The woodland project area is based on Hawkerland Brake Plantation, located just north Colaton Raleigh Common.  The woodland is a mixed species plantation planted between 1964 and 1992.

The Estates owns and manages over 4,500acres of woodland in East and North Devon and comprise a rich mix of both commercial and native broadleaved species.  The Estate through its commitment to woodland management has 17% woodland cover; the national average is 7%.  Our woodlands are truly multi-purpose providing environmental, recreational and landscape benefits as well as producing a sustainable supply of timber for the wood processing industry.

The Estate was one of the first estates to receive the international recognition from the Forestry Stewardship Council under the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme.  This means that Products made from our wood can carry the FSC logo, showing that it was sourced from sustainably managed woodlands.

Estate woodlands not only produce sustainable timer and bio-diversity but also offer a range of other benefits including:

• Recreational benefits through permissive public access to 90% of our East Devon woodland
• Enable radio masts and recycling centres and quarries to be screened and sited away form populated areas.
• Provide a clean and renewable energy source as an alternative to using finite fossil fuels
• Absorb over 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the major cause of global warming, from the atmosphere each year.