The partnership at Great Chalfield, which was forged in August 2024, sees Wiltshire Wildlife Trust actively managing the farmland to create space for species and establish a rich wood pasture home to wildlife for centuries to come.
Defying the Drought: Volunteers Deliver 3000 Trees at Great Chalfield
This autumn, the beautiful landscape surrounding Great Chalfield Manor House - an iconic historical site and a vital natural habitat - is the focus of a mammoth tree planting effort led by the National Trust and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and delivered by their dedicated and passionate volunteers.
Climate Challenges and Replanting Efforts
Over the course of last winter, work started with the planting of over 11,000 broadleaf native trees. Unfortunately, what followed was one of the driest and hottest years with incredibly low levels of rainfall.
The drought resulted in a loss of approximately 30–35% of the newly planted saplings - a figure much higher than typically expected. These losses are another example of the impact the changing climate is having on nature, with this level of tree loss being seen across the country.
To get the number of trees back on track, the two organisations joined forces again in November 2025 for a week-long replanting event. Volunteers from both the National Trust and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust worked together, braving torrential rain to remove dead saplings and plant over 3,000 new replacement trees, meticulously allocating different species to the right areas to maximise their chances of success.
Volunteer Spirit and Positive Discoveries
The collaboration not only provided the people power essential for tree planting but also started to build relationships between the two volunteer groups, bringing together volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds, including local residents, conservation students, and retirees.
Sophie, a volunteer from the Wildlife Trust, shared her motivation: “As I’m often indoors, the chance to get outside and active in nature really appealed. I wanted to help with a specific project, especially something where I can see what I’m doing is making a real difference... Chalfield is a brilliant place to help nature recover.”
Adding a much-needed boost to morale, volunteers made a welcome discovery during the week; many of the trees previously feared lost had actually recovered over the last few months and begun sprouting green leaves. This is fantastic news as established trees have a significantly higher survival rate than new saplings.
Ross Hoddinott/2020VISION
A Foundation for Future Success
Adam from the National Trust highlighted the partnership's importance: “This is a really vital partnership for the future of Chalfield, and days like this play a huge part in ensuring nature’s recovery. People are at the core of making sure nature thrives in the future, and volunteers are the foundation of that.”
With the replacement trees now planted, the site will continue to be monitored closely and we will keep volunteers up to date with their progress. Having a strong cohort of keen volunteers ready trained and willing to assist with any future tree planting is key to delivering nature recovery at Great Chalfield, and shows a commitment to what we are trying to achieve at the site. A huge thank you is extended to all those who dedicated their time to help us replant at Chalfield.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has a range of volunteer opportunities across the county covering various different roles from conservation to education and administration. For more tree planting volunteering opportunities, see our Swindon Forest Meadows opportunities here.
Tree Planting FAQs
What is the best time of year to plant trees?
The optimal time for planting trees in Wiltshire is generally during the dormant season, which runs from late autumn (November) to early spring (March). This is when the tree has lost its leaves and is not actively growing, reducing the shock of transplantation and giving the roots time to establish before the warmer, drier months. We try to avoid planting when the ground is frozen or waterlogged.
Which types of trees do you plant for local wildlife and landscape?
We plant native, broadleaf species that support local biodiversity. Great choices for Wiltshire's chalk downlands, woodlands, and clay soils include:
- Oak (English/Sessile) which supports hundreds of insect species and provides long-term habitat.
- Hawthorn, Blackthorn, and Holly excellent for hedgerows, providing berries for birds and early blossoms for pollinators.
- Field Maple and Hazel great understory trees for woodlands, or for smaller spaces.
Are the tree guards you use biodegradable? If not, who will collect the guards?
Many of the biodegradable options available break down before trees are fully established on exposed sites like Great Chalfield, so they’re not always suitable. We’ve been keeping a close eye on trials and new products as they improve, and the sector is changing quickly. For now, we’re using standard guards but have a clear plan in place to collect and remove them once the trees are established.
At Great Chalfield, the National Trust is leading this project and they will be coordinating future guard collection once the trees are well established. Their team usually works with volunteers for this type of follow-up work, just as they do on other sites.
Why plant new saplings when already established trees germinate each year?
Natural regeneration is absolutely something we consider across our sites. Mature trees produce an incredible number of viable seeds, and where conditions allow, we use natural regeneration as a key tool. For example, in Swindon we have a tree nursery where we establish trees from seeds from our reserves.
However, at Great Chalfield, we’re working across several different fields with very different objectives. Some areas are being designed as closed-canopy woodland to replace losses from last winter’s storms, while others are agroforestry or wood pasture, where we need specific species mixes and spacing to suit the long-term plan for the farm.
We’re also planting with UK-sourced, biosecure stock to reduce disease risk, and the species mix selected supports future climate resilience. Natural regeneration will still play an important role, and the planted trees simply provide the structural backbone for each habitat type.
Why are the trees planted so close together?
The spacing of planted trees really depends on the type of habitat we’re creating. There are three different planting areas at Great Chalfield: closed-canopy woodland, agroforestry, and wood-pasture areas.
For closed-canopy woodland, trees are intentionally planted closer together to create future woodland structure. Spacing is tighter at this early stage, but the woodland will be managed over time through thinning and selective removal as it matures. That’s a normal part of good woodland management and helps create a healthy, resilient woodland with space for the strongest trees to develop.
The wood-pasture areas are spaced far more widely to allow for the open, scattered-tree structure we’re aiming for. Lastly, we have agroforestry where rows of trees are planted with much larger gaps, designed around farming and biodiversity benefits.
Where has the funding come from for the replanting?
The trees for this project were funded through Trees for Climate as part of the Great Western Community Forest programme. Donations play a really important role in other areas of our work though. We genuinely couldn’t do what we do without our supporters and our volunteers helping to get them in the ground.
I don't have a large garden, can I still help? What are my options?
Absolutely! Every bit of planting helps. If you have limited space, small native trees like Holly or decorative shrubs can be successfully grown in large pots on patios. Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and local groups often organise community tree planting sessions on reserves or public land. This allows you to contribute to a larger project without needing space at home.