Shillingford

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 in 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 Trees are utterly glorious - 75% survival rate, and they are really thriving. Although the hedgerow hasn't been quite so successful, with more like 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, but that's a labour of love. It's on a very small Devon bank. We are at the bottom of a valley.

There’s some bramble encroachment, but the briar roses and dog roses seem to be doing okay; the smaller whips, like blackthorn, aren't doing so well. The bottom, near where the woodland is absolutely fine, it's just the middle bit.

It is not uncommon, even in daylight, to see hedgehogs down there. There's also a small wildlife pond in that woodland. In the last three weeks, we've seen three newts. There's always damselflies and dragonflies down there, swallows sitting on the fence and house martens ready for a snack. There is a huge variety of grasses within the woodland, which we cut back in the autumn. There were some wild orchids in there this year. There was blue chicory last year and butterflies are always butterflies down there at this time of year. A haven for wildlife!

We visited Shillingford in January 2023 and worked on adding hedgerow to the site. We planted 600 trees and shrubs across the area, and met some very friendly pigs! The site has sections of ancient woodland already thriving, so our goal was to link these up and expand the habitat. In total the hedgerow spanned 150m, which will grow into a fantastic wildlife corridor in years to come. A big thank you to our friends at Pinwheel for funding the project.