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Tales from the West, Underhill Wood Nature Reserve

Some days are just better than others. And last Saturday definitely fell into the ‘better’ category. If not the ‘best’.

As a lover of crafted design and woodwork, it is only natural I should find myself at my happiest when surrounded by trees, woodland and nature.

And this is precisely what happened on Saturday, when my friend Sam, one of the co-founders of Planted, invited me to help on his friend Jonathan’s rewilded site just a short skip across the A350 from our showroom in Semley.

For more than a decade Jonathan, and a collection of environmentalists, ecologists, wildlife experts and aspiring rewilders, have worked on the 25-acre site, attempting to do their bit to reverse the devastating decline in biodiversity we are experiencing across the globe.

Hemmed in by dairy farms and other high intensity agriculture, Underhill Wood Nature Reserve (UWNR) is a tucked away little haven of natural loveliness on the Wiltshire/Dorset border.

Seven of us gathered for a day’s work cutting, shearing and chain-sawing trees in order to reintroduce light and diversity into a previously homogenous wooded plantation, no doubt planted in good faith 30 or 40 years ago, but in reality far too ordered and predictable to provide much habitat for nature. We acted as disruptors, enabling new growth. Jonathan explained that creating more space, we’d be allowing trees to grow outwards as well as upwards, therefore creating new habitats and opportunities for wildlife.

With ash dieback also taking hold, as it is across the UK, there was also a need to remove some diseased trees in the hope healthier and happier ones will replace them. Wood piles for insects were made, staggered to rot over time, and brushwood created permeable fences and more chances for bugs to find homes.

The day was utterly joyous and provided me, as a devoted nature lover, with hope that a growing movement of like-minded people are pulling together in the local area to help the environment regenerate.

Even a broken down car could not spoil my day. As I said to Sam as we wrapped up our day’s work ‘this is my happy place’.

It was the best of days, and I’m looking forward to many more.

Paul, Founder Another Country

Underhill Nature Reserve
Underhill Nature Reserve
Underhill Nature Reserve
Underhill Nature Reserve rewilding
Underhill Nature Reserve rewilding

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