Bere Marsh Farm’s new willow saplings need protecting from the attention of Dorset’s deer.

Deer cause catastrophic damage to trees by stripping the shoots, foliage and flowering buds. The fence will protect the recently planted willow saplings when they are at their most vulnerable, and in the long term continue to protect the coppiced trees as they re-grow.

The willows are being planted in an area of Bere Marsh Farm that regularly floods so arable crops would not survive, and it is unsuitable for livestock. In keeping with the CRT’s mission to carry out nature-friendly farming, its solution is to create a willow bed of common osier that thrive in the heavy clay soil at Bere Marsh Farm.
The willow will be harvested for use in crafts like basket weaving, which in turn generates a small income for the charity.

Within the fenced area the CRT will also plant some Flanders red and Brittany green hybrid osier, to add colour to woven products. To avoid having to purchase all the osiers, cuttings from the CRT’s Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire are being used to establish most of the new trees but the hybrid versions will need to be purchased.
The fence will also allow for natural regeneration within the protected areas, attracting the wildlife to the new habitat, such as sedge warblers, willow tits and butterflies.
“We’d be hugely grateful for any donation made to this project. Protecting the osiers as they become established is essential, and our broader plans for Bere Marsh Farm are bold in terms of improving the habitat and biodiversity in this part of the Dorset countryside,” says Bere Marsh Farm manager, Elaine Spencer White.

Just over £4,000 of the fencing money has already been raised, but the CRT needs a further £1,000 to reach its target. If you’d like to help with a donation of any size, please get in touch with the CRT at Bere Marsh Farm online (www.thecrt.co.uk/bere-marsh-farm) or in person, or by emailing CRT head of development Hayley Neal on h.neal@theCRT.co.uk.