We are pleased to tell you that our UK tree planting partnership with Springham Farm in Sussex started in earnest this spring. 2,500 native species saplings have been planted with the help of FWF so far.
In March a group of our donors and supporters headed out to the farm to plant sapling trees and find out first-hand how our work helps the team at Springham restore woodland pastures and grasslands.
Partnering for local biodynamic restoration
Acquired by the Biodynamic Land Trust in December 2020, Springham Farm sits in the heart of our local area - bordered by the Wealden countryside to the north and the South Downs National Park.
Our partners, new tenants Springham Grove LLP, have exciting plans for the future of this 229-acre holding. They are creating an inspiring, regenerative, biodynamic farm for the mutual benefit of humans and nature that can be replicated elsewhere.
Our shared philosophies and approaches to protective and regenerative agroforestry, Bringing nature back to life and people back to nature, makes our collaboration and future plans a perfect fit. We have been working hard to select the most suitable and aligned partnerships that meet our high standards for species provenance, sustainable practices and ongoing maintenance of all the trees we support.
This means, together with our new Devon project, we can now offer direct local planting and restoration options for individuals and businesses who want to support projects closer to home.
Friends and supporters of Forests gathered at the farm to hear about our work and the activities we are supporting at Springham. We were blessed with glorious sunshine after the clouds parted. Together we planted a mixture of local saplings to help restore grassland pastures, followed by lunch provided by our good friend, Carlilto's Burritos.
Much of the funding for this first plantation was raised at a fundraising event in Brighton hosted by one of our local partners Plateau restaurant - and we were pleased that general manager Jake Northcote-Green and his daughter Poppy could attend the day. Building a sense of community among our FWF friends is important to us - as well as taking people out into nature and seeing what our work involves.
A diverse and ancient site ready for expansion at scale
More than 200 acres of the farm is grassland, with occasional copses and a selection of ponds. The River Cuckmere runs through the farm, creating wetland/water meadows. In addition, there are many trees and hedgerows with a diversity of plants and wildlife.
“It is a pasture-based farm, a grassland farm. It's like a prairie out there. The best way to support grasslands is to plant trees. Today we are planting field maple, wild service, yew, beech, small leaf lime, hawthorn and hazel.”
— Christine Meadows, project manager Springham Farm
“I have a restaurant in Brighton. We serve biodynamic wines and food. I was approached by Nicoleta to work with Forests Without Frontiers and today we're here planting trees with them, and my daughter Poppy, and seeing a bit more about how Forests Without Frontiers is working. I’m really happy to be here.”
— Jake Northcote-Green, Plateau, Brighton
Among others who joined were Locate Productions one of our first partners who add an optional ‘1% for the Planet’ to their invoices. They’ve already planted over 13,000 trees with us!
Olaf Workshops, a kitchen joinery company in London, also came along. “We were looking for a way to offset our carbon footprint and it’s quite tricky to find out what to do,” said owner Angus Bartram. “Forests Without Frontiers message was simple and easy. I thought it would be a great partnership.”
“I am really happy that today we are planting our first trees in Sussex after our Cities for Earth fundraiser in Brighton last year. We've managed to bring the people that donated to have a hands-on experience of what it means to actually plant a tree. Today we're going to plant a mixture of native species and help regenerate the woodlands in this area at Springham Farm.”
— Nicoleta, Forests Without Frontiers
Nico and Emma planting a yew sapling.
What next?
We will be supporting the Children’s Forest activities at Springham as part of our education programme. More to come on that soon. You can follow what’s happening at the farm here: Events at Springham Farm.
Emma Wallace