Reviving heritage crafts: Connecting communities with coppicing

Heritage crafts have experienced a revival in recent years, driven by a growing demand for authenticity, sustainability and meaningful engagement. Despite this resurgence, systemic barriers, including the decline of vocational education and a cultural disconnect between urban settings and rural crafts, have excluded many working-class urban young people who once formed the backbone of these trades. This case study examines a community-driven heritage initiative centred on the restoration of an urban hazel coppice adjacent to the historic Hafod/Morfa Copperworks in Swansea. Co-produced by Swansea University, local stakeholders and educational institutions, the project aimed to equip participants with rural heritage coppicing skills whilst restoring a small hazel coppice using traditional methods through an immersive coppicing programme. Participants engaged in traditional crafts such as dead hedging, hazel stool cutting, tool maintenance and sustainable land management, under the guidance of a traditional coppice worker and experienced volunteers. By combining hyper-local project accessibility with practical, hands-on skill-building within an intergenerational support network, the initiative successfully addressed the participants’ self-identified barriers to learning. This co-produced approach allowed the project to achieve high levels of participation and satisfaction, enhancing confidence, well-being and community pride, while also inspiring further workshops and volunteer activities. By 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.