Colby Estate Woodland Enhancement Project

A new discovery map is made, to be displayed in the bothy within the grounds of Colby Gardens. It’s specially designed to encourage visitors to step out and explore the wild valleys, immerse themselves in nature and watch as the native woodlands begin to breathe again.

We’ve created three new trails across the wooded valleys and a new trail at Mount and Barn Fields. Route plans and maps have been developed to go on the Colby Estate webpage. Rangers and volunteers have been out on the grounds putting in now posts and way markers.

Contractors have started to get the woodlands ready for the winter weather with sturdy bridge replacements and culverts to divert water away from the paths.  Works will continue through the winter with new gates and trails to come.

With a focus on denser woodland areas specialist contractors go up and down the estate valleys eradicating this species throughout. We know the Himalayan Balsam will be the biggest challenge of the project which is why there are many layers of intervention. To thoroughly eradicate this species a long-term management plan has been developed to continue after the main project comes to an end.

Natasha has joined us from National Trust Surrey Hills for 1 year to focus on getting this project completed successfully.

Volunteers take on the biggest challenge of the project- removing the rapidly reproducing Himalayan Balsam plant from across the site. Although an attractive plant, it is highly invasive and can dominate over many of our native species, particularly on the edges of streams which act as a transport route for its seeds. 
 

Contractors cleared a boundary line and installed the fencing for the development of conservation grazing in one compartment of just under 5 hectares. The wood pasture will provide an area where cattle can graze freely which will have a positive impact on the ground surface, stirring up seeds and creating pockets of micro-climates where different insects thrive.
 

A team of staff and volunteers came together to plant native broadleaf tree saplings across 1 hectare of land.  A total of 1000 trees were planted to develop a new woodland area. 

Mount and Barn is accessible to the public, with a long meandering walk and the future installation of trails.
 

The larger Laurel and Rhodedenron blanket out the sunlight from the woodland floor.  In order to open this up, specialist contractors first cut them back before a systematic herbicide was used to reduce their impact across the site. 

In order to keep everyone safe, works were brought to a halt and safety works took place across the woodland area after Strom Darragh hit the area hard.
 

In order to allow natural regeneration of native species, selective thinning commenced in dense areas of woodland where there was an absence of ground flora and less developed understory. As native species like Oak and hawthorn develop the ecological diversity will improve securing the woodlands future. Thanks to the combined efforts of rangers, volunteers and contractors this will continue in winter 2025.

A specialist contractor, experienced in control and eradication of Invasive non-native plant species was engaged to help tackle the spread of rhododendron, laurel, pheasant berry, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam.  While we love seeing some of these plants and shrubs in gardens, when they escape into native woodlands they cause a huge amount of damage to the fragile ecosystem by outcompeting and shading out native woodland species.   
 

Specialist contractors carried out a survey to establish where the invasive species were located and feedback on quantity and how best to remove them. This gave us a clear plan for rolling out targeted treatments across the estate.
 

Following a survey and application to the Welsh government we were delighted to hear we had secured funding to restore this ecologically important woodland.