An ambitious project to plant 10,000 trees and create more than a mile of new hedges in Purbeck is underway with the aim of completing the scheme by the end of March 2025.
Fifty acres of fields at Worgret Farm near Wareham in Dorset are being split into three paddocks to be grazed in a more natural and efficient way – and instead of using electric fences, the plan is to once again have living boundaries, but there’s only a month left of the optimum time to plant bare root trees.
Dairy farmer Ian Baggs, left, and Trees for Dorset community tree planter Toby Branston get down to work
Protect and restore the landscape
For a generation after World War Two, farmers were paid to tear up hedgerows to create larger fields and produce more food, but the loss of more than half of the UK’s hedges has proved disastrous for the environment.
Now the circle is finally turning again, and with financial help from the government’s Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme, grants are being provided to restore nature on farms in areas of outstanding natural beauty – including all of the Isle of Purbeck.
Community organisation Planet Purbeck has recently helped to plant 500 trees on land acquired by the National Trust at West Holme, near Wareham, and has now joined forces with Dorset For Trees to take on the much more ambitious project to plant 10,000 at Worgret.
Now there’s an appeal for more volunteers to help plant the trees at Worgret Farm on Tuesdays throughout March 2025, in order to get the job done.
The hope is to attract more local people to join the growing movement to protect and restore the natural environment – as well as boosting physical and mental wellbeing.
Fifty acres of fields are about to have a mile of hedgerows planted
“Bounded by a lovely row of mature trees”
At the launch of the project on Tuesday 25th February 2025, Worgret dairy farmer Ian Baggs said:
“The grass field we are standing in is as important to me as any field of wheat is to an arable farmer and it’s how we make our living.
“It’s a mix of grass, clover, herbs and other flowering species like chicory, but there’s one variable that grass must have to grow as much as possible and feed our cows – and that’s time to grow and to recover, so we graze our cattle in blocks or paddocks.
“I currently split the farm up using electric fences and the cows spend one to three days in each block and then move onto another, giving the grazed block time to grow again.
“But I went to see a farmer in New Zealand, where every one of his paddocks was bounded by a lovely row of mature trees of various species – he has turned his farm from a flat sheet of paper to a three dimensional model, by growing upwards.”
Trees for Dorset volunteer Julie joined the party at Worgret Farm to begin the ambitious new project
“Double bang for the buck”
Ian added:
“Now his farm is buzzing with wildlife, his cows get shade from the sun in summer and shelter from bad weather in winter.
“There are trees which are rich in berries like hawthorn and wild cherry for the birds, species like crab apple which the cattle will browse on, and medicinal plants like willow, which is an anti-inflammatory which cows will browse on if they are feeling a little under the weather.
“It is a win for the cows, a win for the environment and a win for the farmers, who still have their paddocks, but split up by lovely big hedges which can grow as tall as possible, to let wildlife have more space, attract pollinators and provide food for birds to forage in winter.
“Subdividing a main field into three smaller fields here gives the grass time to rest and regrow, meaning there’s more food for the cows, more flowers in the grass, more root growth to sequester carbon – and the hedges we plant will sequester their own carbon as well, double bang for the buck.”
The first 550 whips – young trees – ready to be planted at the start of the month-long project
Plant, protect and promote trees
Ian has made the job of planting 10,000 trees easier by loosening the soil around along the new hedge lines and making holes with an auger for those young trees – known as whips – which have substantial roots already.
Species which are being planted include hawthorn, hazel, guelder rose, hornbeam, blackthorn, dog rose, wild cherry, elder, crab apple and field maple, with occasional Scots pine, willow, silver birch and holly trees, all perfectly suited to the acidic, sandy and gravelly soil.
With a planting rate of about 50 an hour, it would be a huge undertaking to put in 10,000 trees – which is where Trees For Dorset comes in, a registered charity which raises funds and applies for grants to achieve its main aim, to plant, protect and promote trees.
Trees for Dorset was founded as an independent charity in 2009, taking over from the Dorset branch of the International Tree Foundation when it closed, starting its own planting grant scheme and developing projects with local schools.
Chris Hockley and Ben Mogg take a break from planting at Worgret Farm
“Obviously the right thing to do”
Toby Branston, community tree planter for Trees For Dorset, said:
“These schemes are funded through the environmental stewardship scheme – after the war and until the 1970s, farmers were paid to take up hedges and produce more food, but now we are putting them back in again, which is obviously the right thing to do.
“We work with community groups or individuals who want to plant trees to counteract climate change, providing expertise and financial input to help them to realise their wishes.
“We also promote the use of hedges rather than fences and oppose any development that threatens ancient woodland, or the removal of healthy trees.
“I run a coppicing programme in the winter to help hazel management in woodlands, which stops the natural landscape getting lost under a cascade of bramble and allows light in so that bluebells, primroses and wood anemone can flourish.”
Entry to the tree planting site is off the A352 Wareham Road
Very grateful for grant support
Ian Baggs said:
“We are avoiding species which are harmful to cattle, including oak and yew, but we also wanted our new hedges to consist of a nice mix of native breeds which are suited to the soil on the farm and also provide environmental benefits.
“Funding for the whips – young trees – and fencing to protect them has come through Farming in Protected Landscapes. We are very grateful for their support and it means that we can get lots of variety in our planting rather than just going for what’s cheapest.
“We farmers want to help the government reach its tree planting commitments, we want to help create a thriving environment for future generations.
“But we do need the government to give us some support, and without Farming in Protected Landscapes I would not have been able to take on this important project.”
Many hands make light work as the task of planting 10,000 trees begins
“It is a good news day for farmers”
Rachel Janes, for Farming in Protected Landscapes, said:
“The Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, has just announced that the grants programme will be extended into the 2025/26 financial year.
“It is a good news day for farming and means there will be more funds for important projects such as this, so if people are interested they can get in touch through our offices.
“The farming in protected landscapes area covers all of Purbeck and I would love it if more farmers got in touch with us.
“We support new nature friendly farming schemes, or farmers who are scaling up what they are already doing, anything that improves climate, nature, people or places.”
Volunteers from Planet Purbeck also joined a scheme to plant 500 trees at West Holme on Sunday 23rd February 2025
Further information
- To volunteer for tree planting at Worgret Farm from 9.30 am on Tuesdays in March 2025, phone Toby Branston email tobybranston@ic24.net
- Find out more about Trees for Dorset on its website
- Planet Purbeck has a range of environmental projects to volunteers for
- Apply for environmental grants at the Farming in Protected Landscapes website
