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Story by Diane Cotter, Hazel Hill Wood volunteer

It’s high summer, and the hot sun beats down from a cloudless blue sky as I walk through the flower-filled meadow, with butterflies swirling all around me. Some alight on the nearby Knapweed flowers to feed, so I have a brief chance to get a better look at them. There’s Meadow Browns mostly, plus Marbled Whites with their gorgeous black and white chequered wings – one of my favourite species! A few amber-coloured Small Skippers whizz by too. 

It’s so peaceful the only sounds I can hear are the distant cooing of a Stock Dove from the nearby Copse, the gentle buzz of Bees, the rasping chirp of  countless Grasshoppers, and my feet brushing through the tall, dry grasses as I criss-cross the meadow from hedgerow to hedgerow.  I have time to notice how the meadow has changed colour since mid-summer. The glorious swathes of golden-yellow Buttercups and white Oxeye Daisies that filled the meadow in early June have been replaced by tall tawny grasses and purple Knapweed, dotted here and there with the occasional Oxeye Daisy still in flower.

Suddenly I see a flash of bright blue, as a male Common Blue flies by in pursuit of a female. She’s a very different colour to the male, with brown wings dusted blue, and orange spots dotted along the outer margins. I pause to add them to the tally, because I’m not here just to enjoy myself (though I am, of course!), I’m here on a butterfly transect, recording all the butterflies I see on a set route around the meadow and wood.

Reaching the far hedgerow I spot a Gatekeeper nectaring on Bramble flowers. Also known as the Hedge Brown, it’s a well named butterfly as it’s almost always found by gateways and along hedgerows and field margins. Turning away I set off to cross the meadow three more times, adding more species to the list, including a beautiful Painted Lady, some Large Whites and a Brimstone, but mostly I’m recording Meadow Browns! 

It’s quite a relief to leave the simmering heat of the meadow and step into the cool shade of the Lime tree and out onto the track. Under the tunnel of trees it’s too shady for butterflies, but every now and then the tree canopy opens up enough to let in some dappled light, and it’s here that I see Speckled Woods, which thrive in these places. As I’m heading for the Northwest Frontier it’s not long before I’m on a more open ride. In the bright sunshine a large golden-brown butterfly charges towards me at speed and swoops past at head-height. It’s a male Silver-washed Fritillary. Such a stunning butterfly (and another favourite!).

Carrying on along the ride I remember to look up into the lower tree canopy, and can’t believe my luck when I spot a Purple Hairstreak. It’s sitting on an Oak leaf with wings firmly closed, so I get a good view of its pale silver-grey underwings, and can even see the orange eyespot from where I am standing. These butterflies usually live high up in the Oak tree canopy, feeding on aphid honeydew, and only rarely come down to ground level, so I’m thrilled to see this one so close up. But I mustn’t linger for a moment longer, though, as stopping isn’t allowed on transect!

It’s baking hot in the Northwest Frontier. There’s not a breath of wind, and the young trees hardly cast any shade. As I walk along the open grassy rides Grasshoppers flee from under foot, and Meadow Browns flutter over the grasses, in search of their caterpillar food-plants. I notice another golden-brown butterfly, but this time it’s a Comma, with beautiful scalloped wing edges. It lands on a dark Bramble leaf, closes its wings and seems to disappear. The wavy edges and cryptic brown underwing colours are a perfect camouflage, resembling the leaf it is sitting on. Only the white comma, which marks the lower hind underwing, and gives this butterfly its name, betrays its presence.

Leaving the Northwest Frontier I set off down another dark tunnel of trees. Tall trees crowd the narrow, winding path, so at this time of year, with the trees in full leaf, little light reaches the woodland floor. Not a good place for most sun-loving butterflies, but there’s a few places where shafts of sunlight beam down, and sure enough I spot some Speckled Woods basking in these little patches of sun.

