The Deer Wood Trust’s 'Woodland Horticulture 4 Kids' project has been nominated for funding by the Stronger Starts initiative through Tesco.

If you live in the Kingsbridge area and shop at Tesco, you can vote for this project with the blue tokens you collect at the checkout.

Voting runs until the end of January.

The project is sowing vital seeds of knowledge for the future in the hearts and minds of the next generation.

In 2012 Deer Wood was purchased as the ideal location for a small conservation based, sustainably managed woodland business.

Due to its popularity with locals, the woodland was opened for regular events in 2015

In 2017 The Deer Wood Trust was born to further and expand the scope of social and conservational work.

This culminated in 2023 when it became a CIC (Community Interest Company).

Our ultimate aim is to ensure that the woodland is kept in Trust as a conservation and wellbeing venue for generations to come.

Deer Wood is a good example of healthy semi-natural ancient woodland, however when they first came here this was not the case.

Over half a century of neglect prior to our presence, along with extensive ad hock tree planting at the end of the 1800's, have meant that many of its trees are at now their full maturity at the same time.

This had led to extensive wind throw in recent years.

Deer Wood has historically had many overgrown “coppice with large standards” that have now being sensitively managed back to its full bio-diverse, wildlife abundant potential.

With phased re-planting of a wide variety of own grown, provenance sourced seed from the Deer Wood tree nursery.

Thus a much better variation of tree ages and diversity of species than can be seen at present will be created.