Glebe Farm

We were pleased to see that rest of the older trees from our original planting in 2023 are well established with branches well above the top of the guards on both parts of the site. The saplings on the outskirts of both areas have fared less well, with grass growing vigorously within the guards in some places, and thistles swamping young trees in others. Despite that, there is still some encouraging growth to be seen.

There was no evidence of significant deer browsing, even on the saplings where the guards have been removed. These trees continue to do well.

Despite the torrential rain the day before, the morning was quite splendid. A little chilly, but the lads were in high spirits as one of them was getting married, and this was part of his stag weekend! They planted 225 replacement trees, and helped with general maintenance, replacing missing or damaged guards and stakes.

Of the mix of species we took to restock, it might have been a few too many oaks in the mix, but we found spaces for them. The landowner even agreed to extend the perimeter by a metre, so we gained a tiny bit more woodland.

August 2025’s survival rate survey at Glebe Farm shows encouraging establishment overall, with some variation between planting areas. Parcel 1 recorded a 62% survival rate, while Parcel 2 performed more strongly at 72%, giving an overall survival rate of 65%.

While many trees are establishing well, some losses have occurred, and differences between areas suggest that site conditions are influencing success. Based on current stocking levels, approximately 270 trees will be replanted to strengthen the scheme.

The landowner noted the potential for further environmental improvements across the site, particularly within existing wetland areas. These habitats present a valuable opportunity for enhancement, and we will be exploring options for habitat creation and restoration as part of the next phase of work. Something to look forward to at this site!

The landowner already had some trees and shrubs ready to plant, and we had more delivered, as well as stakes and guards, to make the numbers up to 600. The plan was to create three small areas of woodland to create a new wildlife habitat to improve biodiversity on the farm. When the planting sites are spread out planting takes longer as it involves more walking and transporting of equipment so we planned a two-day event. We planted with help from four corporate volunteers from Hoffmann UK Quality Tools Ltd. on the first day and ten from ChilliBob PR and Marketing and their clients on the following day.

Our volunteers had this to say. “Location was described beforehand so we knew where to go. Good training on how to plant trees and the day was fun!” “Really enjoyed this and would be willing to do this again in the future.”