Woods & Trees Appeal - Bye Wood

CareMoor Woods & Trees Appeal

CareMoor Woods & Trees Appeal

Bye Wood - the first step in our appeal

Bye Wood is part of the biggest woodland creation project to have taken place in the National Park in the past 15 years and forms part of our commitment to increase tree cover on Exmoor from around 13.5% to at least 17% by 2050 - the amount recommended by the UK government’s independent Climate Change Committee. Bye Wood is the first step in our wider CareMoor Woods & Trees appeal. 100% of donations to this appeal will support tree planting and woodland creation schemes on Exmoor.At Bye Wood, planting started in late 2021 to create a unique and sustainable woodland using only the best environmentally-friendly practices. At Bye Wood, we aim to:

*Plant 13,000 trees over 12 hectares
*Be plastic free - using only fully recyclable, reusable, and compostable materials
*Use only locally sourced wood with no chemical treatments
*Favour sustainable methods using organic and physical methods in preference to chemicals
*Use careful structural planting to support tree growth and resilience to the pressures of a changing climate
*Create community areas to connect people with nature and inspire them to care for it
*Nurture wildlife habitats

Scroll down towards the bottom of this webpage for an update on planting and progress at Bye Wood - Feb 2023.

Three ways you can help us plant more trees on Exmoor:

1. Donate to the Appeal

Donate online and select and select CareMoor Woods & Trees (Bye Wood) appeal from the drop down menu. If you prefer you can donate by other methods-read here.100% of donations to this appeal will support tree planting and woodland creation schemes on Exmoor.

2. Dedicate a Tree

You may like to dedicate a tree at Bye Wood to mark a special occasion or in memory of someone special. There are two dedication options both featuring a high quality A5 sized card with the above artist's impression (as above picture) of Bye Wood and a CareMoor Certificate of Dedication:

• We will send the certificate and card to a person of your choice with your own personalised message £15  - Read more and dedicate a tree here
• Or we will send a certificate and blank card to you for your own use/message £13 -  Read more and dedicate a tree here

3.  Volunteering and planting trees

We're still planting more saplings at Bye Wood, Winsford. Fun for all the family, groups welcome too. To sign up email getinvolved@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk with your name and contact number. You can also join our team of volunteers helping us collect and grow tree seeds on Exmoor or get involved with our new Tree Nursery. Sign up to our woodlands newsletter for details.

Please email caremoor@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk for any further details or to discuss a donation to this appeal. 

Bye Wood Progress Report (Feb 2023)

Much of the Bye Wood planting has now been completed. Over 9,000 trees of various species including sessile oak, mountain ash, Scots pine and Devon service tree have been planted by volunteers and contractors. Volunteers also planted 70 locally grown sessile oak as part of the Queens Green Canopy to commemorate the Queens Platinum Jubilee. Over summer 2022 we focused on maintenance to ensure that bracken and other vegetation doesn’t out-compete the young trees. Bluebells must have persisted beneath the bracken for perhaps 500 years since it was last wooded but have flourished now the bracken has been managed - these are ancient woodland indicators, so we have effectively re-created an ancient woodland! Over winter 2022, the deer protection fencing was completed using cleft chestnut posts sourced from Exmoor National Park Authority’s own woodlands. The seven fenced areas protect the trees from browsing deer without the need for large tubes but still allow the deer to move through the landscape.   The wooden tree tube stakes have also been sourced from our own estate. They are all untreated softwood and milled by our Field Services Team at Exford. In November and December 2022 we ran two more volunteer planting days and despite less than ideal conditions under foot, several hundred trees were planted. Many were planted along the footpath the runs next to the rive Exe. As a testament to the planting skills of the volunteers, only one tree was lost when the river flooded in January. The remainder of the planting will be carried out by a local contractor in March 2023. Unfortunately, our plan to use a new biodegradable tree tube has not been possible as production of the tubes has been delayed until late spring. We have, therefore, had to resort to using traditional plastic tree tubes as these meet the criteria of being both robust enough to withstand the site the conditions as well as being tall enough to protect the trees from red deer. "We will ensure that through regular maintenance, any tubes that are no longer fit for purpose will be removed and reused or recycled" said Robin Offer, Treescapes Officer. "There have been many challenges faced throughout this project, which is far from over, with lots of lessons learned that we will take forward into future planting projects.”

We have also contributed £1000 from funds raised from the appeal to the inspirational “Porlock 100 Trees” project. This initiative coordinated by PTC and local volunteers aims to get 100 trees established on various sites throughout Porlock. We were delighted to support this project and the 1st trees have already been planted.

Exmoor Charitable Trust donates £5,000

Our thanks to Exmoor Charitable Trust who pledged at the start of our appeal to support us by matching each £1 donated  (up to a maximum of £5,000) and this has now been reached. Susan May - Chairman of Exmoor Charitable Trust said "We are delighted to be supporting this important new woodland on Exmoor and are very pleased that it is going to be part of the Queen's Green Canopy project.  Having visited the site it is obvious that it will play an important part in the fight against climate change as well as providing a valuable environment for wildlife, plus the enjoyment and education of future generations."

Art Exhibition at Lanacre Barn Gallery raises £2,600 (Nov 2021)

Local artist and gallery owner Jo Minoprio hosted a 16-day art exhibition in aid of the CareMoor Woods & Trees appeal in November 2021. Lanacre Barn Gallery, near Withypool exhibited around 60 works by the Arborealists, a group of internationally acclaimed artists who share a passion for trees. The works on display explored Exmoor’s most important woodlands throughout the seasons. More details at www.moorlandart.com or email the gallery at jodown@fhsinternet.com  We're very grateful to gallery owner Jo and the Arborealists for their generous support. The artist's impression above was kindly painted for us by Leo Davey from Minehead. www.leodavey.com He visited the Bye Wood site with us and based upon the information provided, painted an image of how the woodland might look in years to come. The original framed artwork was raffled at the Lanacre Barn exhibition.

Somerset West & Taunton Council £8,000

“Somerset West and Taunton Council is pleased to contribute towards this inspirational project as part of its commitment to work towards carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2030. Making changes such as planting trees is integral to creating a more sustainable future for everyone and we are excited to be a small part of something so significant in this nationally important area.” - Councillor Dixie Darch, Executive Member for Climate.