About this woodland
Hazeland is a beautiful 34 acre site between Calne and Chippenham in North Wiltshire, and was Avon Needs Trees’ first land purchase in August 2020 with the generous help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Woodland Trust.
The landscape at Hazeland features riverside meadow along the River Marden, a stand of ancient woodland, an abandoned section of the Wilts and Berks Canal and the areas of paddock which have now been planted with thousands of trees. It is this combination of habitats and rich heritage which makes Hazeland such a special place.
Hazeland has a long history of woodland but lost most of its trees which were grubbed up for grazing since the Second World War, leaving just a small strip of ancient woodland along the old canal. Our tree planting at Hazeland restores this woodland and offers many benefits: carbon capture to combat climate change, natural management of flooding on the River Marden, and subsequently the River Avon, improvements to air and water quality as well as increasing the biodiversity.
Tree planting has been carefully planned at Hazeland to choose native broadleaf trees that suit the conditions here. Plant diversity has been enhanced within the woodland by planning ‘Rides’ (wide pathways) and ‘Glades’ (openings) which open up the woodland to light and provide habitats for flowering plants, animals and insects.
10,000+
trees planted
13.52
hectares
500+
volunteer days
Watch our short film:
Where is Hazeland?
What we have planted
Wildlife to see and protect
Volunteering at this wood
Image - Clive Dellard
Access
Hazeland is a managed access site to preserve its unique biodiversity. If you would like to visit Hazeland, just come along to our events and volunteering days.
Please note there are no hardstanding paths at Hazeland.
Image - Tara Castle
Volunteering
We hold regular volunteering sessions at Hazeland for conservation and tree care, as well as tree planting in the winter. Join our fantastic team of volunteers to support biodiversity and help the new woodland establish.
A HUGE thank you…
We would like to thank The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Watkins-Nori family, Whitefoot-Simmons family, Natracare Ltd, RHS Trust, Wiltshire Council and Calne Town Council for all their invaluable support. The Radford Copse is named in memory of environmentalist Fi Radford. The Lark Wood is named in celebration of the lives of Alan & Hazel Whitefoot.
We would like to thank the many generous individuals who have made the Hazeland project possible and volunteers who have contributed so much to the site.
Thank you to our founder Nikki Jones for all the energy and passion she put into setting up Avon Needs Trees.
