Artistic Charcoal - with John Noble

This course will cover fire lighting, processing and firing. You will leave with a tin of your own artist grade charcoal.

The morning will explore the history of charcoal and how to make artist grade charcoal, followed by an exploration of the local environment and the beautiful Cotesbach Estate. We will then harvest and process the raw materials ready for charcoal making.

The course will cover fire lighting, processing and firing - each participant will go home with a tin of their own artist grade charcoal and the skills and knowledge to make more at home. After a lunch break - where you are free to visit the Yard Cafe (on site) or have your own food around the fire (teas and coffees are included and the kettle will always be on!) - we will test our charcoal with a mindful artist drawing session.

Date: Saturday 7th February

Time: 10am-2pm

Price: £35 + booking fee.

Hedgerow Basket Workshop - with Maggie Cooper

In making a basket from hedgerow stems, you will learn traditional techniques and experience weaving wonderful subtle colours and textures.

In making a basket from hedgerow stems, you will learn traditional techniques and experience weaving with the wonderful, subtle colours and textures of winter stems gathered from fields and gardens. The workshops will be delivered by Maggie Cooper, who has been making baskets and studying the ancient art of basketmaking for nearly four decades and is one of the foremost artists in this craft working in Britain today.

If you have secateurs, please bring them along to this workshop.

Date: Saturday 21st February

Time: 10am-4pm

Price: £65

Sourdough Bread Making - with Paul Raddan

Ever dreamed of making your own sourdough loaves at home? In this 3-hour session, we will go through all the techniques & knowledge you will need. You will also come away with your own pot of starter, so you can begin baking sourdough straight away. Your tutor for the afternoon is Paul from Rugby Real Bread, who's been teaching & enthusing about bread for over 10 years!

- No prior experience necessary
- Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult
- email hello@cotesbacheducationaltrust.org.uk if you have any dietary requirements/allergies
- Please bring a tin or banneton and a shower cap or a large freezer bag so you can take your dough to bake at home- A jam jar or plastic tub of a similar size will be useful for your starter
- We will have a coffee/tea break midway through the class, but please bring a snack and other drinks you may need

Date: Saturday 7th March

Time: 1pm-4pm

Price: £65 + booking fee

Celtic Rewilding - Reptiles, Reintroductions, Rewilding Talk

Celtic Rewilding, rewilding and reintroduction specialists, are presenting a talk about the work they carry out, the methods involved in species reintroductions, and what it takes to operate the UK’s largest captive breeding centre of reptiles and amphibians for direct reintroduction into the wild.

Hosts Tom Whitehurst and Harvey Tweats, will also discuss the historical impacts Britain has seen ecologically, and how we may be able to reverse these changes. They will talk about two ground-breaking projects currently being run by the organisation, The Lost Turtle Project, and Britain’s Lost Frogs. These two projects involve the reintroduction of ex-native animals, that have perished in recent times due to human interventions.

A period will follow the presentation, where Tom and Harvey will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.

Date: Wednesday 18th March

Time: 7-9pm

Price: FREE

Wild Foraging - with John Noble

Join expert forager John as he guides you through hedgerows and meadows, in search of nature's free food.

Join exper forager John as he guides you through hedgerows and meadows, in search of nature's free food. Learn how to identify edible plants (and what to avoid) and find out what's available seasonally.

Please wear sturdy footwear and dress for the weather. Suitable for all ages but under 16s must be supervised by an adult at all times.

Date: Saturday 18th April

Time: 10am-12pm

Price: £35 + booking fee.