The Hillyfield is helping develop a culture of wood on Dartmoor.   

 

45acres of ancient woodland and organic pasture managed for environmental and community benefit. In 2014 we won 2nd prize at Devon County Show for best managed mixed objective woodland, 2nd only to The National Trust.

 

We love this place, and after a long journey of trying to find land, working in community projects like 491 Gallery in London, and Bowden House in Totnes, and volunteering for two years in this woodland, we managed to buy it in 2010. 

 

We don’t live at The Hillyfield, but we do work hard to look after the land, and are blessed with the support of lots of great people! Volunteers come regularly and sometimes stay in the woods as seasonal forest workers, and we work with students from Bicton College and Plymouth University, as well as lots of friendly supportive individuals and organisations. 

 

This is a ‘woodland regeneration’ project, meaning we have had to bring the woodland back from neglect, and work hard to build a sustainable home-grown timber business that serves both the local community and the environment. 45% of privately owned woodlands in the UK are either in neglect or under-managed, so projects like this one are really important for supporting biodiversity and creating employment.

 

Our vision is to help develop a ‘Culture of Wood’ on Dartmoor, and to move towards a truly sustainable future embracing a ‘One-planet vision’ where we don’t have to be importing timber from abroad, and where we carry out best practice in husbandry of the land and livestock. 

 

In just 15 years we’ve planted 5acres of mixed broadleaf, felled diseased Larch (a plantation on ancient woodland site) and replanted thousands of trees as mixed broadleaf and coppice. We’ve planted an orchard, herb spiral, tree nursery and willow for basket making. We keep bees and chickens, occasionally pigs, and rent out the pasture to a neighbouring farmer who grazes organic sheep and cattle. We've also invested loads in infrastructure, with a new access (and 400m+ of native hedgerows), rides throughout the woods, a yard for stacking timber and working wood, and 3 wonderful timber framed barns built for our own timber.

 

We also open up the land at regular community events such as The Great Hillyfield Egg Hunt, Winter Solstice Celebration, and our monthly volunteer days, occasional workshops, and hosting other events such as the Land Workers Alliance Forestry Conference, and the Summer Long Dance - a charitable fundraiser where people dance and fast for 72 hours!

 

The Hillyfield is a bridge for people to come back into relationship with nature, to learn the skills of the land, and have a direct connection to where our wood comes from. It’s not just about sourcing home-grown timber and locking up carbon - it’s about being an integral part of a living landscape, and an opportunity to take responsibility for a healthy woodland environment for the next generation.

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QUOTES FROM OTHERS:

'The Forestry Commission fully supports the Woodland Management at The Hillyfield‘
(Mark Prior, Director of Forestry Commission)

‘The work being carried out on Hillyfield is hugely beneficial for wildlife and the local ecology of the area... connecting local communities with nature, providing sustainable ethical wood sources for local people and enhancing the biodiversity of remnant ancient woodland...‘               

 (Adam Mahar, forester national trust, wildlife trust)

‘The Hillyfield team should be proud of what they have achieved‘
(Nick Allison, Saltram and Antony National Trust garden manager)