Out again on more open rides I spot many more butterflies. Most are nectaring on the Bramble flowers that grow alongside the rides here. A brightly coloured Peacock and more lemon-yellow Brimstones are added to the tally, and I see the most Ringlets that I‘ve seen so far, as they prefer the slightly damper rides. Another dark tunnel of trees and then I’m out in the open again, passing by the still, tranquil pond. The water sparkles in the midday sun, dazzling my eyes, and I smell a slight sea-weedy aroma which reminds me of the sea. 

No butterflies here, but large Dragonflies hawk over the water, and delicate red and electric-blue Damselflies dart like needles over the rushes and sedge that frill the pond margins. But there’s no time to stop and stare, and I continue on, through the Dancing Circle, where bright pink Betony flowers stud the grass and various butterflies abound. Beside the Dark Wood the open ride climbs uphill. It has been scythed quite recently, so there aren’t many flowers, but I still see a few butterflies here, including the last Silver-washed Fritillary of the transect. At Southern Cross I head north, under thickly planted Hazels, then out onto the car park, where a few more butterflies loiter in the hot sunshine. And my transect is done!

In the past hour I have recorded 14 Butterfly species, seen over 300 butterflies, and enjoyed every minute! Back home the data I recorded will be submitted to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). One of the longest running insect monitoring schemes in the world, the data collected by the UKBMS is gathered through a network of citizen scientists walking designated transects, and the resulting dataset is one of the most important resources for understanding changes in our butterfly populations.

The Hazel Hill transect was started by Conservation and Education co-ordinator Charley Miller in 2019. Divided into eight sections, it covers the different habitats and micro climates within this very special woodland and meadow setting. The transect is walked weekly from April to September, weather permitting – for butterflies are fair-weather creatures! The data collected will measure long-term changes in butterfly abundance and variety, and can be used to inform conservation management, and the effects of weather and climate change.

I only started helping Charley with the transect three summers ago. Back then I was unfamiliar with the wood, so it took awhile to become totally familiar with the route. Now I know it like the back of my hand (I even know where most of the trip-hazards are, so mostly avoid them these days!). It’s been wonderful getting to know the meadow and wood’s fantastic flora and fauna, and feeling as though I’m making a small contribution to helping our beleaguered butterflies. 

With an alarming 80% decline of our UK butterflies, due to habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide use and climate change, it’s such a relief to see that Hazel Hill wood and meadow is providing a safe haven for these enchanting creatures.

Story and photographs by Diana Cotter, Hazel Hill Volunteer.

Memories from 16 years of Autumn Conservation weekends from our Chair of Trustees

This year will be the first time in many that I haven’t been part of the Hazel Hill Wood Autumn Conservation Weekend. And so, in my absence I’ve trawled my photo archive to join the dots between this one that I will miss and the many that I have attended.

2009

Even though it was longest ago I remember this visit most clearly. Mary and I arrived later than expected in the dark and found our way to the Oak House. Back then it hadn’t been extended, and so the dining room was much smaller and the kitchen was in a different building. I remember waking up to my first morning at Hazel Hill Wood. I still love the clarity that morning light brings. 

In those days the conservation weekends were led by Alan Heeks, our founder at Hazel Hill. That weekend he had brought in the charity Butterfly Conservation to train people on small tree felling. The idea was to create butterfly rides — openings in the woodland that enable butterflies to cross the site in full sun. Our forestry plan at that time was prioritising removing sycamore from the site, which is what Mary and I got stuck into. The first time I had felled a tree. We also planted a willow hedge around a circle of grass, with the idea that it would take and form a circular arbour.

2010

This year we stayed in the newly finished Forest Ark, which was commissioned by Alan to be a showcase of high-tech off-grid living.

Memories of what happened in which weekend are a bit hazy. For instance, I remember going with the bee keeper to inspect the hives, and even saw a hatchling sawing its way out of its hexagonal incubator. But the photo data tells me this was in fact at spring conservation weekend that same year. 

We also around that time put a major kink in the entrance track and planted trees in the bend — part of a gradual process of taking out the straight lines of forestry plantation and returning to more organic forms.

