similar events.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided, but PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN BREAKFAST AND SNACKS.

Children

While this event is primarily aimed at adults (anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian) children are welcome! This year we are planning to put on a few sessions just for kids run by a DBS checked and experienced facilitator. These sessions will run alongside some of the workshops aimed at adults, hopefully making it easier to attend for those with childcare commitments. Bare in mind that the event is occurring on a working farm and that there will be chainsaws, power /edge tools and farm machinery around. 

Dogs

Groaten Farm is a working farm with sheep, cattle and farm dogs , so we have been asked to make it clear that only very well behaved dogs who are kept on leads can come. So let us know if you need to bring your doggos and we’ll have a chat!

Accommodation

There is ample camping available accomodation in the field, so please bring your own tent and camping equipment. If you do not have a tent or camping equipment please get in touch. Camping is in a grass field, which may be exposed depending on weather so please bring appropriate gear, and if you aren’t sure what you might need, please get in touch!

There is space for a number of vans/campers. Please let us know if you plan to bring one as weather depending you can be parked with camping, or on hard standing at the cattle barn (which we will be using for some sessions/some food prep).

Facilities

This is a working farm so facilities are fairly minimal. Offers of marquees, tarps ect would be really helpful

• We have a mains water link at the barn and will be filling drinking water from there.
• There is electric, good lighting & charging facilities in the barn.
• This is an open site and there isn’t a lock up, most likely we’ll always have someone around but please be aware of this while charging phones ect.

Accessibility

The site is flat overall, with hard tracks. It is a fairly large site so there will be walking between different areas of the farm for some workshops (eg farm machinery/ tree felling). If you use any mobility aids or have questions please ask and we can provide pictures/answer any questions/find a way to make it easier.

Travel

The farm doesn’t have an accurate postcode, but What3Words: couches.dart.vowel will take you to the entrance. It is on The Groaten road into Ashton Under Hill, we will send these details to ticketholders close to the event and signpost from the main road (A46)

We will organise a lift share sheet that you will have access to once you have bought your ticket for those of you driving.

For those of you using public transport the nearest train stations are Evesham (on the London/Reading/Oxford/Worcester mainline) and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury (connected to the South Wales/Bristol/Birmingham mainlines).

Both are about half an hour drive from the farm. There are local bus routes but these are quite slow and infrequent so if possible we will arrange pickup/liftshares. Please use the lift share sheet for this too

Ticket Pricing

Please note that this event has been organised entirely by volunteers and is run off a small budget allowed to us by the Landworkers' Alliance. We do not aim to make a profit, but if we do make any extra it will go back into the group and organising more events in the future.

We have worked out that if everyone pays £30 +VAT per ticket we will break even. With this in mind please consider how much you are able to pay using the guide below.**

We are offering discounted tickets to BPOC women and diverse genders, we recognise that the forestry industry can be harder to access for BPOC/global majority folk. We are passionate about encouraging more diversity into the forestry industry, so regardless of your economic status please select the BPOC only ticket if this is you.

Please feel free to get in touch via our email address wdg@landworkersalliance.co.uk to discuss anything regarding ticket prices or accessibility.  

Supporter ticket: £48 (Inc VAT) (can you afford to pay extra to enable someone else to purchase a cheaper ticket?)

Standard ticket: £36 (inc VAT)

Supported ticket: £18 (inc VAT) (are you on low or zero income and would struggle to afford this event? consider other costs to be here such as transport, provisions or equipment.)

BPOC only: £18 (Inc VAT)

**We want this event to be as accessible as possible and we really (really!) don't want people to miss out because they can't afford it. So if ticket price is too expensive, and/or you need help getting to the event, please let us know and we will find a way! (wdg@landworkersalliance.co.uk)