DIAGRAMA Community Services at Duckyls Farm, near East Grinstead, is celebrating the arrival of 105 native broadleaf saplings, generously donated by the Woodland Trust, an important step in their ongoing mission to restore the land, improve safety, and create a thriving environment for people, livestock, and wildlife.
Diagrama Community Services at Duckyls Farm offers Day Opportunities for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, and acquired brain injury. The new saplings have been planted along a boundary where a deteriorating old fence was recently removed, marking the start of a long-term project to replace hazardous fencing with natural, wildlife-friendly barriers.
Diagrama Community Services is committed to removing old, unsafe fencing and replacing it with living hedgerows and dead hedges, measures that simultaneously protect animals, increase biodiversity, and create natural wildlife corridors. Both options are not only safe but also provide natural barriers and shelter for livestock while creating routes for smaller mammals, birds, and insects. This will help boost biodiversity and create a safer, more enjoyable environment for everyone who lives and works here.
Residents and people supported through the farm’s Day Opportunities programme played a central role in planting the saplings. Service users, including Cameron, Jason, and Caspia,n helped mark out the planting area and prepare the ground.
Steve Shill, Senior Project Lead at the Woodland Trust, said:
“The Woodland Trust’s Free Trees for Schools and Communities scheme was delighted to support the Diagrama Foundation with their tree planting ambitions. The planting of 105 native broadleaf trees at Duckyls Farm will have a hugely positive impact on people and nature for years to come.”
Native broadleaf trees such as downy birch, hazel, holly and goat willow are crucial to the UK’s ecosystems. Their seasonal leaf fall enriches the soil, helping create diverse habitats for fungi, insects, and wildlife.
Keri Strugnell, Care Farm and Community Manager, Diagrama Community Services, added:
“This generous gift from the Woodland Trust means a great deal to everyone at Duckyls Farm. The new trees enhance our landscape and offer the people we support the chance to play an active role in restoring and caring for our environment. Watching these hedgerows grow will mirror the growth we see every day within our community.”
The project forms part of Diagrama’s long-term commitment to nature-based activities, sustainability, and meaningful involvement for the people they support.
To find out more about Diagrama Community Services, visit: www.diagramacommunity.org.uk.