2011

If I were to put a date on, I would say this was the year we planted the Sweet Chestnut Grove. Again, it is blurry what happened at the spring weekend and what happened in autumn. It had been very dry so we spent a lot of time figuring out how to get a hose to the chestnut saplings. We spent time trying to fix the lining of the pond by the entrance track. We also created a new ride — the short opening from the entrance track down to the Gate Keeper tree and out to the field. The aim was to create more connectivity for the butterflies.

2011 was also the first time we walked to the wood. With so many people arriving by car it seemed a radical idea to arrive by foot. The lovely route took us from the station at West Dean over farmland and then in through the other side of Farley. There was possibly a pint at the Hand in Glove along the way.

2015

After 2011 Alan stopped the conservation weekends as they were becoming too much to manage alone, the costs to the wood outweighing the benefits. Then in 2015, Mary and I proposed an alternative model — what if we charged a small amount to attend, and promoted the event as a weekend of conservation and recuperation. ‘Escape the screen and enter the green’, I remember saying on one of our posts.

The event was a great success. Co-leading it with us was Amanda Dennis, artist and gardener. We had in the region of 25 overnight guests. Bear in mind that the Hideway hadn’t been built yet so we all squeezed in. If you add in the day visitors, at our peak we had 50 people for lunch. At least by then the new kitchen had been built in the Oak House, so we had more room to cater.

A couple of the innovations we introduced were:

Tea break in the wood, saving time walking back and forth to the Oak House. and little kids allowed, a new thing for Hazel Hill.

Looking back, I think it was also the first visit to the wood for our trustee Lily Gilder.

2016

I have no memory of the 2016 event, except that we came by bus — another idea that I would love to catch on. My only photo is this one.

2017

I see from the photos that 2017 was also the first year that our Treasurer, Jenny Maresh, first visited the wood.

With Hazel Hill Trust now an established charity, in 2017 Mary and I decided to handover the organisational reins to the Hazel Hill team and this was our last one organising… or so we thought. We received a lovely gift from the wood team for our involvement over the years.

2018

By 2018 the conservation weekends were being run by the Hazel Hill team, with our brand new conservation and education officer Charley Miller starting to play a significant role. I don’t have many photos of this year, but I do have these, of Alan with our founding general manager, Marcos Frangos; and of Charley.

2019

In 2019 we were busy with looking after the North-West Frontier area. We had replaced a diseased plantation of Corsican Pine with Douglas Fir. The work in spring and autumn was to clear the brush from around these saplings to give them a head start. By 2019 I had become a trustee, and so I was back involved again.

2020

In 2020 we held a mini spring conservation weekend in February. Little did we know that would be our last visit to the wood for some time.

And yet somehow by the autumn, the lockdown had lifted and we were back. Note how far apart we are all standing. Also lots of evidence here of scything, introduced by Charley joined the team in 2018 and now a main-stay of our conservation methods.

2021

By autumn 2021 we were back again and standing closer together.

2023

I have no record or recollection of 2022, so on to 2023. With the Hideaway up and running we now had more space and this one was a big one. Lovely photos here of more scything in the North West Frontier. We also cleared back the regenerating hornbeam around the Oak House to let in more light. And Mary led us in a singing workshop at the Southern Cross.

2024

This is another low-memory year. But Jenny definitely fixed the wire mesh on the Oak House deck. And this year we finally gave up on the willow hedge around the gathering circle that we were planting back in 2008, but that never took root. But that’s the way of these things we experiment, we try things out, and we keep coming back, as we have been for 16 years.

2025

And so in 2025, I wish good luck to the team who are leading this year’s event, Mary, Jenny and Charley. I am sorry I can’t be there with you. 

And a special thank you to Mary Stevens who has behind the scenes for so many year been making these conservation weekends great, bringing so many new people to the wood and helping them have a nourishing experience that helps them and helps the wood.

Thanks to the Hedley Foundation’s grant of £2000 we were able to run summer holiday activities for Eastleigh Young Carers in 2025. We ran one 2-night residential for 14 young people and one day visit for 16 young people. All were aged 10-16.

What did we do?

