3,000 new trees planted by National Trust in South Devon

At Southdown Farm near Salcombe, the National Trust team have been working hard on various projects to increase the value of the area for wildlife. With the help of local volunteers the team have been planting up over one kilometre of new hedgebanks with shrubs and also planting trees around sheltered corners of fields. The new hedges have created smaller, more sheltered fields on the exposed coastal farm, this will mean better habitat for foraging insects and birds such as Whitethroat and Yellowhammer. With over 3000 new trees and shrubs planted on the farm it’s been a busy winter.

There have also been new wetland habitats created, these are called ‘scrapes’ and will provide foraging for birds aswell as fantastic places for amphibians, dragonflies and damselflies, amongst many other invertebrates.

The farmer has been grazing the area with a mix of cattle and sheep, with sheep taken off in spring to allow the wildflowers to flourish. This work is really paying off with reduced areas of scrub and more grasslands full of different flowers such as spring squill, tormentil and birds foot trefoil.

All this work is great news for birds, small mammals and invertebrates that use these places for shelter and food.

Emma Reece, Ranger explains ‘The Trust is investing in conservation work on the farms around the Salcombe area to increase their value for wildlife. This work includes creating wildflower meadows and carrying out woodland management, amongst many other projects. A £2,000 donation from a local company Mole Energy combined with a grant from Natural England have enabled us to make significant improvements. We’ll be out this summer closely monitoring the impact of the work and we hope to see an increase in farmland birds such as yellowhammers, and insects such as butterflies, bees and dragonflies benefiting from the wildflowers and new wetland areas.

David Stevenson, Managing Director at Mole Energy explains why they got involved ‘There’s a natural synergy between our organisations in our focus on supporting the environment. We’re seeing more and more people come to us to do their bit towards sustainability, by installing solar PV and battery storage. We wanted to find a way of supporting their efforts - and so for every solar PV, battery and electric vehicle charger installed by us, Mole Energy donates to the National Trust’s conservation project in South Devon’.

A network of footpaths criss-crosses the farm, so it’s easy to come and see the progress being made, and a great time of year to enjoy the farmland birdsong and wildflowers on the coast.