Trialling plastic-free guards with Kate Humble

Kate: You can only get things right by getting things wrong. And it’s work in progress, it’s exciting, it’s really exciting. Knowing what works, what doesn’t, how we can tweak things.

Kate: So, here we are in the Wye Valley, and in February this hillside was a scene of activity – volunteers from the Woodland Trust and some mates of mine out here planting a new tree scheme. It’s winter again, we’ve been through the summer. Not quite as much growth as we hoped, and that is down to our pesky, although beautiful, neighbours – the deer. There are a lot of them in this part of the world. We knew that they were a challenge, and that is one of the reasons why we have a range of tree shelters on all the new trees. We’ve been trialling trying to get the most sustainable solution for protecting trees. So, the reason there are a range of different shelters here is that this is all part of a trial, some of which have been more successful than others.

Paula: In the last six months we’ve been receiving reports from Kate about how it’s all going, and we’re here today to have a look with her and to plan for the future. We started working with Kate at the site assessment and planning stage, as we do with all land owners who approach us for support, as Kate did. And because we’re running a very special trial here, we’re getting a little bit more involved by coming back to look at the detail of how the planning has gone. So, so far after one year the shelters are holding up quite well – the ones that we chose – some better than others.

Kate: We think we need more height. Partly because deer are clever, they can nip up the slope and just lean in over the new trees and just nibble off the tops. So, there’s quite a lot of that been happening. So, as you can see behind me now, some of the shorter shelters are being replaced with taller ones. So, what we’re discussing today is, not just the height of the tree shelters, but also, you know, do we plant slightly differently? Do we tighten up some of the planting? Which, now we’re heading into the winter, we can do. Do we look at fencing certain areas? Creating small deer-proof enclosures just until the trees get away. That’s going to be our winter work, and then once that has happened what we really hope to see in the kind of growing season next year is growth, and not all of it being nibbled as it emerges out of the top of the shelters.

Kate: This is the brilliant thing, I think, about this collaboration with the Woodland Trust. You can only get things right by getting things wrong sometimes. You know, not everything is going to work first time. So, what we’re trying to do here is come up with a really pragmatic, practical approach to creating a brand new woodland. And it’s work in progress, it’s exciting, it’s really exciting. Knowing what works, what doesn’t, how we can tweak things.

Paula: At the end of the day, we want to achieve the landowner’s objectives of a woodland mosaic at this site. So, we’ll know we’ve achieved success when we have that mosaic, and we’ll have all sorts of mini successes and challenges along the way.

Kate: There’s lots of work to be done. We’re not giving up. One day, in 20 years’ time or something, I might be under the soil but I absolutely believe that there will be a beautiful woodland here, with open glade, and that glorious pond will be properly full of life. And that will be my legacy, and I’m quite proud of that.