A Wildwood project is to start a programme that will see a few hundred trees planted every year in the Cambrian Mountains.

The Coetir Anian, or Cambrian Wildwood, project hopes to restore the wildwood to a large area in the Cambrian Mountains.

The project holds regular volunteer workdays, and one of the popular activities on the land is tree planting.

Last winter they planted three small areas of new woodland at high density, and over the coming weeks the project will start an ongoing programme of No Fence Planting, which will entail planting a few hundred trees a year.

No Fence Planting covers a range of techniques to establish trees in the presence of herbivores and without the use of protective fencing.

Generally, the trees are planted at low density, as single trees or small groups.

The techniques have been pioneered and refined by Steve Watson over 35 years, establishing hundreds of acres of woodland in Snowdonia, with the agreement of the landowners, and in the presence of sheep grazing.

A spokesperson for Coetir Anian said: “The results are resounding improvements for the landscape, wildlife and carbon sequestration, and significantly for the livestock.

“Pasture is improved and opportunities for shelter greatly enhanced, resulting in noticeable increases in the productivity of the land.

“As Steve points out, trees and woodlands evolved in the presence of herbivores, and a wooded landscape without herbivores is not natural.

“His techniques are taken directly from close observation of how trees naturally become established in the presence of browsing pressure. The potential for increasing tree cover in the uplands through No Fence Planting is huge.”

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