Highlighting Publications from 2025: Reviving heritage crafts: Connecting communities with coppicing

Highlighting Publications from 2025: Reviving heritage crafts: Connecting communities with coppicing

Author: Gareth Thomas
Published: October 2025. Craft Research. Volume 16.

Continuing our series highlighting publications from 2025, we focus on a paper which is rooted in the intersection of industrial heritage and ecological restoration, drawing directly from the case study of the Hafod/Morfa Copperworks project in Swansea. Employing a co-production framework that brought together community input, statutory authorities and traditional expertise, the project provides a replicable model for introducing rural heritage skills into urban environments.

From Copper to Coppice: Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide in Swansea

In the shadow of the historic Hafod/Morfa Copperworks, a different kind of industry has been quietly taking root. While heritage crafts are enjoying a global "renaissance" fuelled by a desire for sustainability, the path to these trades has often been blocked for those who once formed their backbone: the urban working class.

An initiative, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has sought to dismantle these systemic barriers. By focusing on a hazel coppice adjacent to Swansea’s industrial heart, the project proves that rural heritage has a vital role to play in the city as well as the countryside.

Breaking the "Green Ceiling"

For many young people in urban environments, the decline of vocational education and a widening cultural disconnect have made rural crafts feel like a world away. To address this, Swansea University collaborated with local stakeholders and educational institutions to co-produce an immersive heritage programme.

The project relied on co-production, ensuring that the needs and barriers identified by the participants themselves guided the curriculum.

The Craft of Restoration

Under the mentorship of a traditional coppice worker and a network of experienced volunteers, participants engaged in the tactile, rhythmic work of land management. The curriculum was hands-on, covering:

• Hazel Stool Cutting: Learning the precise cycles of growth and harvest.
• Dead Hedging: Utilising "waste" materials to create natural boundaries and habitats.
• Tool Maintenance: Mastering the essential gear of the trade.
• Sustainable Management: Understanding the long-term health of the urban canopy.

More Than Just Skills

The results of this "hyper-local" accessibility were profound. By creating an intergenerational support network, the initiative fostered a sense of community pride and personal well-being.

Participants reported significant boosts in confidence, turning what began as a skills workshop into a catalyst for ongoing volunteerism. The project now serves as a replicable model for other cities, demonstrating that when you bring the woods to the urban centre, along with restoring the land, you restore the connection between a community and its heritage.

Access the paper here: Reviving heritage crafts: Connecting communities with coppicing | Intellect

• Source: Craft Research, Volume 16, Issue 2, Oct 2025, p. 249 - 261
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00162_7