A foxglove revival: the power of conservation coppicing
In a pretty little wood on a tiny rural lane, there has been a massive foxglove revival thanks to the conservation efforts of TCV volunteers. Thousands upon thousands of foxgloves have appeared in a recently coppiced area, dormant for decades but shooting for the sky when the canopy opened and the sun hit the woodland floor.
South Wood is on Potman’s Lane in between Ninfield and Catsfield. It belongs to the National Grid, adjacent to the substation plot. In 2022, we started a long-term biodiversity partnership with the Grid to look after it for nature.
There was a bit of an abandoned air when we first took it on in. Litter, broken fences, dilapidated benches, tatty out of date signs. A terrible amount of dog mess. The meadow was shrinking as the hedgerows and sycamore spread and the woodland was at risk of being taken over by rhododendron, rapidly expanding and creating dense, dark patches where native wildflowers and birds could not thrive. The opening ecologist assessment described most of the habitat as poor.
After tackling the clutter and the rhodi, another key part of the biodiversity plan was to reintroduce the chestnut coppice rotation. There were sections of wood where previously coppiced trees had become overgrown and overcrowded, standing tall over crispy brown ground with limited biodiversity.
Carrie and her team of TCV volunteers started in the middle. They marked a block, they carefully cut selected stems and trees, they stacked and processed the timber, and they built deadhedges to protect the new growth from grazing and keep footfall to the paths.
The very next spring, the bluebells had a boom. This was always a bluebell wood but the newly coppiced area suddenly doubled or quadrupled in purple intensity. Walkers kept stopping to tell us they had never seen it as rich and deep, and we were so delighted with the spectacle, we held several work meetings amid the heady mauve carpet.
Then this year, as the bluebells started to wilt, we noticed foxglove leaves emerging. We had not seen them in this part of the wood before and as far as we can tell, they have never been recorded on this side of the site.
By early June, there was a sea of dark pink spikes, tall and vivid and striking. Thousands of foxgloves, sweeping across the coppice compartment. Some of them towering over me, swaying and dipping with the breeze. There are younger rosettes underneath so there is every chance the display will keep replenishing throughout the summer.
This legion of foxgloves. This showcase of cerise. This is the result of conservation coppicing. We did not plant these flowers, they were underground waiting for the lure of early summer sunshine. Sunshine which could not make it through when the closely packed trees filled with leaves. By thinning the trees, we thinned the canopy. We let light and warmth into a dark spot and have been rewarded with this beautiful surprise.
The chestnut is already re-sprouting to head height, there will be more wood to gather in 15 years. Last winter, Carrie and her team moved to coppicing a second coop and we will wait to see if we trigger another foxglove restoration wave in a season or two.
Or maybe it will be orchids next time, they can stay dormant in the shade for years as well. Reawakening when a tree falls over and lets the light in. Or when a TCV team starts to look after a wood with diligent volunteers, thoughtful management and sensitive conservation coppicing.
– Lorna Neville, June 2026
TCV Sussex Team Leader: lorna.neville@tcv.org.uk | 07740 899559
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea): biennial or perennial UK wildflower; common throughout UK; flowers June to September; does not flower in first year, requires light for germination; valuable source of pollen for bees, especially long-tongued bees such as Carder Bee; containing digitalis, used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure; potentially poisonous if consumed; literary poison such as Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death (1938); etymology – perhaps “Folk’s Glove” reference to fairies or possibly foxes wearing the gloves on their paws for stealth.
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Biodiversity Partnership with National Grid
We are working with National Grid on a ten year lease to improve the biodiversity of the woodland and meadows adjacent to the Substation in Ninfield.
We have volunteering sessions here every week on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am to 3pm. Minibus pick up from our office on Fearon Road at 9.30am or meet on site. Booking required – please contact carrie.edmonds@tcv.org.uk / 07764 655609
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Biodiversity Gallery
