Saving Devon's Treescapes

2,000 citizen scientists involved ()

262,796 trees planted and nurtured ()

94 schools engaged in outdoor learning ()

Leading the fight against ash dieback

This project has now ended.

Devon's treescapes are stunning and crucial habitats for so much wildlife. But they are under threat from ash dieback which is estimated to kill at least 90% of Devon’s ash trees in the coming years. It will affect everyone, but everyone can be part of the solution.

From 2020-26, this project led Devon’s response to ash dieback on behalf of the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum, working with communities, landowners and businesses to help protect Devon’s treasured treescapes. Together, we planted and nurtured over 250,000 trees outside woodlands across the county. It was made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and thanks to National Lottery players.

If you’d like to support future projects like this, please get in touch.

Learn about the project's achievements

Planted 262,796 trees outside of woodlands
Held 83 free tree community hubs, distributing trees locally
Completed over 311 free advisory visits to landowners
155km of hedgerow were brought into better management
39,000 trees grown in two community tree nurseries
Set up 40 micro-nurseries within schools so they can grow their own local trees
191 Landmark Trees planted
597 orchard (fruit root) trees planted
2,000 citizen scientists took part
94 schools engaged
280 inspiring events delivered with over 9,000 attendees

Devon Grown Trees

a group of volunteers tending to the young tree saplings growing in the ground at Broadclyst Tree Nursery

Two tree nurseries were established at Meeth Quarry Nature Reserve and on National Trust land in Broadclyst, where dedicated volunteers collected wild seeds and nurtured native broadleaved saplings, including oak, rowan and crab apple.

Distributed through community Tree Hubs, these nursery-grown trees - alongside thousands more donated by The Woodland Trust - helped provide over 22,000 free trees and planting packs to communities and individuals across Devon.

Working in partnership with FWAG South West, the tree officer also supported landowners directly through 311 advisory visits and 134 planting days. With further support from the Woodland Trust, 262,796 free trees were distributed for planting outside woodlands, helping to strengthen hedgerows and restore Devon’s treescapes.

Tree planting and nursery resources

Planting Instructions (5.97 MB)

Growing trees from seed guide (7.02 MB)

Hedgerow and tree tagging (6.57 MB)

Voices from Saving Devon’s Treescapes

Hear from volunteers and communities impacted by the project. You can also read our blog: Stories from Saving Devon's Treescapes.

Community involvement

We've supported local communities by providing micro-nursery kits to grow new trees, donating over 200 landmark trees with the hope they will become much-loved local features, and recognising community efforts through the Treescape Champion Award.

More than 100 events and activities offered opportunities to get involved, including tree and lichen identification, planting days, land management workshops, citizen science, nature inspired Tai Chi and bat walks. Schools also took part by planting in school grounds, setting up their own micro-nurseries, and outdoor learning sessions focused on trees.

tree nursery volunteer splitting their plug plants

A volunteer working at the tree nursery, smiling at the camera while planting saplings

nursery volunteers, proudly standing around their plug plants

Rob Darch

Lindsay guiding a public group in citizen science and tree ID, all looking up at at tree

Two individuals are planting a tree and using a mallet to secure the supportive stake.

Citizen Science

Monitoring key species, such as brown hairstreak butterfly eggs, lichens and bats, helps us understand and assess the health of our treescapes. Many of the project's citizen science opportunities continue, supported by partner organisations.

Features Monitored	Project Achievements	Get involved and legacy
Notable, ancient & veteran trees	A total of 263 people attended tree identification walks, where they were trained to go on and make recording trees.	Submit your records to Devon Biodiversity Records Centre or to the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory.
Brown hairstreak butterflies	We partnered with Butterfly Conservation to complete 320 egg surveys, over 18 events with 176 people attendees.	Submit your records using Butterfly Conservation’s iRecord Butterflies app and contact them to get involved with surveys.
Lichens	759 people attended lichen training events, submitting 914 records. It was so popular that the regulars became an established group.	Contact the South West Lichen Group a local group of the British Lichen Society.
Bats	1,352 successfully completed bat surveys with over 2 million bat detections recorded Devon-wide, including all 16 Devon-resident bat species.	Other organisations are borrowing and using the detectors in their survey work going forward. Find out more.

The Ash Archive

The Ash Archive was a place for members of the community to share creative and emotional responses to ash dieback, celebrating and remembering our ash trees.

All contributions were welcome, from paintings and poems to photographs. Alongside public submissions, we commissioned photographer Robert Darch and poet Ceri Baker to help ensure no ash is forgotten.

Here is just a snippet of the beautiful work that was created:

Ash tree with ivy around the trunk on side of road, shrouded in mist

Robert Darch

a colourful painted mural to remember ash trees, created by the community

Person felling a tree among trees with bare branches (black and white)

Robert Darch

a colourful mural to remember ash trees being painted. A hand holding a paintbrush and paint-splattered artists

created by Churston Ferrers Grammar School

A black and white photo of an ash tree stump close up

Robert Darch

a colourful painted mural to remember ash trees

Created at Torres Abbey during a family drop in event

Frequently Asked Questions About Ash Dieback

What is ash dieback?

Ash dieback is a fungus which originated in Asia and was introduced to Europe around 30 years ago. The fungus grows inside an Ash tree, eventually blocking its water transport systems, causing it to die. It has caused a big problem because, unlike the Chinese and Manchurian species, our native ash species did not evolve with the fungus and have no natural defence against it. Ash dieback is estimated to kill 90% of Devon's 1.9 million ash trees in the coming years.

Can we plant ash trees?

At the moment you should not plant ash trees. For more recent information and advice relating to ash dieback in Devon please visit the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum webpages: https://www.devonashdieback.org.uk/

What should we do with our ash trees?

A dead ash tree can still provide a lot of things for our ecosystem, so if the tree poses no threat to life (e.g. it’s not close to a house, or along the side of a road) then we recommend leaving the tree where it is. For more information please visit the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum webpages: https://www.devonashdieback.org.uk/

Working in partnership with

Beaford Arts	Exeter City Council
Blackdown Hills National Landscape	Forestry Commission
Bird Eyewear	FWAG South West
Clinton Devon Estates	Otter Brewery
Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum	South Devon National Landscape
Devon Biodiversity Records Centre	Torbay Council
Devon County Council	The Tree Council
Devon Wildlife Trust	Turnstyle Designs
East Devon National Landscape	Willmott Dixon
East Devon District Council	Woodland Trust

We are also grateful for the support and guidance from Natural England and the Environment Agency.

Project funders

This project was made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund and thanks to National Lottery players. Additional funding came from One Tree Planted and The Halpin Trust.

The Woodland Trust played a vital role by generously donating thousands of trees, guards and stakes that were planted across Devon.