Recent News

July 2025

Welcome! This is the first instalment of our new monthly updates where we’ll be sharing what we’ve been up to over the past month, and what’s in store for the next 🌲

Some of what we’ve been up to this year…

Removed ivy and holly from the base of trees, so the trees have more room to breathe and grow.
Cleared other areas of bramble, holly and ivy, and planted native species of wild garlic, poppies, bluebells, daffodils and crocuses instead, to improve the biodiversity of the woodland.
Used fallen timber to build log piles in order to create a new homes for insects to thrive in the woodland.
Collaborated with All Saints in coordinating a Community Payback team who have provided valuable work, including clearing and widening paths, and tidying up the area around the church carpark entrance.
Organised voluntary litter picking sessions, to help keep the woodland looking its best.

What’s in store for September…

Deciding what to plant in the newly cleared woodland entrance.
Continuing to develop an exciting project with a local school involving the restoration of the historic sunken garden!
Installing an additional noticeboard at the Ladybank road entrance.

📸 Photo of the month

This month’s photo comes from Peter, who is a member of our board of trustees!

This incredible moth is a ‘Buff Tip’ and was found in a moth trap close to the woodland this year.

Trapping a moth might sound a bit odd, but it’s actually a gentle - and incredibly important - method of monitoring the population and breeds of moth within a specific area, for the purpose of protection and conservation. The moth trap is checked daily, and all moths safely released after counting 😊

Have you seen anything wonderful in the woodland? We’d love to hear about it! Please send us your photos and stories: fommaw@outlook

💚 Support our work

Inspired by what we’ve achieved this year? We couldn’t do this without the support of our community!

Donate to help us continue our mission to improve the biodiversity and accessibility of our beautiful woodland, and preserve it for both current and future Mickleover community members to enjoy: https://pay.sumup.com/b2c/QT2Z7DL8

It’s secure and easy to donate via the link, but we won’t be able to see your contact details and thank you personally. If you’d like us to know where the donation is coming from, simply send us an email afterwards: [email protected]

If you’re eligible for Gift Aid, please contact us so we can send you a form to fill out. By doing this you will increase your donation by 25% at no additional cost to you.

February 2025

Increasing the bio-diversity of the woodland is probably the most important thing we are trying to achieve. We have been working hard all winter to prepare an area for native woodland plants, like bluebells, wild garlic and fritillary, which don't currently grow on site. However we do need about £100 to buy the necessary bulbs from a specialist supplier, so if you can spare even a small amount you can donate by card towards the bottom of this page. It is totally secure, and you will be making a real difference to your local woodland.

And you can come and talk to the plants!

Plans for Winter 2024-25

We have already cleared around 2 of the 3 Sequoias, including the "small" one about halfway down close to Uttoxeter Road. They are looking great.

The ivy in the woodland is very invasive. We are planning to clear some areas and plant bluebells under the beech trees, which should flower and multiply next spring. However, it is a lot of work to do this and the ivy will almost certainly regrow if we let it.

We are hoping to plant a lot of spring bulbs and corms in various areas of the woodland. Some have been bought, some donated and some given to us by Derby South Rotary as part of their End Polio Now project.

Mickleover Manor residents have offered to pay for some tree work to clear more of the damage from Storm Pia. This is beyond what we can do ourselves as it will need chain saws and a wood chipper to reopen some of the paths that we are in danger of losing. A big thank you for this generous gesture!

It was great to meet so many interested people at the Mickleover Summer Fete on 26th May. And a special thank you to those who made a financial donation - we don't need thousands of pounds but we do need money for things like tools, equipment, protective clothing, woodland plants and chocolate biscuits. There is a link to the donations page a bit further down if you didn't see us at the Fete.

April 2024

We are currently installing bird and bat boxes on suitable trees in the woodland. A bit later than we had planned but the experts assure us that there is still a high probability that they will be used for nesting this year.

Derby City Council have completed all the emergency tree work for 2024 following Storm Pia in December. They have done loads of work and some parts of the woodland are almost unrecogniseable - in a good way!

February 2024

Work has started on repairing paths and we have planted a few naturalised foxgloves and snowdrops which will hopefully seed and spread. If you see Trustees working in the woodland (probably wearing hi-vis waistcoats with our logo) come and talk to us.

January 2024

Due to the significant damage to the woodland during Storm Pia on 21st December, we are now evaluating how to deliver the Woodland Management Plan at the same time as ensuring that access is restored to those areas made unsafe by the storm.

December 2023

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust have delivered the Woodland Management Plan. This is an important piece of work that will help us to improve the bio-diversity of the woodland while still allowing people to visit and enjoy it as an important public asset. We want to thank Foundation Derbyshire for awarding us a grant to pay for this really useful document.

Who we are. What we do.

Working in partnership with Derby City Council under the guidance of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust we aim to help with the conservation and preservation of the woodland. We would like to improve the accessibility. We believe that increasing the biodiversity is essential and are also seeking to promote education and understanding about the woodland.

Mickleover Manor was built in the mid 19th century circa 1855. It was lived in by the Newton Curzon family. There were 26 acres of grounds which extended to the railway line and towards Etwall. Only the immediate grounds to the front of the house remain.

William Barron was responsible for planting the grounds and the woodland that remains. This woodland is a fine example of a Victorian pinetum with many original specimens some nearly 200 years old. Barron was Head Gardener at Elvaston Castle and popularised gardening with evergreen plants as well as developing sophisticated tree moving equipment for moving mature trees, which may well have been used in Mickleover. Barron worked from Borrowash, where he had a nursery, which was operated by his descendents into the 1930's.