Lainston

We returned to Lainston in February 2026 to restock some of the trees. As our survey showed sad loss following a hot summer, we planted 288 new trees on the site. This time we were joined by a corporate group from WorkDry who are clients of Ecologi, one of our funding partners, and there were 3 gardeners onsite that also helped out. The hotel kindly provided us with another excellent lunch, and were more than happy to cater for vegans.

Part of the tasks for the day was to carry out maintenance on the existing trees, from the planting in 2023. We used additional stakes and guards to protect the new trees, and weeded overgrowth and long grass from the original saplings. Doing regular maintenance like this gives the trees a good chance of survival, and keeps the site balanced while they grow.

The feedback from the landowners was good, and all the volunteers had a great day. The general manager of the hotel sent us a lovely email after the event. “I would like to personally thank you for the time and energy put into organising the tree planting at Lainston a couple of weeks ago. We are very grateful for your support as this part of our estate continues to grow and develop into a beautiful woodland. I am very sorry that I was unable to say hello personally on the day, but I am well aware of the effort that was put in and really would like to say thank you to you and the volunteers for the hard work. Great team effort! I look forward to working to together again the future.:

(Photos taken by Workdry volunteers)

During a surveying trip to our partner sites in the south-east, Angus, our site inspector, visited the planting on the grounds of Lainston House. Here we planted lots of Oak and Goat Willows. There are populations of Purple Emperor butterflies in the surrounding woodland, which we hope will colonise the new planting over time. Something immediately obvious during the visit was how much grass and nettles were dominating during the summer, which is not unusual, but this does present a challenge which we will take into consideration when planning restocking efforts here. This site is well shielded from wind, and there was no sign of cattle, and all the stakes and guards were in perfect condition, which is reassuring.

In November 2023 we visited the site at Lainston for some initial tree planting. This is part of the Exclusive Hotels chain, and one of several sites which we have worked on that are owned by that group. Joining us were a small group of corporate volunteers from Open GI Ltd., one of whom had got married at the hotel, and most of the hotel staff also helped, working in shifts, along with the tireless grounds staff who worked all day. The hotel provided an excellent lunch, much to the appreciation of everyone!

We had a little drama as somehow part of our tree delivery mysteriously ended up in a warehouse in Basingstoke, despite being sent first class in plenty of time. Despite frantic phone calls from the nursery and ourselves, and a promise of delivery by the morning of the planting, our remaining saplings failed to appear. We were able to plant the majority of trees and the excellent grounds people at the hotel planted the final few later in the week. This is the only time saplings have failed to arrive as we always arrange delivery in plenty of time to allow for most unforeseen events.

Overall, 825 cell-grown saplings were planted, a mix of 90 per cent trees and 10 per cent shrubs which will create a natural looking woodland with a canopy of taller trees and shrub understory. Species planted included; Hornbeam, Common Oak, Field Maple, Grey Willow, Hazel, Rowan, Hawthorn, Beech, Wild Service Tree, Crab Apple, and Wild Cherry. All were supported with stakes and guards, and will grow into a fantastic habitat and food source for the wildlife on the site.

The group from Open GI Ltd had a great time. “The organisation, equipment and lunch was all good. Phil was good fun and made everything interesting and exciting for people, we had fun. Thank you for all your help organising this, we had a good time and learned a lot – hopefully we made a difference too!”