Tree planting has never been more important than now, but in Scotland, we face the problem of overgrazing by deer. To date, we have used over 200 million plastic tree guards to protect newly planted trees. We know we must protect young trees against deer, but can we protect them in a more natural way?

Bat’s Wood are growing defences for small tree plantations with simple barriers of living wood. The group uses willow (salix viminalis) branches to create strong fence-hedges, known as ‘fedges’. These tree structures are simple, easy to plant, visually appealing and organic. Alive and vigorously growing, they allow small plantations to co-exist with deer who graze around but do not get into the planted areas as they go.

The funded Willow Worlds project explores and tests this nature-based way of planting and protecting trees.

Chair of Bat’s Wood, Duncan Zuill said, “Willow Worlds is our most environmentally friendly project yet and we are grateful to the RSE and the Williamson Trust for their support. We are delighted to get the chance to scale up our idea of how to use willow as an alternative to traditional tree guards. There are 200 million plastic tree guards in our ecosystem today; we are among the many who feel the need for change. Our ambition is to create successful tree-planting experiences without tree guards, wooden stakes or canes. We are exploring the experiences and the effects of planting protective willow fedge as part of community tree planting projects.”