Project Background
Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Wood in Leicestershire is a Woodland Trust creation project supported by public donations and managed with community access as a central objective. The first phase of woodland was planted in 2012, with a significant further tranche of new planting carried out in the 2019/20 season as part of the continuing expansion of the wood. The planting was managed by I. Hart Woodland & Groundcare, who were responsible for specifying and sourcing the tree shelter solution for the more challenging plots within the scheme.
The Challenge
The 2019/20 planting season began late after an exceptionally wet winter, raising concern about the window available for getting trees into the ground before spring. The Jubilee Wood site covers a number of smaller, irregular plots — some adjoining waterways, others filling corners of existing farmland — which made continuous perimeter fencing an impractical approach to browsing protection. Existing hedgerows and woodland edges adjacent to the plots provided cover for both rabbit and muntjac deer populations, and with the Woodland Trust’s emphasis on public access and visual impact, a full-height deer fence was ruled out on practical, aesthetic, and funding grounds. Individual shelter protection was required, but the shelter needed to perform in the wet, churned conditions left by the delayed planting season start.
The Vigilis Solution
I. Hart chose to buy Vigilis Tree Shelters direct from the manufacturer, which offered both competitive pricing and the ability to source quality stakes from the same supplier — simplifying procurement logistics for a multi-plot installation. The 1.2m Vigilis Tree Shelter provides excellent growing conditions for newly planted trees, with the enclosed micro-climate accelerating establishment and promoting the straight stem form that makes the emerging woodland visually strong. A feature that proved particularly valuable in the wet conditions of the late planting season was the longitudinal rigidity of the shelter construction: Vigilis Tree Shelters can be pushed firmly into heavily saturated, churned ground without collapsing, maintaining their form and protection through the difficult conditions that the delayed season created.
Outcome
Trees are now well established across the Jubilee Wood planting plots, with the shelter-based approach preserving the open character and public accessibility of the site that the Woodland Trust’s objectives required. The two-phase planting — 2012 and 2019/20 — has created a maturing woodland with visible depth and structure, giving Jubilee Wood visitors and the trust’s benefactors a growing landscape that reflects their support over more than a decade.
- Scale
- 1.2m Vigilis Tree Shelters
- Product
- Vigilis Tree Shelters
- Location
- Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Wood, Leicestershire
- Client
- The Woodland Trust / I. Hart Woodland & Groundcare
