Sustainable
Woodstock

Nature & biodiversity

Community Woodland & Orchard

A community-created green space on the edge of Woodstock, where young woodland, traditional fruit trees and open glades are becoming richer habitats year by year.

Sustainable Woodstock volunteers managing the community woodland
Volunteers at the woodland, March 2023

A woodland planted by Woodstock

The first trees went into the ground in autumn 2010. Around 1,600 native broadleaved trees were planted through one of the coldest winters by local volunteers, schools, community groups and partner organisations.

Today the 1.4-hectare site has grassy rides, open glades, maturing trees and a community orchard planted with traditional fruit varieties. It is free to visit: a place to walk, sit, watch wildlife or simply enjoy a quieter corner of the town.

Come and see itThe woodland sits on the northern edge of Woodstock beside the A44, between the road and the Blenheim Palace park wall. Look for the noticeboard and small entrance gate.
Volunteers building bug hotels in Woodstock Community Woodland
Building bug hotels to create more shelter for pollinating insects and other wildlife.
Map showing the location of Woodstock Community Woodland and Orchard
The woodland and orchard are on the northern edge of Woodstock beside the A44. Look for the noticeboard and small entrance gate.

Managed for people and wildlife

Nature

Woodland, meadow edges, orchard trees and deadwood habitats support a growing mix of plants, insects and birds.

Community

The site gives Woodstock a free local green space and a practical way for people to work together outdoors.

Learning

Woodland management provides hands-on experience of biodiversity, coppicing, habitat care and long-term stewardship.

Resilience

Active management helps the woodland cope with competition, disease and changing conditions as it matures.

What volunteers actually do

Working parties tackle whatever the season calls for: keeping paths and glades open, controlling bramble and vigorous self-seeded growth, caring for the orchard, maintaining habitat features and carrying out traditional woodland management.

The aim is not to make the site neat. It is to keep a varied, healthy structure where people can move around easily and wildlife has room to thrive. Meadow Clary, Bee Orchid and Pyramidal Orchid have all been recorded here.

Volunteers working among young trees in the community woodland
Hands-on conservation in the woodland.
A young volunteer planting a fruit tree
Planting a Blenheim apple in the community orchard.

A long-term community project

2010 — planting beginsLocal volunteers start turning rough grassland into a new community woodland.
Around 1,600 treesNative broadleaved trees are established with support from schools, volunteers, Woodstock Town Council, Blenheim and local organisations.
The orchard growsTraditional fruit varieties add another layer of biodiversity and local character.
Now — stewardshipThe focus is on caring for a living landscape as it matures: diverse, welcoming and useful for generations to come.

Join a working party

You do not need experience, specialist tools or a regular commitment. Woodland days are practical and sociable, and you can come for as much or as little time as suits you.

Hear about the next working party

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