Curry Woods Conservation Trust Peter Goodenough as you are reading this the Trust members will have planted a total of 500 trees and shrubs on the outskirts of Curry Woods. Considering the situation with Covid19 infection, unusually cold and wet weather and the general inability to mix it is very pleasing to be able to report that there is now a new wood on the Trust land.

 We have sourced six large tanks that are going to be filled with water for the summer when it will undoubtedly be needed, We have also organised a large load of wood chipping mulch to be spread to help hold moisture over the summer. As well as our connection with the Woodland Trust, who supplied 400 trees and shrubs, we have also sourced another 100 trees from One Planet Matters (a social enterprise dedicated to ensuring that future generations will have a planet to enjoy and thrive on). These remain to be planted at the time of writing. Thank you to all our supporters who have made this happen, we look forward to welcoming you all in the new woodland in the summer In the meantime, if there are any volunteers willing to help with spreading mulch later in March please do contact us on CWCTRUST@aol.com  - we will be delighted to hear from you!

 A new nature reserve in Curry Rivel Somerset UK. Read the story.

You can find our project on Crowdfunding at:

:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/curry-woods-conservation-trust-2

Latest development:

New stretch target

Once the land belongs to the Trust we will need to invest in trees,  fencing, materials to use on path improvement and on information boards

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Many, many thanks to all those who have helped us reach the initial target that enables us to buy the land. Thanks also to those who have expressed an interest in helping in other ways - we will be in contact once we have your addresses.

In the meantime we are now hoping to raise more money towards the next costs as shown above

The nine and a half acres of land at Curry Woods has come back into Somerset County Council's hands after a long period of being tenanted. The Curry Woods Conservation Trust was formed in 2019 with the aim of buying the land and then maintaining the ancient woodland, planting more trees on the part of the land that has been intensively farmed and also using some land to grow crops to provide food for some of the many species of birds that overwinter in the area. SCC have agreed to sell the land to the Trust for £60,000 and we have so far raised over £ 46000 locally, with another grant for £12500 on the cards - so £1000  would see us over the line!

 Why is this land special? So many reasons! For a start most of the woodland is known to be ancient, which means there has probably been woodland on this site since the 1600s. It is therefore the habitat for a wide range of plant and animal species, and forms part of a wildlife corridor of along a ridge above the Somerset Levels. Surprisingly Somerset has relatively little woodland (7%) compared to the national average of 9%)  so we need to conserve what is currently present. Secondly, the land is at a high point on the ridge and in winters water runs off from it in two directions - to the Levels on one side and to the village of Curry Rivel on the other. It floods down the aptly named Water Street to the heart of the village, where it has flooded the village school on at least two occasions in the last decade. Tree roots are known to hold up the the flow of water and prevent soil erosion so planting more trees will aid water retention .

The local community has already become involved in fund raising and collecting sapling trees and we intend to hold guided walks in the autumn, led by one of the trustees who is an experienced naturalist.  the community will be involved in tree planting  and the maintenance of the land. There is a (disused) footpath across the field and through the woodland down to the Levels and we anticipate volunteers will help to reinstate the path and provide information boards on flora and fauna to look for while walking down the path. 

Thus the planned woodland management and expansion will help to deliver the benefits of biodiversity, heritage, carbon capture and storage and water retention essential to the long term well-being of our population and our planet.