Our work on the estate at Polesden Lacey

Woodland management

The estate forms part of the Surrey Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and comprises Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), ancient woodland, and wood pasture. In conjunction with Natural England, we act as stewards of this extremely special area to ensure it remains species-rich and encourage returns of a wider variety of flora and fauna. This includes giving nature a helping hand though careful woodland management, including coppicing and thinning, removal of plantation wood and felling diseased trees.

The importance of coppicing

Coppicing involves the periodic cutting back of trees or shrubs to ground level, leaving them to sprout new stems from the cut stumps. The woodland we coppice at Polesden Lacey is split into compartments that gets coppiced on rotation around every 10–15 years. This encourages new and stronger growth in these trees and shrubs, meaning they get a longer life expectancy. It also allows more light to reach the woodland floor, which results in the perfect habitat for bluebells, primroses, anemones and violets.

Ash dieback

Unfortunately, we’re also having to spend a lot of our time and resources on dealing with ash dieback. Being an airborne disease with no cure it’s expected to kill 80% of our ash trees. Once infected it’s usually fatal and can cause the tree to start dropping limbs and becoming a safety risk. The ranger team are felling any severely affected ash trees close to paths. Trees affected further into the woodlands are left so we can see which specimens display tolerance to the disease – these trees will then be able to reproduce.

Ancient woodland

We have sections of ancient woodland pocketed throughout the estate. The ranger team host regular walks and talks to help people understand the importance of these biodiversity-rich woodlands that are unique and complex communities of plants, fungi, insects and other micro-organisms with centuries of undisturbed soil and accumulated decaying wood.

Wood pasture

Wood pasture is a traditional aspect of the English landscape and of great historical and ecological importance. It comprises a mix of habitats from denser wooded groves to more open areas with species-rich grassland and large dead and decaying pieces of wood.

We’ve recently restored parts of Ranmore Common at South Wood and Stony Rock back to wood pasture which will increase the biodiversity and create a rich and diverse environment for wildlife to thrive. To achieve this, we have been clearing the scrub and vegetation under bigger trees, until they are once again open grown parkland trees. In the future, we hope to introduce cattle grazing here to help retain the area as wood pasture and reduce the need for human intervention.

Habitat restoration

We’re also doing our bit in supplying wildlife with suitable habitats to ensure they remain here for a long time. Some of these solutions are straightforward, such as ensuring we leave fallen trees, stumps, and branches available for bugs and birds, or developing our chalk grassland to encourage the return of grassland habitat, all solutions which are part of our wider estate management plans.

Other works include installing a wide variety of bird boxes, making sure we follow very specific measurements and requirements for certain birds. We have owl boxes, kestrel boxes, and recently we installed swift boxes as part of conservation work on the historic water tower at the main entrance to the gardens. The UK swift population has declined by 57% in the last 20 years, so hopefully the addition of these boxes will help encourage the population to rise again.