Lloyney

Heading back to Goytre on a very hot day in July to carry out a survival survey, we were please to see evidence of a range of wildlife. This included a badgers sett, a hare’s burrow, a burrowing bumblebee nest, and a variety of butterflies and wildflowers such as a painted lady and lady’s bedstraw.

It was apparent that the various areas of the site had fared very differently. The south-facing slope had fared extremely poorly after a second year of extreme heat and drought with a survival rate of only 19%. Other areas had done better with survival rates of up to 57%. Overall, the survival rate was 37.5%.

Some saplings had been knocked over and killed by cattle from neighbouring fields escaping into the field, and a fair few trees were lost to antisocial behavior: being run over by quad bikes that are not permitted on the site at all. We have upgraded the two gates letting cows and quad bikes onto the land, so there should be no more issues there.

This is one of the lowest survival rates of any site we've worked on, but we are not taking the loss. We've recently hired new site managers who are working hard to making things better week by week. The team is planning to replant some of our losses as soon as tree saplings are available late November, and we'll be doing things very differently: compost going in with the saplings to improve the soil around the roots, and woodchip going over the top to keep the extreme more of the moisture in the soil through summer. Our local community volunteers will be in charge of the restocking under the watchful eye of our site managers, so we're hoping for huge improvements for the next survey.

We held a hedge laying training day at our Goytre site this December, one of a series this winter and last, and were lucky enough to enjoy another crisp winter’s day with sunshine, light winds, and only a brief rain shower as we were packing up. The group quickly settled into the work after lunch, and by then, spirits were high, and everyone had grasped the fundamentals.

Our course lead, John, began by explaining the purpose and principles of hedge laying, creating a dense, rejuvenated barrier that improves biodiversity, stock-proofing, and long-term hedge health.

We reflected on images from last year’s laid sections, now thick, bushy, and thriving. This was an encouraging reminder of how quickly a hedge can respond when managed sympathetically.

This session focused on a simplified “slash-and-lay” approach, sometimes known as the “conservation style”, which is suitable for beginners and landowners who are looking to manage hedges effectively without traditional stakes and binders. While it doesn’t produce the classic appearance of regional laying styles like Midland or South of England, it’s highly accessible, emphasises good pleaching technique, and provides an ideal introduction to working safely with billhooks, hand saws, and loppers.

For those with extensive hedgerows, we discussed when to bring in a contractor and how having a basic understanding can help reduce costs and manage smaller sections independently.

This was the largest site we’ve ever had to go and count, and after the weather scared off most of the volunteers, we were lucky to have a trusty team of deputies, scaling Goytre Hill to see how the 12,000 trees were doing.

The results were incredibly mixed, and the weather was not the only thing bringing down the mood. On the south-facing slope, the effects of the intensely hot and dry spring and summer were most pronounced. What little rain fell immediately ran off down the hill, evaporating in the long grass before it got anywhere near the soil. Survival rate was a shocking 38-55% across the compartments on this site.

The north west strip next to the tiny sliver of ancient woodland along a stream did amazingly well. The bracken was completely dwarfing our young saplings, but that provided enough shade for them to survive. 76% survival there.

The east-facing slope of Goytre Tump was right in the middle of the two. Everywhere the sun and wind got to the saplings they were doing poorly. Everywhere sheltered was doing brilliantly. Overall that largest compartment was a more manageable 60% survival rate.

Across the entire site, the year one survival rate is 54%, which is far below our goal of 80% survival by year five. We are hoping that many of those saplings have simply “dead-headed” themselves and will be coming back from the roots as we regularly see across our various sites after a rough summer, but we will not rely on that hope alone.

We’ll be replanting the worst hit sections adding back another 20%, planting next to the failures instead of replacing them, so those that wish to have another try can do so. Hemp mulch mats will be added on the south slope where the sun is the most intense, to keep down competition from grass, allowing more water to the soil, and to shade the soil from direct sun to help retain that moisture. All saplings will be dipped in mycorrhizal fungi root dip to help them get their roots down further, which has helped drastically boost the success of replanted saplings on other sites that faced a difficult first year.

This is the first large woodland we’ve planted on land we’ve bought. Managing 12,000 trees is a lot different to managing 500 or 5,000, and planting it in 2025 before the worst summer since our horrific 2022 season was unfortunate timing. Thankfully we have this. The local volunteers are dedicated, and planting season is upon us so we can get this done.

Planting here was such a big job we had to call in the cavalry: a professional team of local tree planters helping out our local community volunteers. The week began on Wednesday, 4th December with some press from The Times coming to see how it all works, and learn the multiple benefits of woodland creation such as flood protection. On Thursday the 5th, with all the supplies delivered, our team from Protect Earth got to work, moving tons of wooden stakes and countless bags of saplings from the neighbouring farm to the planting site.

Friday the 6th brought one of the highlights of the week: 18 local secondary school students, from Severndale Academy at Mary Webb (Pontesbury), working towards their bronze Duke of Edinburgh forestry award, joined us with their teachers for a planting day. It’s very special providing young people with an opportunity to connect with the land around them, each sapling carefully placed, each student walking away knowing they've left something lasting on this hill.

The weekend saw our wonderful community of volunteers turn out across Saturday, 7th and Sunday, 8th December, giving their time and energy to plant even more of our trees. We are pleased everyone enjoyed learning about the project and contributing to their local environment. Constantly traipsing up and down the steep muddy wet hill really added to the adventure!

Together with the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust we helped the landowner design and plant a shelterbelt on a very exposed site in Radnorshire, Mid-Wales. The shelterbelt will help stabilise and protect the soil, create wildlife habitat, sequester carbon, and enhance the habitat quality of an existing upland lake.

This shelterbelt comprises over 500 plants and will provide food and breeding habitat for a wide range of butterfly and bird species. In time the new trees will offer protection to the lake, making it more favourable to a wider variety of emergent plants, damselfly and dragonfly species.

The shelterbelt – essentially a thick species-rich hedge – is over three metres wide and structured in three staggered rows to break up and disperse the strong prevailing winds. The rows consist of major broadleaf tree species, minor broadleaf tree species, and hedge plants all sourced from tree seeds of local provenance. They are all hardy species that will thrive in the uplands as well as providing berries, nuts, fruits and sources of nectar to encourage wildlife.