Climate Action in North Devon

Published:: 10 January 2025

People in red fleeces plant rows of trees in a green field. — Tree planting © National Trust Images/Paul Harris | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Climate change is the biggest threat to the coastline, countryside and historic buildings we care for. Find out about the work we are doing in North Devon and the simple swaps in place to help reduce our emissions and environmental impact.

North Devon National Trust to plant 375,000 trees by 2025

The North Devon National Trust is set to bring its total number of trees planted since 2020 to 375,000 by spring 2025. A major step towards tackling the climate crisis, improving habitats and creating green spaces for people to enjoy.

This ambitious project aligns with the National Trust’s broader goal of planting and establishing 20 million trees across the UK by 2030 to benefit people and nature. This work is essential to tackle climate change as trees provide the best natural solution to lock up existing atmospheric carbon.

Reducing waste

At Arlington and Watersmeet, we’ve taken significant steps to reduce waste. This includes replacing plastic clotted cream pots with reusable ceramic ramekins and transitioning to reusable coffee cups across all of our food and beverage outlets. The next stage will see jam pots replaced with ramekins at Arlington, which has already been achieved at Watersmeet.

At Cloud Farm Campsite in the Doone Valley, we’ve swapped disposable egg boxes in the shop for a returnable container system, which has received great feedback from guests.

We’re also working with Ollecco to recycle food and milk waste from our Food and Beverage outlets into green energy and biofuel. Keeping climate impact to a minimum through recycling and avoiding landfill.

New Electric Vehicle Charging Points at Arlington Court

At Arlington we have expanded our electric vehicle charging options, with four new points now available in the main car park (managed by RAW Charging). Visitors can now easily charge their cars while exploring the house, gardens, and estate.

This upgrade is part of a wider initiative to increase EV charging stations at National Trust locations across the country. You can also find EV charging points at Lorna Doone Valley, Cloud Farm Campsite and Baggy Point.

RAW EV Charging Point — RAW EV ChargePoint | © Rob Holder

Switching to LED Lighting

We’ve transitioned to LED lighting across all our North Devon sites. LED bulbs are considered more eco-friendly as they are designed to last longer than traditional bulbs, therefore reducing waste. They have also been proved to be more energy-efficient, wasting less energy than conventional lighting, helping us lower our environmental impact.

From Garden to Plate

In 2024, produce grown in the walled garden at Arlington went straight to the tea-room, cutting down food miles to food steps. This included pumpkins, tomatoes and spring onions for soup, fresh berries for scones and flapjacks and herbs such as rosemary and thyme.

Our Food and Beverage teams have also reduced ingredient deliveries from external companies to just once a week, helping to minimize the environmental impact of travel.

Aims for the future

We are in the process of finding a more renewable energy source for heating the mansion at Arlington Court. This is a really exciting project that should result in saving tonnes of carbon each year. We will keep you updated as plans progress.

Meadow with autumnal tree at Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate, Gloucestershire

Help plant more trees

For only £10, you can plant a tree that will tackle climate change and support life for years to come. Your support will help to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030.

Plant a tree

Sunshine breaks through the trees beside a woodland path in the Heddon Valley

Article

Our woodland work on West Exmoor

Discover how the West Exmoor ranger team look after 1,200 acres of woodland, an area roughly the size of 16,000 tennis courts, containing around 400,000 trees.

Project

North Devon Riverlands project

The North Devon Riverlands Project restores wetland habitats across North Devon. Collaborating with four Ranger teams—Arlington Court, West Exmoor, Hartland, and Woolacombe—we focus on nature-based solutions to enhance water quality, reduce flood risk, combat soil erosion, and improve drought resilience.

Project

North Devon Grasslands project

Newly sown wildflower grassland will connect nature habitats in the North Devon countryside. The project will see grassland cover 1,275 hectares over pockets of land across 70 miles by 2030, from Torridge to west Exmoor.