OneOak firewood
The first product from the OneOak tree was made on the day of the felling – January 20th 2010.
Local firewood merchant Trees & Gardens brought their firewood processor to the Blenheim Estate woodland and produced about 1 cubic metre of oak firewood logs. They weighed 460kg.
The logs will now be stored until seasoned (dry) in winter 2010.
Our thanks to Paul Williams (owner) and assistant Darrell Cross for demonstrating at the project launch.
If you are interested in buying firewood around the Woodstock area you can contact Paul at:
treesandgardens@btinternet.com
or
telephone 01993 891767.
local firewood merchants
Today the OneOak tree was felled and the OneOak project launched publicly.
Some of the OneOak guests after the felling
Over 400 people braved the snow and sleet to walk into the wood on the Blenheim Estate. Two hundred and fifty primary school children displayed work that they had been doing on the project for other guests to see. Hot chocolate, brewed on an open fire, warmed cold fingers. Demonstrators showed guests how oak is cleaved to make roofing shingles, how charcoal is made, and how green wood is turned. The first product from the tree, firewood logs, was made by a local firewood merchant. Researchers from Forest Research decended on the felled tree to start weighing every branch and twig.
These and many more were just some of the highlights of the day. The felling of the OneOak tree was dramatic and touched every one watching in different ways.
We owe a huge thank you to everyone who supported us on the day, and to those who will continue to work with us in the project. Please come back here soon to see photos and video taken at the event today, to find out the results of the research, and to see how many beautiful things we can make from the OneOak tree.
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Today was probably the busiest day so far at the woodland on the Blenheim Estate where the OneOak has been growing for the last 160 years. Tomorrow will be even busier when the OneOak tree will be felled in front of 400 guests, including 250 primary school children and many of the future users of the tree’s wood.
Today, Forest Research got to work weighing some of the first branches to be removed from the tree. Demonstrators for tomorrow’s launch arrived to set up their tools and machinery, including a firewood processor and an oak cleaver. They will be amongst the first users to produce OneOak products.
BBC Oxford came to the site to interview some people involved in the project. The recordings will appear on BBC TV and Radio tomorrow. We expect other media to be present tomorrow to record the event.
The Oxfordshire Forest School Service have met together with the Blenheim Palace education team to plan the various educational activities for the 250 children attending.
Tomorrow will be a busy day!
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The OneOak tree was laser scanned today as part of ongoing research making it one of Britain’s most studied trees.
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Laser scan underneath the OneOak tree canopy
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Laser scan close up of the OneOak tree stem
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Laser scan of the entire OneOak tree
The laser scanning research was supported by Treemetrics and the equipment and work was brought to the site by Leica Geosystems and scanning specialists SCCS; the foremost provider of innovative solutions in surveying, monitoring, setting out and mapping. SCCS were asked to complete a detailed laser scanned survey of the OneOak tree and surrounding woodland.
The Leica C10 Laser scanner was placed in various ’stations’ around the tree and in just over 6 minutes at each station the scanner had measured a complete 360 degree field of view. The scanner records close to 50,000 measurements per second that result in a ‘point cloud’.
SCCS will be producing a moving video image of the OneOak tree soon that we will put online on this website. The snapshots above provide a tantalising look at the amazing quality of images available. The data collected has produced a digital record of the tree, including its exact position, volume and many of the required dimensions. The 3D model is accurate to within 2-3 mm.
Watch a video 3D animation of the OneOak laser scan on our YouTube channel
For more information on the software’s or processes used please contact Senior Technical Representative david.southam@sccssurvey.co.uk and visit the laserscanning forum www.laserscanning.org.uk/forum/.
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Sam Scott-Hunter
Top London-based photographer Sam Scott-Hunter spent a freezing afternoon today capturing the beauty of the OneOak tree after the recent heavy snowfall.
Sam will be creating an album of images that we will share online soon. We will also be working with him to capture the beauty of the wooden products that are made from the OneOak tree in the future.
Sam has created a stunning timelapse series showing the sun setting behind the OneOak tree.
Click on the image below to view.
Timelapse photography of the OakOak in snow
http://samscotthunter.co.uk/downloads/samscotthunter_oneoak.mov
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Oak Moon by Rebecca Hind
Artist Rebecca Hind has been visiting the OneOak tree regularly (see previous post). She has braved freezing temperatures and long nights to watch the tree as it changes through the seasons and through the time of the day.
Rebecca’s most recent sketch show here was inspired by a full moon.
“Our most recent full moon. Not only did it fall on New Year’s Eve, it earned the title Blue Moon, being the second brimming of the month. Folklore grants each month’s full moon at least one name, often chosen according to local preoccupation. And for December the one which fits our tree is Oak Moon. That confluence was graced with crisp clarity and spangled with stellar brightness. A gift to a painter of night skies and the OneOak. Here is a first impression of that night last week, when the frost cracked underfoot and fell in sprinkles from the branches. ”
Rebecca Hind, January 4th 2010
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