Another useful morning on the first day of the half term. Given that the weather was fine it was not surprising to find the wood full of visitors. At one time in the morning we estimated there were more than 40 in the wood. The...
If you start to read about “Green Recovery” you are likely to see the term being used to describe many worthy causes but, you may be left thinking, “what is it all about?”. One good example is the Green Recovery Challenge Fund; set up to...
For the third year in a row, a hedgehog survey has been searching for this elusive little mammal in Fingle Woods. As the habitat is steadily improving, we are hoping to see a similar improvement in their numbers in the more suitable parts of the...
Once again a big thank you to Geoff Foale who records and takes these amazing photos of the insects he finds when visiting Averton & Woodleigh woods, and provides the ID for them and also sends us in a brilliant spreadsheat will all of his...
We are in the 200th year since the Granite Tramway from the Haytor Quarries to Ventiford Basin on the Stover Canal was opened as Devon’s first railroad on Dartmoor. It was an incredible engineering achievement rolling 7 miles across the landscape and, unusually, its rails were...
The lifting of lockdown rules has meant that I have been able to get back into the woods again, catch up with some of you and see what amazing work you have been doing. I enjoyed going to a wood very local to me in Exmouth...
In August the Woodland Trust led a visit to the Dartington Hall Estate in south Devon to see first-hand a range of agroforestry systems and to examine how agroforestry could be supported within the new Environment Land Management Scheme (ELM). Helen Chesshire, lead farming advocate, Mick...
Our tree planting dilemma Plastic is a problem. It doesn’t biodegrade and it's not environmentally friendly. Yet it's often turned to for its longevity and effectiveness when it comes to protecting young trees from damage. We know it's a concern for our supporters, and the scourge of...
Bringing Fingle Woods back to life The elusive dormouse, often found in its sleepy state, is one of the creatures thriving at Fingle Woods. It’s a stunning ancient woodland on the steep Teign Valley in the fringes of northern Dartmoor. Together with the National Trust, we took ownership...
As we walk through Fingle Woods today, it is a good time to remember and reflect on what has been achieved through more than five years of the ‘Bringing Fingle Woods Back to Life’ project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. In the early...