Hinton Ampner: Reimagining a Hampshire Estate

Our main summer project has been to build and install lots of 3 by 3-meter tree guards, part of our wood pasture creation. This enables cattle to graze and will protect small groups of trees planted from being eaten or trampled. Progress started well but breaking through the clay, which has been baked by the sun for so long, has slowed the pace down. The team are keeping focused on the long term of creating more space for nature to thrive, transforming the landscape to somewhere full of life, habitats and wildlife. 

Our farming team welcomed Lucy as the new Herdswomen for the Sussex cattle. Lucy was quickly introduced to first calf born this year, a healthy heifer. Cattle are great conservation grazers; they wrap their tongue around a clump of grass, puling it as they eat. This leaves a variety of heights and thatch, providing habitat for a range of wildlife. 

One such species is the Small Heath butterfly, whose larval food plant are fine grasses such as bents, fescues and meadowgrasses.  This butterfly has been in rapid decline since 1976. Surveys show that the Small Heath is present across the Garden, Farm and wider estate, with more habitats being used in 2025 than previous years.  

As we near the end of our tree planting season, our running total this winter is officially over 16,000! In addition to well-known trees and shrubs like oak, field maple, and blackthorn, we are also planting some commonly overlooked species. One of these is the Wayfaring tree, named by a herbalist in 1597 who noticed it often appeared near paths. The shrub has clusters of scented white blossom and berries that change from red to black. Another species is Wild Service, a rare tree with jagged leaves whose fruits are loved by birds and are also edible to us, said to taste like dates.

Early flurries of snow seem like a distant memory now through all the rain – but we have kept busy being in full swing with our tree planting. We have already welcomed over 14 brilliant community groups and planted over 8,500 trees! We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has come out with us and have had some great feedback that people are loving the chance to get outside and contribute to something of such longevity. These new woodlands will certainly be here long after we are, and provide habitat to millions of birds, mammals, insects and more in their lifetime.

Our first oaks, hornbeams and hazels of the season are officially in the ground, among other hardy native species planted by community groups. On the wider estate, one of our wildlife volunteers has recorded some exciting bird species; highlights including woodcock, marsh tit and fieldfare, which are ‘red listed' on the Bird of Conservation Concern, and bullfinch which is amber listed. Woodcocks like to eat insects, with their favourite being earthworms. In order to survive winter, they need a mixture of pasture and dense woodland to provide both forage and cover, which the Reimagining Project is helping to provide.

After planning, mowing and marking out the compartments, we are now over halfway through our new tree staking target, having hit 9,000! This is all due to our incredible volunteers who have worked hard making their system as efficient as possible. Last year all our trees were planted in rows, whereas this year we are trying something different with certain areas; we are planning to plant trees in clumps of mixed size and spacing, to imitate natural scrub formation. While straight lines make the process easier, it will be interesting to see the difference in development between the two techniques.

In partnership with Wessex Rivers Trust we have undertaken some major works as part of our Cheriton Stream restoration project. These included regrading the banks to increase marginal vegetation, reducing scrub to stop the floodplain from drying, and introducing woody debris into the flow to provide microhabitats within the stream. As the habitat settles and develops this will greatly increase biodiversity of the stream and meadow. Recently we have also begun the staking process for this winter’s new tree planting target of 20,000 trees! This preparation means we can ensure there are the correct number of trees in each compartment and that our community planting days run smoothly.

Our archaeology team have been working alongside Winchester Archaeology and Local History Group (WARG) to continue the excavation of two Bronze Age barrows started in July 2024, and to reveal a third. The dig focussed on the ditches surrounding the barrows and better understanding the construction of the mounds. On theme with history and heritage, we have begun our winter works with hedgelaying: a technique dating back to the 16^th century which involves ‘pleaching’ branches of the hedge to lay them down, while still partly attached. The hedge is then staked in and will grow back denser, making it a great wildlife corridor.

In an exciting update on the farming side, this month we harvested our first crop of barley. During spring this was direct drilled to minimise soil disturbance, and fertilised with chicken manure to reduce artificial inputs. Average yields and quality were lower than anticipated but were in line with other similar systems given this year’s drought. Our farming partner and his team spent a few days combining and the crop has all been set for storage. Around the rest of the estate the team has been clearing fallen trees from woodland rides so our countryside walks can be enjoyed.

This July has welcomed the birth of eight calves from our herd of Sussex cattle. Our cattle promote biodiversity by creating a textured sward, rather than grazing the landscape flat as other livestock might. A success indicator of this grazing technique is bat monitoring, which we have been doing as part of baseline surveys before grazing new areas. Well-managed grassland leads to higher insect numbers, which in turn leads to higher bat diversity. Across the estate we have already recorded Barbastelle, Long-eared, and Pipistrelles among others, and with the development of the project we hope to see more species in the future.

Helping our trees through the dry weather, we have been switching up the woodchip mulch by experimenting with sheep’s fleece. This is sourced locally, and the process involves pinning it down with pegs made from our broken tree stakes, using up a product that might otherwise have gone to waste. The trees themselves are showing great signs of success - many filling their shelters with green leaves and some self-coppicing after the main stem has died, which shows how hardy our native species are! In our pre-existing woodland, our wildlife surveyors have recorded a Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly after not seeing one for several years, which is a great sign for the success of the project.

