The Treehouse Project

The Trust never stands still, but is always slowly changing and growing. The latest stage in our evolution is the replacement of the ageing (definitely well over its best before date) New Forest Study Centre up in the woods.

Our aim was always to replace the study centre with a building that was both inspirational and sustainable. What we are planning now certainly meets both those criteria and goes a whole level higher. We intend that the two classrooms will be built as tree houses, up in the air, with only the loo block and office on the ground. It will be unique and an example for others to follow. It will involve partnership working with other bodies including the Beaulieu Estate, the National Park Authority, SEEDA and the Royal Institute of British Architects. All facilitated by the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design (SCA+D).

For general photos and designs, have a look at our Flickr photostream.

You can also view the daily progress as recorded by our site camera.

Recent updates on the Treehouse Project

Tue 25/11/2008

Watch the video of Alan Titchmarsh opening the new centre!

Thu 09/10/2008

ALAN TITCHMARSH OPENS THE TRUST'S NEW TREEHOUSE STUDY CENTRE

Britain's favourite TV gardener (and a naturalist to boot!) visited the New Forest to open our eco-friendly learning centre.
Alan officially unveiled the name plaque (made of wood of course) on the complex which is aimed at bringing inner city younsters closer to nature.

Thu 14/08/2008

The Countryside Education Trust took occupation of the first tree house classrooms for use by students on 1st July 2008.

The second tree house classroom is due for completion on 18th August.

It is not too late to 'Sponsor a Shingle' for £50 on the new buildings. Phone us on 01590 612401

Mon 14/07/2008

Continuing its efforts to bring children closer to nature, the Countryside Education Trust (CET) is nearing completion of a range of treehouse buildings to replace its ageing New Forest Study Centre in Hartford Wood, Beaulieu.

The new, eco-friendly buildings will incorporate two classrooms built high into the trees, with an office and toilet facilities at ground level, and will enable the Trust to continue its work educating people about issues concerning the countryside.

“The purpose-built study spaces within the Tree House Study Centre and its ancillary buildings will be suitable for use throughout the community, providing a stimulating environment in which local children as well as those from inner-city areas can get close to nature and experience the range of fieldwork activities which the CET offers,” says David Bridges, director of the CET.

Samantha Sherwood, an architecture student from Oxford Brookes University, won a design competition with her innovative sustainable concept for the study centre, which incorporates sustainable features such as Forest Stewardship Council wood, biomass heating, solar panels, natural insulation and rainwater collection for use in flushing the loos.

Nigel Matthews, the Head of Visitor Services at The New Forest National Park Authority said, “we are delighted that so many people will be able to experience the wonders of the National Park in and around this amazing building. Its superb natural design speaks volumes about the forest and how we can live in ways that help preserve it for generations to come.”

Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber said: “Hampshire County Council has always supported the Countryside Education Trust because of the work it does with children from areas of deprivation. The Centre offers them probably their first experience of rural life, of farming and of animal husbandry. The new class centres will provide a beautiful setting for their studies.”

Ralph Montagu of Beaulieu Estate (and Chairman of Trustees) said: “My father and I have been encouraging environmental education on the estate for many years, and we are very pleased that the courses run in the woods at Beaulieu will now have the benefit of a first class centre, not forgetting, of course that the real learning experience is the great outdoors.”

The treehouse study centre is due to be completed in September 2008 and will be opened by Alan Titchmarsh, countryside aficionado and Hampshire resident. Progress on the project can be followed on the CET’s website where a photo of the site is uploaded daily. Visit www.cet.org.uk/treehouse

If you would like to help the Trust with this exciting project and have your name permanently recorded on it, why not buy a wooden shingle for the wall? A £50 donation will see your name, or that of a loved one, laser engraved on a shingle on the front of the building. For more information phone Lynda on 01590 612401.

Thu 08/05/2008

THE ONLY WAY IS UP!

The ‘New Forest Treehouse’, as it will probably be known, is coming on apace. We were promised that change would quicken once the classroom platforms had been erected and how quick that change has been. Current progress aside the project is a month behind schedule due to earlier problems with the delivery of wood; you can’t build a treehouse without wood and it has to be FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) wood! We are due to move into the new teaching spaces by the end of May so that the old rooms, and those awful old toilets, can be demolished and the new loos and office cum store cum boilerhouse built in their stead.

The finishing date for the whole scheme is still scheduled for August with the opening ceremony possibly in September. We have been fortunate in securing the services of Alan Titchmarsh, the broadcaster, writer, countryman and indeed Hampshireman by choice, to open the centre.

