Project Background
Nicholson Nurseries, a specialist in tree planting and woodland establishment, was commissioned to design and install a new woodland on private land in Oxfordshire during the 2020/2021 season. The brief called for a mix of broadleaf trees and shrubs that would create habitat for local wildlife, provide a natural sound barrier from a nearby road, and establish a productive woodland landscape for the long term. Ongoing woodland management was included in the scope from the outset, with Nicholson Nurseries taking responsibility for the site through the establishment period.
The Challenge
The site is exposed in character — open aspects with no existing canopy to reduce wind speed or buffer temperature variation around newly planted trees. More significantly, it carries browsing pressure from an unusually broad range of species: rabbits, voles, muntjac, and roe deer are all active on and around the planting area. Protecting against this mix of species across the full height range they browse required a robust shelter specification. The project brief also placed an emphasis on environmental responsibility, creating an opportunity to include Vigilis’s biodegradable shelter in the specification — making this Oxfordshire site one of the first installations of what would grow into a national monitoring programme covering over 70 sites across the UK.
The Vigilis Solution
1.2m Vigilis Tree Shelters were specified as the primary protection across the planting, with strong timber stakes providing secure anchorage on the exposed, open site. The 1.2m enclosed design addresses the full range of browsing species present and shields young trees from accidental herbicide spray drift during seasonal maintenance work. Alongside the standard shelters, a section of Vigilis-Bio Tree Shelters was installed — one of the earliest field deployments of the biodegradable product. The Vigilis-Bio is manufactured from a bio-based polymer blend, including derivatives from potatoes, wood fibre, and corn, and is designed to provide the same protection and micro-climate performance as the standard shelter while fully degrading in soil within approximately seven years of planting.
Outcome
At an 18-month revisit, the site was showing healthy tree growth throughout, and the Vigilis-Bio shelter population’s structural properties were tracking to the predicted model trendline from the laboratory accelerated weathering programme. The woodland is establishing well against its dual objectives of wildlife habitat and acoustic screening. As an early Vigilis-Bio site, the ongoing monitoring here contributes foundational data to the trial — alongside over 70 other UK sites now tracking the long-term performance of biodegradable tree shelter technology.
- Scale
- 1.2m Vigilis Tree Shelters + 1.2m Vigilis-Bio Tree Shelters
- Product
- Vigilis Tree Shelters & Vigilis-Bio Tree Shelters
- Location
- Oxfordshire
- Client
- Nicholson Nurseries
