People, planting and progress: Restoring Reynolds and Holcot Woods (part 6)

Posted 15th January 2026

In 2023 we began a journey to restore Reynolds and Holcot Woods – woodlands that had been without active management prior to our involvement. Our 10-year management plan aligns with UK Forestry Standards, Natural England’s and the Woodland Trust’s guidelines, and has received approval from the Forestry Commission. Through our efforts, we aim to enhance the resilience of these woodlands against pests, diseases, and climate change while promoting biodiversity. Follow us on this journey…

New additions to the team

Alongside our restoration of Holcot and Reynolds Woods we’ve been running a forestry traineeship programme. It can be hard for young people to get a foothold in the industry, so this programme aims to give them skills, experience and key qualifications to jumpstart their careers. Our first trainee, Antonia, was with us throughout 2025; she has now spread her wings to New Zealand, where she’s aiming to use the knowledge gained with us as well as learn additional experience in the Southern Hemisphere. In September, two new trainees joined us, Alex Arbenz and Anna Lynch, and they’ve already made a significant difference to the restoration project as well as in other areas of the Forest of Marston Vale Trust’s work. The team has also been augmented by Gareth Biggins, joining us from the Forestry Commission.

Recording change

By the onset of autumn, all the coppicing work for the year had been completed and the regeneration felling of the ash done. With the dangerous ash gone, we were able to remove the fences from the woodland to allow more public access. Some healthier ash specimens were left in the hope they will prove resilient to ash dieback -we’ll keep monitoring these.

One of the next and in some ways trickier phases, is recording the changes. We plan to install light monitors in the coppice plots to record the light levels. From a wildlife perspective we’ll conduct bat and birdsong surveys, as well as mammal impact assessments, newt and butterfly surveys. All of this will allow us to build a picture and record the changes and improvements to the biodiversity over time. This will help us to prove that sustainable woodland management and biodiversity gains go hand in hand. We are very lucky to have secured the services of Phil Canning, who is one of the best in the country at surveying, and he has agreed to coordinate and process the surveys for us free of charge.

New planting

We’re currently working with volunteers and corporates on new planting in the woodland. The species mix being planted includes standard broad leaf varieties (such as oak, hornbeam, field maple) but we’ve also introduced species like small-leaved lime. These are found locally and are traditionally found in ancient woodlands - the scented flowers are also a great attraction to pollinators.

Further funding

We’re awaiting final approval of our first round of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier funding. This funding is available to help land, including woodlands, be managed in ways that protect, restore or enhance the environment while also helping to mitigate the impact of climate change.

As with all things, funding is key to be able to continue our work to make the woodlands we’re responsible for, both people and wildlife friendly with the greatest biodiversity benefits. One of Gareth’s current projects is preparing a proposal for the restoration of the pond network throughout Holcot and Reynolds Woods, and we’re really hoping that we’ll be able to attract financial support to make this happen!

You can help the continued restoration of this ancient woodland by supporting us today.

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Woodland management across our Community Woodlands

Our work at Reynolds and Holcot Woods is proving that woodlands need to be sustainably managed in order to thrive and some of the Community Woodlands that we planted in our early years (we started out in 1991!) are now in a phase where increased management is needed.

We’re delighted that most of our woodland management and species management plans are now approved – we now have well over 200 hectares of approved woodlands to manage. The challenge now is executing these plans and seeing everything come to fruition! We also have plans for another 100 or so hectares to submit, which we’ll do this coming Spring / Summer.

In addition to our own woods, we’ve been writing plans for other woodland owners to help and encourage their management plans.