Two years ago, Protect Earth bought 70 acres of overgrazed hillside on Goytre Hill, near Knighton in Mid-Wales.
Today, and with the help and support of the community and volunteers, that landscape has been transformed into a nascent woodland home to 12,000 native saplings. It also marks a significant milestone for the charity: it is the first woodland we have created on land we own. This significant milestone joins another that we hit in 2024: planting more than 100,000 trees since we started in 2020.
Discover Goytre Hill: Where History and Nature Meet
Goytre Hill is a plot of land located only a handful of miles outside Knighton, Wales.
The area is naturally beautiful. The River Teme flows at the foot of the hill, having carved out a valley amongst the rolling hills.
Goytre and the area carry cultural significance. Goytre Hill marks the eastern end of the Trans Cambrian Way - a long-distance route snaking its way over the Cambrian Mountains - the oldest mountain range in Europe.
If you know what you’re looking for, you may be able to spot Offa’s Dyke - another famous walking route built in the late 700s that once divided Wales and England - from Goytre Hill as it somewhat follows the path of the River Teme at the hill’s base.
Protect Earth’s Vision for Goytre Hill
Goytre Hill and the land around has long been used for Wales’ most famous agricultural activity - sheep farming. In 2022, Protect Earth bought 70 acres of Goytre Hill.
We covered the entire plan for Goytre here. In a nutshell, we planned to create and maintain several habitats, developing spaces for insects, mammals, and birds to thrive.
This includes planting around 20 acres of Goytre Hill with native broadleaf trees, including Oak, Birch, Alder, Rowan, Wild Cherry, Hazel, and Hawthorn. This mix will benefit bird species like the Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler, both seeing population declines.
Steve the Ecologist has identified existing habitats where Skylarks, Whinchats and Tree Pipits have made their homes. Rather than changing these areas by planting over them, we will allow them to remain, only looking to maintenance and improvement as the next steps.
The 12,000 trees planted will sequester 3,964 tonnes of carbon over the next 50 years.
Over the two years it took for permissions to be gained and funding to come through, Protect Earth (mostly Phil and Steve) regularly visited the area to attend local events, speak about our plans, and collect community feedback. Resoundingly, all have embraced our plan to transform Goytre Hill into a verdant landscape.
Community Spirit on Goytre: A Week of Woodland Creation
With excitement simmering, we spent almost a week on the hill, welcoming old friends and new ones, finally transforming Goytre Hill and literally building our first woodlands from the ground up.
During the week, we hosted Ecologi, who has supported Protect Earth’s activities financially and spiritually from the beginning. It was very special having members of Ecologi’s team with us at our first woodland creation project on Goytre and having them be a part of bringing Protect Earth’s vision to life.
We also hosted a group of Year 10 and 11 students from Severndale Specialist Academy, who volunteered their time. Spending time with us contributes to their bronze DofE awards. The students were great, excitedly competing with each other over who could plant more trees. It’s always great working with young people, witnessing their enthusiasm and helping them understand and better appreciate the environment.
Storm Darragh - the extratropical cyclone - hit the UK as we entered the weekend. Our first session welcoming local volunteers was cancelled because of high, dangerous winds battering the exposed hilltop. As Storm Darragh brought wide damage, Phil and Eoghan drove about the local vicinity, chopping and clearing fallen debris from the roads.
By Sunday, Darragh had done its damage, and it was safe to continue our work on the hill. About a dozen volunteers came along for the day to lend a hand. Many of the volunteers are neighbours in the immediate vicinity - so eager to support our plans that they’re lending a hand to get it done. One of the things talked about is how this new woodland can serve as a rejuvenation for the area. We suggested volunteers park in a layby close to Goytre as it had the most space and was easy to pick out. However, it has a derelict feeling, with three abandoned buildings and an overgrown public car park.
Councillor Corinna Kenyon-Wade joined us for two days for several hours, working very hard in the occasional drizzle and cold wind to cover the planted saplings with guards to protect them against rabbits and deer.
To sum up
Establishing a brand new woodland on Goytre Hill is the manifestation of the charity’s aims and goals and it can’t be overstated how big of a milestone this is for the charity.
Dedication, belief, and patience brought this goal to life and saw us plant 12,000 saplings that will be held and protected forever by Protect Earth.
Our work to develop greenspaces is far from over. In fact, we are currently raising money to purchase a 70-acre plot of disused farmland along the River Avon.
Help us continue greening more of the UK by donating now.
