Forest work

The Nový Dvůr monks manage around 100 hectares of woodland that surrounds their monastery and protects their solitude. Planting and felling trees, clearing the undergrowth, fencing and making wood chips for heating the monastery are all tasks that provide healthy manual work for the brothers. To ensure this work is carried out safely, the brothers are given professional training and wear safety clothing. For work the monks are unable to do, local companies or workers are called in, to whom wages are paid.

In 2018, the forest was damaged by an outbreak of bark beetles, which destroy conifer plantations, especially during periods of drought. We are used to ecological challenges. We prevent mice from gnawing at the roots of young plantations by setting up perches for buzzards that eat mice, as well as nesting boxes for tits that eat bark beetles.

Timber is the most economical and ecological method of heating the monastery.