Manafon

This site in mid-Wales was greener than most of our sites in England, thanks to some occasional rainfall this summer. This probably contributed to the 76.7% survival rate.

When our surveyor inspected the lower field he found that survival rates for these younger saplings ranged from 62.5% in one area to 100% in another, with the trees in the wire guards being less successful than those in the recyclable guards. The trees planted the year previously in the upper field had a more consistent survival rate with a lot of trees in the flat area of the upper field growing well and over-topping their guards.

There were some problems with bracken and brambles swallowing up saplings in the upper field but there was also a very successful and healthy area. The stand of alder in the lower field is growing robustly, and appears to be self-seeding successfully. No severe deer damage was noted.

Our surveyor was pleased to see the trees doing well, all shelters vertical and the site looking well cared for. We calculated a 92% survival rate here with almost all of the newer trees surviving, despite this summer’s dry weather. Hawthorne and oak were doing particularly well, and alder are doing very well in the wetter areas with some over a metre tall. We spotted a lot of trees, especially oak, popping up naturally and doing very well without any assistance from humans.

This survival rate shows the importance of regular maintenance. Despite not living locally, the landowners were able to visit during May and June, straightening posts that were leaning over, removing grass and weeds from tubes, and so on.

The Landowner said: “We have seen hares, lots of mice and also a big deer, possibly roe - certainly bigger than muntjac, and we have found antlers! ”

We returned to this site to plant the more difficult sloping field with a wide variety of tree species. The trees arrived several days in advance which was a relief, and was delivered directly to the site this time. Not all suppliers will deliver to a What3Words address, which is understandable.

We had a much better turnout of volunteers this time, and most of the team came too. Our events coordinator came to ferry the volunteers from the car park to the planting site and back. The loose sheep in the road soon learnt to ignore her as she edged passed them on the narrow road multiple times in her car. The weather stayed dry and all the trees were planted by mid afternoon, so everyone was able to go home early.

It was good to see a variety of birds with species such as great-spotted woodpecker, buzzard, greenfinch and goldfinch noted during planting.

The landowners were very pleased with everything. “The deliveries went very well - it was such a relief to have them go straight to site. This made things much easier for us. We were grateful for your team providing the refreshments and toilet facilities. And of course for finding the volunteers - we spoke with most of them and they were all very nice and had made a big effort to come and help - which was quite amazing. And also a big thank you to your team for all of your hard work over the weekend and the preparations leading up to the planting.”

The objective here was to improve the site for biodiversity by planting a mix of native tree and shrub species. The new planting incorporated gaps, glades and include shrub species to give the woodland a diverse and natural structure. Farmland and woodland bird species typical of this part of Shropshire already use the site and the planting - which consists of a high diversity of tree species, many with good fruit, berry and nectar sources - should only lead to future increases.

This site is in the middle of the Welsh countryside and is accessed by a narrow single track road with little parking in the planting field, so the landowner offered to pick up volunteers from a car park in the nearby village.

There was drama when the nursery rang to say they had had problems, firstly with frozen ground and then with staff shortages, and wouldn’t be able lift the trees in time. However, when we explained that we had eager volunteers waiting to plant them the nursery kindly pushed our order to the top of the list. The trees were due to be delivered on Tuesday, and finally arrived at around 3pm on Friday afternoon, just in time!

The weather was extremely wet in the week before our weekend planting, but stopped in time for the landowner to cut the grass the day before, which helped enormously with planting the trees. Planting day was rather overcast but remained dry, but breezy.

We struggled to find volunteers for this out of the way spot but those who did had a good time. One volunteer responded as follows: “Really friendly atmosphere, lovely people”.

We had hoped to plant all the trees in one day, but with only 5 volunteers it wasn’t possible. Undeterred, the team stayed behind and spent Sunday morning finishing the job.