The treehouse centre will have several ‘sustainable’ features that are intended to be environmentally friendly and be educational. The central heating will be fired by a pellet boiler which uses wood pellets derived from scrap wood. In summer this would be inefficient to just heat water for washing, so we will have a smaller log gasification boiler fired once a week or so to heat an accumulator tank and will use logs from the surrounding woodland. The rainwater from the roofs will be collected to flush the loos (with the excess feeding the pond) and the office block will have solar panels to provide lighting in the loo block. Clear panels in the walls will show different kinds of natural insulation and the ash from the boilers will be mixed with our composted waste to provide a balanced fertiliser for the garden!

We are not home and dry on the funding as these things always cost more than planned, but we are nearly there so any contributions gratefully received!

David Bridges, Director

Wed 05/03/2008

Visit our partner, the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design's site for more pictures of the build and to see the shortlisted designs from the student competition.

Just paste this address into your browser:

www.solentcentre.org.uk/education/treehouse

Wed 09/01/2008

WORK STARTS ON OUR NEW TREEHOUSE STUDY CENTRE!

It has been a long and arduous process, but not too long or too arduous! Two and half years of preparative work and fundraising have reached fruition. On the very last day of November, after negotiations were completed to the Trust's satisfaction, the contract to build our exciting, innovative and inspirational Treehouse Study Centre was signed. Ralph Montagu on behalf of the CET and Andy Payne for Blue Forest put their names to the document that means the project is now becoming a reality.
The start of the building of the fantastic new Centre was signalled by the arrival on site of the contractors Blue Forest on 10th December. Before Christmas minor groundworks, of a small car park extension and Fire Service access road were constructed. Now in the New Year the several small foundation blocks, upon which the two treehouses will rise, are being constructed.

Completion dates for the treehouse teaching spaces are the end of March and April this year. The whole project should be finished by the end of July with an official opening late summer.
A camera is uploading a picture to our website everyday so you can watch the progress of the build.
Watch this progress by clicking on the link

We have raised over £500,000 for the build phase, but we still need to raise around £90,000 to complete the project so the fundraising has to continue.

At least now it is a concrete reality (or rather I should say a wooden one!)
David Bridges, Director

Mon 03/12/2007

CONTRACT SIGNED ON TREEHOUSE PROJECT
On the last day of November after negotiations were completed to the Trust's satisfaction the contract to build our exciting, innovative and inspirational Treehouse Study Centre was signed. Ralph Montagu on behalf of the CET and Andy Payne for Blue Forest put their names to the document that means the project will now become reality.
Blue Forest hope to be on site from the 10th December and to get some groundworks completed before Christmas.
A camera will upload a picture to our website everyday so you can watch the progress of the build which will last until July next year.
We still need to raise around £90,000 to complete the project so the fundraising will continue, but at least now it is a definite rather than a probable build!

Wed 05/09/2007

PLANNING PERMISSION APPROVED FOR TREE HOUSE STUDY CENTRE
Exciting design to be made a reality by Summer 2008

Planning permission has been granted for a groundbreaking sustainable study centre in the form of a tree house, located on the Beaulieu Estate in the New Forest, Hampshire.

The New Forest Tree House Study Centre will replace the existing dilapidated buildings currently used by the Countryside Education Trust (CET) to facilitate courses and activities which teach adults and children to understand and care for the countryside.

The purpose-built study spaces within the Tree House Study Centre and its ancillary buildings will be suitable for use throughout the community, providing a stimulating environment in which children from inner-city areas can get close to nature and experience the range of fieldwork activities which the CET offers.

CET’s Director, David Bridges said: “The idea of the Tree House Study Centre is to build a facility which is at one with its surroundings and, as well as illustrating green building practice, is an aid to education in itself. We are very pleased indeed that the project has achieved planning permission and hope to get the building constructed and open for business as soon as possible.”

The innovative sustainable design concept of the study centre, which incorporates photovoltaic panels, rainwater collection and a biomass boiler, was created by Samantha Sherwood, 22, a third-year architecture student from Oxford Brookes University. Samantha was the winner of a competition across five Schools of Architecture in the South East, organised by the Solent Centre of Architecture Design (SCAD), to design a concept for the study centre.

Specialist tree house contractor Blue Forest has been working with Samantha to turn her vision into a ‘buildable’ architectural solution, with additional sustainability advice from environmental engineering consultancy XCO2.

Funding for the project is already in place, with contributions from CET, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), DSG International Foundation, New Forest National Park Sustainable Development Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Clothworkers Foundation , Hampshire County Council and other benefactors.

