Nightingale Project final report

A report on our project to restore habitats

Our project to restore and create habitats to encourage the nightingale to return to Carymoor over the last 18 months has seen some dramatic changes across our site and brought together volunteers from various sectors to help us achieve our goal.

We began our project by restoring Ron's Pond which had become very silted up. Thanks to a contractor, we cleared back the vegetation and reprofiled the pond, providing an area of open water which nightingales need in close proximity to their nesting sites.

Our existing volunteer groups were joined by new individuals, corporate groups and charities, who all wanted to be involved in the project and to spend time outdoors making a valuable contribution to a nature conservation project.  Corporate groups from Suez, Merck Life Sciences, British Solar Renewables, Danone, Nutricia, Somerset County Council, Johnson's Stalbridge Linen Services and SCC Public Health joined us, as well as volunteers from Plimsoll, and family groups from Yeovil4Family.

A group from Able2Achieve join us every Thursday and were hugely involved in the project, taking part in tree planting, seed collecting and sowing and tackling the ever growing brambles to keep pathways clear.  We also welcomed learners from The Hub in Yeovil who helped with similar tasks over the weeks.

We do hope that everyone who has been involved in the project, from the incredible volunteers who turn up week in, week out regardless of the weather, to people who gave an hour or two of their time, have all felt the benefits of being involved in this project and enjoying time in our unique landscape.

The volunteers have planted over 10,000 trees on the site and erected temporary fencing to deter the deer from nibbling our newly planted whips.  They have laid and restored over 230 metres of ancient hedgerow, filling in gaps and laying existing hedgerow to create a much more wildlife friendly habitat and to create wildlife corridors across the site.

Although the funding for the project has come to an end there will be ongoing maintenance to keep the habitats in check and to remove the fencing once the trees are more established.

Another part of the project was the funding to welcome schools from disadvantaged areas, giving them the opportunity to come to Carymoor for a free wildlife-themed day out.  These children are least likely to go on school trips due to the costs involved and it was fabulous to be able to offer 30 free visits thanks to the project. 883 children visited over the project and it was fantastic to see the enjoyment and excitement on their faces.

We thank every single person who has been involved in the project and to our funders The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project was funded by the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.