A year to remember at Wildfell
The Wildfell Centre for Environmental Recovery is Ground Control's first project dedicated to nature recovery, launched in 2021 through our Evergreen Fund.
2024 was an exciting year for Wildfell, with the creation of a permanent learning facility and hub known as the Wildfell Barn, several awards recognising progress at the centre, and most importantly significant steps forward for nature.
Alongside these successes, we have completed our DEFRA metric documentation which means everything is in place for the sale of BNG units and we’re just a tick box away from the sales.
Wildfell To Date
As of the end of 2024, our progress today has seen the completion of our woodland creation, several kilometres of interconnecting hedgerow, and the creation of our Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units across species-rich grassland, mixed scrub, lakes/ponds, traditional orchards, woodland enhancement, and hedgerow planting.
In 2024, the key focus of these has been…
- Planting 1.5 km of native hedgerows planted
- Restoring and enhancing 15 ac of woodland
- Completing 3 establishment cuts of species rich grassland
- Works to establish woodland, scrub and orchard
- Completing phase 1 replacement planting
- Contributing local with £20,000 local spend
- Year 1 ecological monitoring for habitat creation completed
- Year 3 drone survey completed
- Over 250 volunteering days and visits completed by clients, Ground Control teams, partners and the community.
Introducing the Wildfell Barn
Aiming to further our ambitions of using Wildfell to “act as an educational facility" and allowing clients and partners to join us for planting, BNG-focused activities and to learn from our in-house experts, we created a new on-site hub known as the Wildfell Barn.
The new barn has already hosted meetings and strategy days, and we have seen clients use the space to combine firsthand BNG experiences with policy creation.
Flourishing Partnerships
In August 2024, we continued our work with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, with a guided community bee walk. The aim was to collect bee species data whilst also sharing knowledge and information with the local community. During the walk, we were pleasantly surprised with the sighting of the rare brown-banded carder bee among five species found on site – which we believe have been attracted to the area as a result of a temporary meadow, created with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust recommendations.
This year, the site has also been showcased as a strategic site for the Local Nature Partnership and part of a 50-year vision for nature recovery and carbon sequestration in Essex.
An award-winning year
In 2023, Wildfell was Highly Commended at the Unlock Net Zero awards in the Biodiversity and Nature category. This year, the progress saw Wildfell awarded Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement at the Essex Housing Awards and formed a large part of the submissions to Ground Control winning Sustainable Company of the Year at the Pro Landscaper Awards, and Highly Commended for Environmental Impact at the VINCI Facilities Supply Chain Awards 2024.
- Pro Landscaper 2024 | Sustainable Company of the Year
- Essex Housing Awards 2024 | Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement
Succes at these awards is down to the passion and commitment of our volunteers, and the works completed alongside partners from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust Plantlife International, Forestry Commission, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Essex Wildlife Trust, and strategic partners at Essex County Council and FWAG East.
National Apprenticeship Week 2025
The first full year at Devana
