Shillingford

This site was looking really good when we went to visit, with only four dead saplings in the hedgerow and a 95% survival rate across the whole site despite Devon having had the driest July since 1871.

A majority of the original trees have now grown well above the tops of the guards and even the new saplings planted last winter seem healthy. The landowners are really please with how well this project is going, and are happy to carry out basic maintenance when needed, especially straightening stakes and guards, and they asked us for further guidance.

We did find mice nests inside four of the guards. It is important to make sure guards go right down to the ground, but it’s hard to prevent mice getting inside entirely. We also saw indications of foxes, hedgehogs and birds of prey visiting the site.

Some sites require more help than others, and the landowners here were doing such a good job we’ve not had to get too involved. Still, despite their brilliant work, climate conditions have finished off enough saplings that we sent over another 300, mainly for their hedgerow. The tree survival rate was around 75% at last survey which is lower than we’d like, so we are helping the landowners get that up too.

Phil assessed the site when he dropped off spare canes and spirals and decided that some weeding and mulching needs to be done, which we will assist the landowner to organise over the summer. She is pleased with progress so far.

The landowners carried out this survey on our behalf. They were particularly please with the woodland which had a 75% survival rate, and was really thriving. The hedgerow has been less successful, with only a 60% survival rate, as it's much more exposed. The landowner spent a lot of time during the autumn and winter, propping things up after strong winds and gales. These simple tasks will have helped save many of the trees. There’s some bramble encroachment, but the guelder roses and dog roses seem to be doing okay; the smaller whips, like blackthorn, aren't doing so well.

Wildlife is doing well here. It is not uncommon, even in daylight, to see hedgehogs on this site. There's also a small wildlife pond in the new woodland. and in the last three weeks, the landowners reported seeing three newts, as well as damselflies and dragonflies, with swallows and house martens sitting on the fence ready for a snack. There is a huge variety of grasses within the woodland, which are cut back in the autumn. There were some wild orchids and there are always butterflies down there at this time of year. A haven for wildlife!

This farm already has sections of ancient woodland thriving, so our goal was to link these up and expand the habitat for wildlife,

On our second sunny, but cold, day of the weekend we planted 600 trees and shrubs with the help of some local volunteers. We planted five saplings per metre, placed in a staggered double row, to form a hedgerow roughly 150m long, watched closely by some curious pigs. This hedgerow will grow into a fantastic wildlife corridor in years to come, and the pigs will appreciate the shelter it provides too.

For this farm we planned a small woodland and hedgerow. The woodland consisted of 379 trees in a 0.25 hectare so trees needed to be planted a little closer than we normally would. With the help of local volunteers we planted belts of the same species with random spacing for a more natural look, then planted some shrubs in tight groups of the same species.

We were lucky to get dry weather for this planting, but the ground was very wet underfoot. The tree roots will help to suck up some of this excess moisture which will improve the soil for farming.

The volunteers enjoyed their day. When asked what they had liked about volunteering with Protect Earth they said they enjoyed being trusted with tasks, that they were not just asked to do menial things and that they felt part of the team.