The Beginning of the Observation Phase

Winter 2025–2026

Following the cessation of agricultural grazing in November 2025, Wildwood Grove entered an observation phase designed to understand how natural processes begin to re-emerge across the landscape.

Rather than immediately implementing restoration interventions, the project has focused on carefully observing the behaviour of water, soils and vegetation across the valley system.

Early field observations have identified multiple groundwater emergence points across the upper valley and persistent areas of wetness associated with historic drainage features. These observations, alongside LiDAR terrain analysis and historic mapping, suggest that the landscape once functioned as a spring-fed headwater system.

During this initial period the focus has been on documenting baseline conditions across the site. This includes hydrological interpretation, ecological survey work and soil assessment to better understand the natural processes that shaped the landscape before agricultural drainage altered its behaviour.

This observation phase provides an important reference point for the restoration strategy that will guide the long-term stewardship of Wildwood Grove.