The Sylva Wood Centre is an exciting new hub for small businesses and craftspeople who design, innovate or make in wood – and those who want to learn the skills to do so. The Centre provides dedicated space, equipment and an inspiring community of woodworking professionals.

Following the generous gift of farm buildings and land in South Oxfordshire in 2013, the Sylva Wood Centre opened its first business incubation units in April 2015. In 2016 we opened a Machinery Workshop and launched our Start-Up scheme - providing short-term, flexible rental of bench space in an open-plan workshop at the heart of the Wood Centre. Plans for the near future include hosting a sawmilling business, and starting a series of training courses in woodworking run by some of our businesses and external trainers.

As far as possible we are trying to practice what we preach by refurbishing and building in timber in both traditional and modern structures. We've used innovative ash and sycamore thermal cladding on our first incubator building, and we worked with student designers in a TRADA-sponsored competition to explore the science of timber as a modern construction material for the new Arboreal building we hope to build in the near future.

We are also transforming the surrounding landscape. We've planted a community orchard and an educational "Future Forest" with tree species that can thrive in the UK despite threats from climate change, pests and diseases. We have a new dedicated forest education area with space for children to learn about and enjoy woodland.

If you'd like to get involved please get in touch. Whether you are a designer-maker, a wood business needing space to grow, a Forest School Leader needing space to run sessions or as someone who shares our passion for timber and would like to help fund our projects at the Wood Centre we'd love to hear from you. We are also keen to hear from woodworking tutors who can work with us developing our training programmes.

Contact Paul Orsi