The development stage of the project has also been funded by SEEDA via South East Excellence, as part of its remit to support people in gaining the skills and abilities to help shape their communities. South East Excellence Urban Renaissance Manager Miranda Pearce said: “We are extremely pleased that the Tree House has passed the development stage and now has planning permission. The development process clearly demonstrates both the creativity and talent of the region’s students and the value of having a committed client who is open to innovation. We now look forward to seeing the plans made a reality.”

The Honourable Ralph Montagu of Beaulieu Estate said: “My father and I have been encouraging environmental education on the estate for many years, and we are very pleased that the courses run in the woods at Beaulieu will now have the benefit of a first class centre, not forgetting, of course, that the real learning experience is the great outdoors.”

The New Forest National Park Authority’s Head of Visitor Services, Nigel Matthews, said: “We are delighted that so many people will be able to experience the wonders of the National Park in and around this amazing building. Its superb natural design speaks volumes about the forest and how we can live in ways that help preserve it for generations to come.”

Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber said: "Hampshire County Council has always supported the Countryside Education Trust because of the work it does with children from areas of deprivation. The Centre offers them probably their first experience of rural life, of farming, and of animal husbandry. The new class centres will provide a beautiful setting for their studies."

The project was submitted for planning permission in June. Work to construct the tree house is expected to commence during November, with completion planned for March 2008.

Tue 12/06/2007

TREE HOUSE WINNER GOES TO PLAN
Latest press release

The competition winning design for The Countryside Education Trust’s (CET) new study centre in the New Forest has been developed into a planning application and submitted for approval. Winning architectural student Samantha Sherwood, a third year student Oxford Brookes University, created an environmentally friendly design for a tree house to replace CET’s current dilapidated Study Centre.

CET Director David Bridges is excited by the design and, once planning permission has been granted, is determined to see the building works start by October this year. He is on the last lap of fund raising with 70 per cent now in place – made up of grants from SEEDA (the Southeast England Development Agency), Garfield Weston, the Dixon’s Foundation, the Clothworkers’ Foundation, the New Forest National Park Sustainable Development Fund and many others. “We’re nearly there with the project, just needing the last 30 per cent to build the whole thing in one go,” he says.

Sam’s design concept was developed with Andy Payne, from design and build Tree House Company 'Blue Forest'. Andy and Sam worked closely with the New Forest Park Authority to prepare the planning application recently submitted. The design will use locally sourced softwoods for the structure and cladding, a home grown shingle roof and will harvest rainwater for the water systems. She can’t wait to see the tree house built: “The design attracted a lot of attention when I was looking for my professional placement next year and it’s been a great experience for me to be involved with preparing the design for planning. It’s a bit disappointing that one or two features had to be left out, but that’s given me a practical lesson before I go out into the real world,” she says.

Thu 03/05/2007

Treehouse Designs Ready to go to the Planning Authority!

Another milestone on the Trust’s journey to replace the dilapidated New Forest Study Centre with exciting, environmentally friendly, Treehouses has been reached. Our plans are just about ready to be submitted to the New Forest National Park planning authority.

The entries for the architecture student design competition were judged in January and following presentations by the five short-listed candidates, a winning design concept was chosen. The winning design was from Samantha Sherwood from Oxford Brookes University. Her success was announced at a special award lunch held at the Brabazon Restaurant at Beaulieu on 15th February for all the finalists. Awards were also given to the winning design entries of children from schools in Southampton and Beaulieu.
The overall winner was Kamaljot Sandhi from Mount Pleasant Junior School. The awards were presented to the children by Miranda Pearce from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and to the students by Ralph Montagu our Chairman of Trustees.

The design concept was then ‘worked up’ by Andy Payne, from design and build treehouse company ‘Blue Forest’, and Samantha into the inspirational design (always one of our requirements!) you see above. A pre-planning applications submission was then made to the Park Authority. Good news followed in April with confirmation of a capital grant from our major funder SEEDA. Further refinements, accommodating input from the planners, and as a result of presentations to Trustees, Friends and neighbours have been put into the final planning application. If you want to see more of the draft designs do click on the link.

On a sad note we heard of the tragic death of Tom Lethbridge, one of the finalists in the student competition, at the age of only 22. We hope to be able to incorporate something of his design, or a memorial, in the new buildings.

That just leaves a note on the financial state of play. We have 57% of the funds needed for the project, which of course leaves 43% still to go. Any funding you may have would be so appreciated and I hear rumour that someone is going to extraordinary lengths (70.3 miles I believe) to get your sponsorship for such a good cause!

David Bridges, Director