Nest Planting: A Fresh Approach for the Final Tree Planting Season
Posted: November 20, 2025 at 15:41 pm
As the Silk Wood Community Planting Project Team (SWCPPT) enter the final planting season of the project, they are excited to introduce a new technique that will shape the way they plant trees and create resilient woodlands.
Photo: A look at a newly planted nest.
What Is ‘Nest’ Planting?
So far on the main Silk Wood site, the team have planted trees in an intimate mix with 2m spacing between plants. As the name suggests, nest planting involves planting trees in small closely arranged groups. Each nest forms a small woodland community, where trees grow closely together, encouraging healthy competition that promotes strong, upright growth.
While conventional planting continues to play a vital role in regenerating Silk Wood and remains an effective, proven method for replanting, nest planting offers the chance to trial a different approach which has its own benefits. Fewer trees are needed per hectare compared to conventional planting methods, saving planting time and resources. Over time, only the strongest trees in each cluster will mature into high-quality trees, while others provide early shelter and soil enrichment. During natural and managed thinning all removed timber material will be used.
Experimenting with new techniques like this can help create a more diverse forest structure in other areas that have been affected by ash dieback, one that contains a diverse range of resilient species and supports a wider range of wildlife and habitats for the future!
On a newly cleared site southeast of the main planting area, the team will be trialling this new technique with the help of their visiting community groups. Across this new area 35 nests, each containing 37 trees arranged in an octagonal pattern will be planted. Within each nest, they will be trialling different spacing between trees at either 50 or 100cm apart. The nests themselves will be set 10 metres apart, positioned in their main species' final canopy position, which leaves open areas between nests to encourage natural regeneration and vegetation growth.
Image: Diagram and aerial map of the new planting site where nest planting techniques are to be trialled. Diagram on the bottom left illustrates the nest planting structure, and white dots on the aerial map indicate the approximate positions of the nests on the site.
Each nest will include a single species surrounded by a nurse species. Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) will form an outer ring of 16 trees, acting as a shade-tolerant nurse species that encourages straight forming trunk growth. Inside this outer ring, a core group of 21 trees of a single species will be planted. This single species group will be either English oak (Quercus robur), small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata), wild service (Sorbus torminalis), wild cherry (Prunus avium), or field maple (Acer campestre), all of which are chosen for their biodiversity value and ability to create a healthy, resilient woodland over time.
Looking Ahead
The team have already kicked off the planting season with the help of one of their funders, The MillerKnoll Foundation, who volunteered their time as part of MillerKnoll's Global Day of Purpose. Their enthusiastic team planted a selection of wild cherry trees on the main planting site.
Photos: Participants from MillerKnoll breaking ground, kicking off the final season of tree planting.
This final planting season the team are aiming to plant 2600 trees, bringing the project's total to 9300 overall (surpassing their initial target of 9000), with the help of over 900 volunteers from over 15 different local community groups, schools and colleges using both conventional and nest planting techniques. This continues the incredible community effort that has supported this project from the beginning!
The new planting site is looking promising and is now prepared for planting, with cleared and marked areas ready for the nests. As they grow, these clusters will form connected pockets of thriving woodland!
Photo: A look at the new cleared planting site, the upright stakes mark the centre point for each planned nest.
The Silk Wood project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the MillerKnoll Foundation, alongside funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The John Horseman Trust, the Julia Rausing Trust, Swire Charitable Trust, the Summerfield Charitable Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Gloucestershire County Council, and the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum.
