Highchurch Farm

We had 16 volunteers arrive throughout the morning, which was fantastic. We were also joined by the landowner, his daughter, and his farmhand.

We carried out a significant amount of strimming around the trees, and once the volunteers arrived, we focused on maintaining the existing trees and replacing any that had died. Work continued until around 3pm, when heavy rain set in. At that point, we quickly planted the remaining trees and packed up. Everything was cleared away and everyone headed home.

We covered approximately a quarter to a third of the field with the volunteers we had. Progress was relatively slow due to the work involved in clearing competing vegetation, applying mulch, and replacing guards.

In future, it could be beneficial to return and continue the work, perhaps alongside future planting sessions. That said, the landowner was very pleased with the progress made.

Overall, the day went well and we made solid progress. It was a shame the volunteers were not able to arrive earlier, as we could likely have achieved more. However, their contribution was greatly appreciated.

In terms of tree survival, the survival rate was 75%.

Encouragingly, the poplars are thriving. The oaks, while still small, are looking healthy, and the hawthorn and downy birch are also doing well. Considering the weather conditions and the heavy clay soil, which is prone to cracking and breaking, the site is looking positive overall.

A dedicated team of 15 volunteers came together for a summer work session. Despite 30-degree heat and extremely dry, cracked ground, the group made steady progress with weed management, strimming around young trees, replacing lost saplings, and adding mulch and guards. The rain arrived late in the afternoon, bringing the day to a close after a productive few hours of maintenance.

The landowner reports that the site is doing well overall, with an estimated 75% tree survival rate. Poplars, oaks, hawthorn, and downy birch are all thriving, despite the challenging clay soil and intense weather conditions. The team plans to return later in the year to continue planting and maintenance work to support the young woodland’s resilience.

We recently returned to the site to plant 200 small-leaved lime trees that were missing from the original planting, and to replace around 2,000 saplings that did not survive the exceptionally intense summer heatwave and subsequent drought.

The drought had a severe impact on the heavy clay soil, leaving it deeply cracked, with saplings dangling in the gaps.

To give the new saplings the best possible start, we also used mycorrhizal root dips to promote stronger root growth and help the trees access water more effectively, helping to increase their resilience to future heatwaves.