My name is Duncan Goulder. I am a woodsman and ecologist/nature conservationist based in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB in north west England. My professional background is in nature reserve management and ecological recording. I have also held a lifelong interest in traditional woodland crafts and heritage, particularly where people have developed a mutually dependant and truly sustainable relationship with the natural resources around them through the respectful use of well developed skills and knowledge passed down through generations.
I began teaching woodcraft professionally in 2009 alongside my conservation work with the aim of helping people to connect more deeply with woodlands and nature.
I became a Director of The Coppice Coop in 2016; I also have my own company Grown Again Coppice Crafts.
Duncan’s background:
My career has always followed my craving of being close to nature and participating in (rather than merely observing) the natural world, of which I believe we are all an integral part.
In 1998 I became a voluntary ranger at a Local Nature Reserve. This inspired me to take a BSc in Countryside Conservation at University of Wales Aberystwyth, which eventually led to employment with the RSPB where I lived and worked on several of their most high profile nature reserves. Here I honed my natural history skills to a professional level, learning how to observe wildlife unobtrusively, and identify butterflies, moths, dragonflies, plants, mammals and birds (including by their songs and calls).
I was lucky enough to spend the next 10 years monitoring and protecting wildlife on some of the most amazing SSSI, SPA and SAC sites the UK, including: living and working on an otherwise uninhabited off-shore island as a Species Protection Warden; working on ancient oak woodland nature reserves in mid-Wales; and wardening Troup Head Nature Reserve- Scotland’s only mainland gannet colonly, alongside working at the RSPB’s Loch of Stathbeg Nature Reserve.
In 2010 I relocated to England to manage Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s two flagship nature reserves: Mere Sands Wood and then Brockholes.
Bushcraft/nature connection work:
Alongside my nature conservation work also I took on part-time work with ex- Ray Mears head instructor Lawrence Clarke (Bushcraft Ventures/Amara Woodland Croft), where I assisted in the delivery of a variety of bushcraft courses in the Caledonian pine forests of the Cairngorms.
Since then, I have run numerous courses for organisations and individuals through my own company Grown Again Coppice Crafts. My courses follow the underlying ethos of strengthening the relationship and exploring the interdependance of people with the natural environment. It is here that my courses differ from many ‘off-the-shelf’ Bushfraft courses.
Rather than a ‘utilitarian’ approach to nature, I give emphasis to skills of observation, receptiveness and humility. I believe that the practical skills of bushcraft need to be applied within this context if we are to trully ‘interact’ with the natural world rather than merely to impose our will upon it for the sake of our own leisure time.
When not working in the woods I am a keen expedition sea kayaker and mountaineer, with a special passion for self-supported wilderness trips.