Almost two years ago, Pete Ambrose a local resident and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT) volunteer along with Sam Willis (Living Landscape Officer, DWT) identified a gap in the landscape spanning Sunart Fields and Horwich Farm, which, when filled, would link existing woodlands and newly planted habitats across a 2.5 km stretch, covering 250 hectares of land, from Buxworth Basin to Combs Reservoir, offering habitat connectivity at a landscape scale.

The Rewilding project at Sunart Fields, started in 2021 has incorporated thousands of new trees and hedgerow, over a third of which has been volunteer planted.

The phase to connect Sunart Fields to the woodland to the south east started with discussions with Colin Hinchliffe, the farmer at Horwich Farm and a plan was formed to establish a hedgerow across the farm to bridge the outstanding 700m gap, connecting the neighbouring newly planted woodland at the farm’s northern boundary upwards around Eccles Pike towards Buxworth Basin, to the woodland his parents had planted 20 years ago on the eastern boundary – linking wooded habitat down to Combs reservoir.

The project gained momentum after Derbyshire Wildlife Trust partnered with City of Trees, the Community Forest for the Greater Manchester area. Through the Government’s Trees for Climate fund, they were able to provide 3,600 trees to create the new hedgerow. This project is pivotal in enhancing wildlife and habitat connectivity across the landscape In addition, a Species Survival Fund Community Grant was awarded to the farm to purchase the electric fencing required to protect a short stretch of the hedge from grazing animals, ensuring its long-term success.

In mid-February 2025 the trees were delivered, after meticulous planning and pre-planting preparation, more than 30 local volunteers rallied together to plant the 3,600 trees over the course of three days.  With nearly 300 hours of volunteer effort, a mix of Hawthorn, Elder, Holly, Hazel, Crab Apple were planted, with an Oak tree set every 15 meters to grow as a standard. This newly planted hedgerow is expected to provide crucial benefits to the local ecosystem.

Benefits of the Project:

• The hedgerow will form a wildlife corridor, allowing species such as hedgehogs, butterflies and songbirds to travel freely across the landscape as it matures.
• The trees planted will sequester an average of 45tonnes of CO2 per annum over their lifetime.
• The project will help reduce flooding by slowing down the overland flow of rainwater.
• The hedgerow will improve soil health and biodiversity
• It will contribute to the Northern Forest ambition, linking this project to DWT's Derwent Living Forest.

Colin Hinchliffe, the farmer at Horwich Farm, is delighted with the project; “Everybody wins with initiatives like this and for the landowner, there’s multiple! Natural field boundaries, increased biodiversity and extra shelter belts for livestock. It’s something we can all be proud of and enjoy as it develops. More more more!”

We would like to express a huge thank-you to everyone involved. This project is only the beginning, with further plans for similar initiatives in the area following a successful landowner engagement event, ‘Wild About Trees’ hosted at the end of February in partnership with City of Trees.

If you're a landowner interested in improving your land for wildlife—whether it's through tree planting, woodland creation, wetlands, grassland restoration, or any other habitat improvements—we’d love to hear from you. By working together, we can make a lasting impact on the local environment and promote a more biodiverse and sustainable future.

City of Trees has secured funding from Defra to enable the planting of new woodlands and trees in and around Greater Manchester. The funding is able to support material costs such as the trees and stock fencing, planting costs and helping with the establishment of the trees during the first 3 years after planting. For larger woodland planting schemes, City of Trees can pay farmers up to £6,000 per hectare to support them in any future maintenance work that might be needed.

Carly Harper, Tree and Woodland Development Manager at City of Trees, added:

“We’re delighted to be working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to support on funding for woodland creation. We would encourage any other landowners in the area to get in touch to help create a greener, more climate-resilient region.”

For more information on how you can get involved or learn more about this initiative, please get in touch enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk .

To find out more about City of Trees’ offer for landowners please visit https://www.cityoftrees.org.uk/landowners