Sidmouth: Wildlife corridor of nearly 1,000 young native trees to be planted at The Donkey Sanctuary

The Donkey Sanctuary, an animal welfare charity with a site near Sidmouth, has been provided with a further 1,000 young hedge plants and trees as part of Sidmouth's 14,000 Trees project by Saving Devon's Treescapes and The Woodland Trust.

The project, a partnership between Sidmouth Arboretum and Sidmouth Town Council, aims to plant a tree for each person living in the Sid Valley.

The trees and hedge plants include field maple, hawthorn, downy and silver birch, beech, small-leaved lime, grey willow, and "donkey-favourite" hazel.

A spokesperson for The Donkey Sanctuary said: "The new hedgerows and trees will provide additional food, shelter and nesting sites for wildlife, as well as offering connectivity across the landscape, allowing animals to move between areas of suitable habitat. 

"The donkeys love to eat woody shrubs and prickly vegetation, so the hedges will give them more to browse on, while providing them with shade and shelter from the elements.

"In addition to the planting of trees and hedgerows, leaky dams have been repaired and new ones added this year to help slow the flow of water down the steep hillsides.

"The creation of dams using felled scrub acts as a barrier to the water flow, preventing the loss of soil and silt. They allow water to be absorbed and recycled by surrounding vegetation and released slowly as it leaks through the dam."

Pascal Bisson, Ecology and Conservation Apprentice at The Donkey Sanctuary, added: "The new hedges will enhance our land all year round. In summer, they provide our donkeys with shade and woody vegetation to browse.

"Hedge species such as the blackthorn flowering in spring means a welcome source of nectar and pollen for bees, while their berries feed our winter thrushes. They also provide more suitable habitat for rare farmland birds and the threatened brown hairstreak butterfly."

The Donkey Sanctuary expects to have planted the 1,000 more trees and hedge plants by the end of this winter, bringing the total up to 4,000 at its Woods Farm site.