This month we have been focusing on estate maintenance and increasing accessibility; we have been carrying out our outdoor furniture inspections to ensure all gates, benches, signposts and more are in working order. We are currently in the process of changing the latch system on some of our deer fencing gates so they can easily be opened from both sides. Our wildlife volunteers have started surveying our Helleborine orchid sites, and with numbers in the hundreds they seem to be flourishing! Thank you to everyone that has avoided parking on the verges where these special flowers grow.

Tree planting may be over, but that doesn’t mean the work stops! To give our saplings the greatest chance of success we have been carefully mulching each tree with woodchip. This will help retain moisture during dry periods and suppress grass growth. The chip is sourced directly from tree works on the estate, meaning no wood is wasted and we are keeping our carbon footprint down. Making use of the warm weather, our wildlife volunteers have started the year’s butterfly surveys and have already noted good numbers of Orange-tips and an increase in Speckled Woods from last year, among other species.

The end of March brings an exciting update, we have officially finished tree planting for the season! We complete this phenomenal milestone with an exact total of 24,620 trees, across 11 fields, and planted by over 900 dedicated volunteers. Each of these trees will benefit certain species, from birds such as mistlethrush feasting on guelder rose berries to Nut-tree Tussock caterpillars on hornbeam leaves, all the way to Turkeytail fungi thriving on any rotten wood. The woodland will provide fantastic habitat connectivity, help us reach our carbon capture quota, and provide additional opportunities for our visitors and neighbours to enjoy nature.

Tree planting has been in full swing as we crest 15,000 trees! Meanwhile, our wildlife volunteers have been hard at work with winter bird surveys across the estate. Some highlights spotted have been mistlethrush, linnets, and marsh tits. There has also been a significant increase in barn owl sightings, with at least three individuals being identified. This is a great sign that our parkland management is having positive effects, 
with our grazing regime producing areas of longer grass for the small mammals to thrive in and support the owl population.
 

Despite a definite variety of weather, January has been a phenomenal month for our community tree planting. We have been accompanied by 15 enthusiastic local groups and who have planted a staggering 6000 trees! In addition to planting, we have also begun mulching the trees with woodchip. This will suppress grass growth and retain moisture, giving the saplings the best possible chance of survival.

If you would like to help us plant 25,000 trees, click here to sign up to one of our Family Tree Planting days!

From the first few chilly December days we have been tree planting; over the month we have had four wonderful community groups in who have planted a phenomenal 3000 trees! These are comprised of a mix native broadleaf species including oak, hornbeam, field maple, hawthorn and lots more. Engaging the community is one of the project’s main aims and it’s been great to see people getting stuck in.

We have been continuing getting a head start on tree staking, and from building up our volunteer groups we are now up to 7500! We’re also gearing up for community tree planting groups and have finished preparing our first site and equipment. In other news, the gates of our deer fencing had been left open to allow wildlife to adjust to the area but with tree planting getting close we teamed up to guide them out, and now the deer can enjoy the rest of the estate while our young trees grow safely.

If your group would like to help us plant 25,000 trees, click here to get in touch!

October has been an exciting month for the project as we have begun preparing the fields for tree planting. Our estate volunteers have been hard at work putting out over 3000 tree stakes and we have been marking out and mowing the rides. Our wildlife volunteers have also been busy surveying all the hedgerows on the estate, as well as updating the fixed-point photography, which will show the landscape changes as the project develops.

If your group would like to help us plant 25,000 trees this year, click here to get in touch.

September was a sociable month; we hosted the ‘Big Chalk’ conference, where a variety of environmental professionals visited to discuss chalk landscape management, and to make new connections. We’ve also introduced our team and estate project to our local communities of Bramdean and at Kilmeston, before holding a stall at Hambledon Greening Festival.

In terms of practical work, our rangers have been improving access to our footpaths and installing signage around our wider estate.

July saw the closure of ‘the big dig’ revealing several dew ponds, a historic ditch, a cairn as well as skeletal remains. The discoveries help us understand earlier use of the landscape and consider how we can create more freshwater habitats onto the wider estate.

Wildlife monitoring has also proven fruitful, over the last couple of months we’ve seen a nationally rare species of bee-fly, nesting skylarks, barn owls and red kites flying across the estate, whilst three woodland specialist bat species have been recorded in Joan Acre Wood, all indicating a healthy ecosystem.

The countryside team and our volunteers will be at Bramdean Village Hall on 14^th September from 10:00am – 12 Noon; do come along and meet the team to find out more about our work which includes preparations for planting 60,000 trees over the next few years.

It’s been a busy few weeks with the continuation of fencing and water trough installation which will be supporting our regenerative farming activities. We have also been preparing for an archaeological dig which will be taking place on the fringes of the Estate in collaboration with the Winchester Archaeological Group. The dig will be focusing on barrows that were excavated in the 1930's to examine the preservation of archaeology. We will also be opening some evaluation trenches to examine features identified by geophysical surveys.

During April our project delivery really has begun. Nature survey volunteers have been busy out on the estate with early morning bird surveys and afternoon butterfly walks taking advantage of some glorious sunny weather despite the cold winds. Across the fields water troughs have been installed and fencing has started in earnest. We’ve several thousand metres being installed over the coming months where the perimeters of many areas are getting ready for the introduction of livestock. This includes welcoming sheep who are happily tucking into our herbal grassland leys which is a key component of regenerative farming, helping us to boost our soil health.