Andy Morton is the Course Tutor for Green Woodwork at Sallerton Wood.
Inspired firstly by his grandfather from an early age and later by a chair-making course at the age of 16 run by Mike Abbott in a woodland setting, Andy has continued to practise green woodwork for the past 24 years.
He regularly takes on commissions for green wood furniture and other items, timber-framed structures, and also enjoys demonstrating at various events.
Andy has been a professional green oak timber framer since 2000, initially in Berkshire with McCurdy & Co, undertaking a great deal of conservation and restoration work of listed buildings and more recently in Devon with the Tamar Joinery Company, framing new builds and bespoke joinery projects.
Andy & Jane purchased Sallerton Wood in 2014, and starting in 2016 Andy has been running his own green wood craft courses in the woodland to encourage, teach and inspire a new cohort of green wood workers!
Jane Morton with a Journey Stick made during a Forest School session.
Jane's interests and skills are many and varied, including travel, languages and various outdoor pursuits. She and Andy met through kayaking and canoeing; taking part in many adventurous camping expeditions together, including a circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland in their double sea kayak in 2013. Thomas was born in 2014 and weekends are regularly spent together as a family in the woods, working, learning and playing!
Jane assists with the courses at Sallerton Wood and runs educational events for children and adults and is a Forest School Level 3 Practitioner (Leader's Qualification).
Babes in the Wood (for accompanied young children 0-5 years) and Family Day events at Sallerton Wood provide woodland learning opportunities and endless fun for the local community which she is keen to develop further over the coming years.
She is inspired by working with natural materials, whether wood, plants, clay or natural fibres and enjoys integrating all these into her Forest School activities.
Jane also enjoys assisting with woodland management at Sallerton Wood as well as completing her own green woodworking projects whenever she gets the opportunity.
Dr Alan Morton, Adviser in woodland ecology, conservation and management. He is also the Website Manager.
Alan is a retired Lecturer in Ecology at Imperial College, London, where he lectured in Ecology and Conservation to undergraduates and postgraduates for 34 years and organized an MSc course in Ecological Management. His research activity at Imperial College included the enhancement of broadleaved woodland plantations for wildlife.
He is a long-term Member of the British Ecological Society and Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, and is a Founder Member of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (now The Conservation Volunteers).