9.4ha site situated in Somerset, part of the Forest of Avon
Forest of Avon
Trees for Climate, Year 4
The family purchased the 38 acres of land around 15 years ago, which had previously existed as mixed farm and equestrian land, laid to pasture and divided into paddocks.
This is the Forest of Avon’s largest Trees for Climate funded project for Year 4 (2023-24), comprising 9.4 hectares of planting including hedgerows, orchard, woodland, wood pasture, and some areas of natural colonisation. There will also be some areas of wet woodland and wetland on the site.
It would be nice to think we’ve done something that will benefit other people.
Landowner
Summary
The family have a history of being hobby farmers and purchased the land 15 years ago for their animals. They thought about options for diversifying the land, planting trees, and using it for another purpose, which led to them contacting the Forest of Avon. The project encompasses a range of planting, from woodland creation, wood pasture, orchard trees, hedgerows, and a wet woodland, providing a rich mix of benefits to the land, nature, and for the next generation.
Developing the project with with the Forest of Avon was like “sprinkling magic dust”
Landowner
Impacts
For People…
Although there are no public access points or footpaths at the moment, the landowner has ideas about how the site could be used to benefit the local community and schoolchildren. The landowner runs several successful independent schools in the South West for children with autism and hopes to provide an education base for local schools and groups to extend their forest school facility. In addition, the site may also offer commercial timber for artisans in the form of willow and hazel coppicing, and eventually, a sustainable timber source.
Benefits to nature and wildlife
The project aims to provide natural habitats for wildlife to flourish and expand into the newly planted hedgerows and wooded areas. In addition, it aims to increase the site’s biodiversity and provide flood defences for Buckland Brook and the Mells River through extra ditches and ponds on the land.
