WE AIM TO AFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE

Some of the differences volunteers are making

to the natural world

Harmony Woods was planted by thousands of local school children over the decade 2012-2022, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated team and hundreds of fellow volunteers from across the Andover area. Andover Trees United manages the entire 44-acre site, within which Harmony Woods sits, and a team of volunteers undertake the care of the whole wood using traditional management techniques, ensuring that the site is first and foremost a haven for wildlife.

To know whether our collective efforts are being successful, Nature in Harmony was established - an ongoing wildlife survey and community engagement project run by the charity’s ecology intern each year.

to people

All workdays, workshops and activities are either led or supported by volunteers. The time that they give means that people, as well as nature, benefit. This might be children attending school holiday events, families enjoying town centre activities, school children being supported to plant trees and grow wildflowers, conservation volunteers sharing skills and knowledge with new recruits and not forgetting the thousands of cups of tea and coffee made and countless cakes baked to keep visitors and fellow volunteers going.

All projects run depend on people volunteering their time. One Ash saw foresters, artists and crafts people volunteer their time for the benefit of school children, their teachers and the general public in celebration of our Ash trees and the importance of sustainable forestry.

to learning

All volunteers benefit from training and learning new skills, from coppicing and hedge laying to wildlife identification, first aid and events management. Guided walks with our ecology intern impart a wealth of knowledge, whether that be on an evening bat walk or learning the art of cyanotype printing. A thousand children every year learn how to plant trees and experience first hand the difference it makes when we work together.

By restoring flower-rich chalk grassland within Harmony Woods and the Diamond Wood and by involving all ages in growing plants for this long-term project from seed, Disappearing Wildflowers helps our local community to better understand how important this endangered habitat is.