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New England Wood Trust is a charity formed in 1980 to raise funds to buy and support New England Wood as a nature reserve for the benefit of the people of Cuckfield and the surrounding area.In 2022 the charity converted to a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) to simplify trustee administration.
The wood is maintained by a group of volunteers including some of the trustees who meet most Mondays throughout the year and most Wednesdays during winter months.
To improve access and usability for visitors we maintain 13/4 miles of paths, approximately 20 bridges and 200 steps. We also coppice and maintain clearings to provide environments for increased diversity of species.
Since early 2023 we have been felling ash trees weakened or killed by a fungal infection that causes die-back making them potentially dangerous to visitors to the wood.
Although die-back has devastated the ash tree population, we are working to turn this into an opportunity by increasing open space and planting a wider variety of trees with a focus on providing habitats to attract more species in general and more butterflies in particular.
LATEST NEWS
Thanks to the amazing generosity of the people, businesses and organisations that have donated toward the project to acquire the plot of land shown in red on the map opposite, New England Wood Trust has had an offer accepted by the seller and is now working with our legal team to complete the purchase.
For more information please use the following link: New England Wood Expansion Project.
Recent works
03-Dec-25
A number of trees came down across two of the paths in the strong winds on Monday/Tuesday. Volunteers cleared the trees by logging and stacking the trunks and making brash piles from the smaller branches. Both paths are now clear but this was a timely reminder if needed, that the wood can be a dangerous place especially at this time of the year when strong winds are more common.
10-Nov to 26-Nov-25
Professional tree fellers have been working in the wood taking down more diseased ash trees.
The volunteers have been clearing the felled trees and surrounding area particularly along East Path which runs parallel to the stream at the bottom of the wood. It's hoped that by keeping this area clear, the saplings we planted last winter and other flowering plants will flourish and in turn attract more birds and insects particularly butterflies to the wood.
13- Oct to 06-Nov-25
The Woodlander volunteers prepared materials for volunteers from Ouse & Adur River Trust (OART), The Environment Agency, WSCC and UK Power Networks to use in the creation of leaky wooden dams as part of the Adur Adaption Project.
The volunteers used the materials to build an assortment of dams in various locations in the Wood designed to slow the runoff on slopes and flowrate of our streams in times of heavy rainfall. This, in conjunction with similar works in other parts of the Adur catchment area will mitigate increases in river level and help to reduce the risk of flooding in downstream areas such as Lower Beeding.
On completion of the works senior members of WSCC visited the Wood to inspect the dams, this illustrates the importance of the project to the wider Sussex community. For more information on the scope and impact of this initiative click here: WSCC news.
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