Sustainable Development Fund 961.44 Kb - the Dorset AONB

Productive landscapes
Our landscapes have a long history of being worked – for food, shelter and fuel
– and the character of the landscape has been shaped by such productivity.
In the face of climate change and pressures on land use, the Sustainable
Development Fund has supported some innovative projects that explore
how we can get fuel and food from the Dorset landscape in a sustainable way.
Woodfuel at the Kingcombe Centre
When we met Martin Biss at the
Kingcombe Environmental Education
Centre, he was busy unwrapping one of
the high tech wood fuel boilers ready for
installation. In amongst the bubble wrap
were two gleaming boilers which, fuelled
by wood pellets and chips, will heat the
whole education centre and provide hot
water too.
As Martin, a trustee of the Centre,
explained ‘As the 20 th anniversary of
the Centre approached, we felt we
needed to refresh the buildings and
set them off on a sustainable future.’
Initial advice came from Dorset AONB’s
Woodlink Project which aims to stimulate
the supply of woodfuel in Dorset by
getting small woodlands back into
management – benefiting wildlife
and creating jobs at the same time.
But Martin went on to build up his
knowledge with local contractor Phil
Upton and together they devised a
system combining woodfuel power with
solar and using a heat recycling system
to get the most out of both. They used
local contractors to upgrade the centre
and install the heating and water systems,
passing on the knowledge and sustaining
local jobs.
Indeed, Martin is keen to use the Centre
as an exemplar to encourage other
people to use woodfuel ‘We are an
educational charity and what a great
chance this is for people to learn how
effective wood can be to heat their
homes – and how it can help wildlife
an their bank balance too!’