Lainston

A survival rate of only 44.8% at this site is incredibly disappointing, especially after our restocking and maintenance day earlier this year. As can be seen in the photographs, this site is exposed to the sun and incredibly dry after this record-breaking hot, dry summer. The saplings that have taken, are now well out of the guards. Some of the guards and trees show damage from rodents.

The gardeners working here are very enthusiastic and supportive, and really want to make this project work. They are very happy to help the trees and have the resources and time to do so. Acting on their own initiative they have started to mow around the trees and intend to mow around them all. We encouraged them to continue to do this, and to add mulch around all the healthy trees to suppress the grass further. We also advised them to keep the weeds in the middle of the plot down as this is where water pools in the winter. They suggested using root dip when planting the restock. This has worked very well for us on other sites with similar problems.

We will arrange a further restocking and maintenance session this winter and will offer further support as necessary.

We returned to Lainston in February 2026 to restock some of the trees as our survey showed a disappointing loss following a hot summer. Today, we planted 300 new trees on the site. This time we were joined by a corporate group from WorkDry who are clients of Ecologi, one of our funding partners, and there were 3 gardeners onsite that also helped out. The hotel kindly provided us with another excellent lunch, and were more than happy to cater for vegans.

Part of the tasks for the day was to carry out maintenance on the existing trees, from the planting in 2023. We used additional stakes and guards to protect the new trees, and weeded overgrowth and long grass from the original saplings. Doing regular maintenance like this gives the trees a good chance of survival, and keeps the site balanced while they grow.

The feedback from the landowners was good, and all the volunteers had a great day. The general manager of the hotel sent us a lovely email after the event. “I would like to personally thank you for the time and energy put into organising the tree planting at Lainston a couple of weeks ago. We are very grateful for your support as this part of our estate continues to grow and develop into a beautiful woodland. I am very sorry that I was unable to say hello personally on the day, but I am well aware of the effort that was put in and really would like to say thank you to you and the volunteers for the hard work. Great team effort! I look forward to working to together again the future.:

(Photos taken by Workdry volunteers)

During a surveying trip to our partner sites in the south-east, our site inspector visited the tree planting in the grounds of Lainston House Hotel. Something immediately obvious during the visit was how much the grass and nettles were dominating the saplings, and from a distance no saplings could be seen poking out of the guards. On closer inspection we did find a few taller saplings, and quite a few small, but healthy plants still within the guards. In all we discovered a survival rate of 65%, which was disappointing.

This site is well shielded from wind, there was no sign of cattle, and all the stakes and guards were in perfect condition, which is reassuring. The thick grass presents a challenge which we will take into consideration when planning restocking efforts here.

In November 2023 we visited the Lainston House Hotel to create a woodland in their grounds. Joining us were a small group of corporate volunteers from Open GI Ltd., one of whom had got married at the hotel, and most of the hotel staff also helped, working in shifts, along with the tireless grounds staff who worked all day. The hotel provided an excellent lunch, much to the appreciation of everyone!

We had a little drama as somehow part of our tree delivery mysteriously ended up in a warehouse in Basingstoke, despite being sent first class several days before. Despite frantic phone calls from the nursery and ourselves, and a promise of delivery by the morning of the planting, our remaining saplings failed to appear. We were able to plant the majority of trees and the excellent grounds people at the hotel planted the final few later in the week. This is the only time saplings have failed to arrive as we always arrange delivery in plenty of time to allow for most unforeseen events.

Overall, 825 cell-grown saplings were planted, a mix of 90 per cent trees and 10 per cent shrubs which will create a natural looking woodland with a canopy of taller trees and shrub understory. All were supported with stakes and guards, and will grow into a fantastic habitat and food source for the wildlife on the site.

The group from Open GI Ltd had a great time. “The organisation, equipment and lunch was all good. Phil was good fun and made everything interesting and exciting for people, we had fun. Thank you for all your help organising this, we had a good time and learned a lot – hopefully we made a difference too!”