Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s Ancient Astonbury and Wilder Woodlands project has now concluded after three years of woodland restoration, wildlife recording and community involvement, supported by a £162,698 grant thanks to National Lottery players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The project has delivered practical conservation work across seven of the Trust’s nature reserves, including Astonbury Wood near Stevenage, Gobions Wood near Brookman’s Park, and Old Park Wood in Harefield, helping restore habitats and create better conditions for wildlife. It has also created new opportunities for people to connect with nature, including a new wellbeing way-marked trail at Astonbury Wood.

One of the project’s major achievements has been bringing more than 0.7 hectares of ancient woodland back into coppice management – an area roughly the size of a football pitch. Coppicing creates a varied woodland structure, allowing more light to reach the woodland floor and encouraging flowers, insects and birds to thrive. At Astonbury Wood, 0.32 hectares of mainly Hornbeam was coppiced in December 2025 and protected from deer, with strong regrowth following its first growing season, despite the dry summer. Further coppicing is planned to take place in the future.

Smaller areas of Hazel coppice were also restored at other Trust reserves, with volunteers helping protect newly coppiced stools using woven deer baskets.

At Astonbury Wood, the project has also breathed new life into woodland glades that had been gradually reverting to woodland after around 20 years without management. Clearing trees and dense bramble, followed by annual cutting and raking, is helping to restore these open habitats and the flowers and insects that depend on them.

The results are already beginning to show. Abundant Primroses can be seen in spring, followed later in the year by Marsh Thistle and Small Teasel. The increase in flowers has also attracted greater numbers of butterflies, with Silver-washed Fritillaries recorded in much higher numbers during summer 2026 than in previous years.

This year also saw Beautiful Demoiselle and Willow Emerald damselflies recorded at Astonbury Wood for the first time, adding to the growing picture of the wildlife benefiting from habitat restoration.

Iain Ward, Wilder Woodlands Officer at Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said:
“Ancient woodlands are incredibly special places, supporting a rich variety of wildlife while providing important spaces for people to connect with nature. It has been fantastic to see these habitats responding so positively to careful management, and to see more wildlife making use of the restored glades and coppice areas.

“There is still plenty more work for us to do. For example, it would be of great benefit to open up the main ride at Astonbury Wood and to restore the ponds there to prevent them drying out completely as our summers become increasingly hot and dry. Right now, we must acknowledge that this project has achieved a great deal and hopefully we can build on its success in the years to come. We’re hugely grateful to everyone who has helped make it possible, particularly the volunteers who have given their time and skills to restore these special places.”

Volunteers have been at the heart of the project, contributing 2,834 hours of conservation work and supporting wildlife surveys, guided walks and community events, while more than 200 local people attended project talks. Specialist wildlife recorders made more than 50 visits, helping uncover the remarkable diversity of these ancient woodlands, including the number of fungi species recorded recently topping 1,000 at Astonbury Wood. Across the project, seven woodlands have benefited from conservation work, contributing to the Trust’s management of 22 hectares of ancient woodland.

While the project has now come to an end, the Trust hopes to secure further funding to continue restoration and management of its woodland sites, ensuring they remain havens for wildlife and a place for people to enjoy in every season – from autumn colour and Bluebell-filled spring mornings, to cool shade in the summer and peaceful shelter among the trees in winter.

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