Creating 46 hectares of
mixed woodland

In 2019 we were asked by a private land owner in Buckinghamshire to undertake an ambitious 46 ha woodland creation scheme on his arable farm land. Planting schemes on this scale in the South of England are relatively rare and are subject to a lot of scrutiny from local residents as well as statutory bodies.

A close working partnership

We worked closely with the land owner, with local bodies such as the AONB and Natural England and with a professional landscape designer to develop a species mix and layout that would meet the owner’s objectives (to maximise the timber and biodiversity potential of the woodland) whilst also being sympathetic to the local landscape, views, archaeology and history. We developed the scheme to minimise the use of plastic tubes and used Forestry Commission data to ensure we were selecting shrub and tree species that would be resilient to predicted climate change models.

Growth of new timber, wildlife and carbon resource…

The new government Woodland Creation grant scheme (EWCO) launched just in time for this new woodland and we were pleased to be among the first applicants. We also registered the trees with the woodland carbon code. This will ensure the owner can sell the carbon sequestered by the woodland in years to come – potentially through schemes managed by the Forest Canopy Foundation – of which we are an expert provider (https://forestcanopyfoundation.co.uk/). As our teams of fencing and planting contractors got underway we were proud to be watching the growth of a new timber, wildlife and carbon resource.

Key Services

Planning and woodland creation design: including species choice for climate change, biodiversity benefit and long term timber for the local market.
Working with stakeholders – public and statutory
Grant application and regulatory compliance
Carbon analysis and sale
Tree planting operations – fencing, planting, maintenance