• Wildlife activities – pond dipping, bat walk and a moth survey.
• Campfires – including cooking “nourish my roots” and “green goddess” soups on the fire.
• Whittling – using bushcraft knives to whittle a flower.
• Games – meet a tree, manhunt, uno.
• Plenty of free time – as requested by the young people!
• Preparing meals and washing up in teams (supported by adults).

Positive impacts for the young people

• They had a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities and difficult home lives.
• They learnt about wildlife, including bats, moths, newts, dragonflies and other pond creatures.
• They experienced off-grid living in a high-quality, wildlife-rich woodland – including compost toilets and no mobile phones.
• Friendships were made and teamwork skills were strengthened. 
• They tried new foods (especially when cooked on the campfire, and what they had cooked themselves!).
• They went away with new cooking skills.

Case study

Tamsin* is very shy and usually speaks quickly and quietly if at all. In the group, she tends to keep to herself. She is very keen on wildlife, and we see a different person in her at Hazel Hill Wood, particularly during wildlife-focused activities. Tamsin was putting her hand up and answering questions about bats with the whole group, which she doesn’t usually do. When Tamsin gets the chance to speak about things she’s interested in, like wildlife, she slows down, speaks up and chooses to interact with other people, including young people. Tamsin and Leo* stayed on to keep chatting to the moth survey volunteers and see more moths when everyone else had gone back for cake and custard. It is heartwarming to see Tamsin flourish in this environment. 

*names changed

What next?

Following the success of these visits, we are now planning for a bigger and better 2026, reaching more young carers who will benefit from respite, education and fun at Hazel Hill Wood. We also plan to extend our opportunities to adult carers.

An introduction to one of our first buildings, and a letter to our guests, from our retired founder, Alan Heeks

Dear guests,

I have been deeply involved in the creation of all the buildings at Hazel Hill since I took on the stewardship of this wood in 1987. I thought you might like to know a bit of the back story of the building called the Oak House.

Our first accommodation building at the wood was the Longhouse: this is the small building you see at right angles to the Oak House. It felt like a big deal when we created it in 1997: at the time, my forestry manager asked if I wanted any timber set by for future buildings and I said I couldn’t imagine it. Within a year, I realised we needed something much bigger, and the plans for the Oak House started to evolve.

I discussed the project with a couple of architects, whose ideas were too grandiose, so I designed the building myself, with a structural engineer to specify the framing. I was keen on the ideas of Christopher Day, inspired by his books about building with volunteers, and how this creates a special atmosphere. So, my plan was to recruit a small team of professionals who would guide volunteers to create the building. This is roughly what happened, but the hassle, cost, and time it took were all far more than I had imagined.  

Part of my vision for the building was to celebrate the millennium in it. We had some delays with planning permission, so we did not start on site until July 1999. The building team were living in tents and benders, usually 12-18 people. Our hopes of completing by the end of the year were ambitious: I did see in the millennium here, but parts of the building were blanked off with plywood, and it was not fully complete until May 2000. You can see some pictures of the construction process on the wall in the corridor by the showers. Here are a few of my memories:

Helena, a young German violinist who was between jobs, had no prior building experience but fabricated most of the window frames.

James, the son of a friend of mine, created the front door whilst a furniture design student. 

One of our team met two young guys with a horse-drawn mobile forge, who happened to be going along the road outside the wood. They joined us on site for a couple of months, and created the door and window handles and candle holders.  Some of the timber comes from the wood: we had a great community spirit for several day with teams moving large tree trunks with ropes, and a mobile sawmill planking them up.

When first built, the Oak House had no kitchen: we continued to use the small kitchen in the Longhouse. In 2012 we built an extension, and created the new kitchen where two bedrooms had been.  This work was led by professionals, and I had the bright idea of getting two creative craftsmen involved, who were in friendly competition to create interesting features. See if you can spot the copper grapevine, and the mouse, owl and other features carved into the wood.  

One of our volunteers played the bagpipes, and this was the morning wakeup call: our neighbours still complain about this, twenty years later!

Many of the features of the building came from the volunteers, for example, making the skirting boards waney-edged, and the design of the small bedrooms upstairs.  

I hope that you enjoy your stay in the Oak House, and can tolerate its eccentricities. 

With best wishes,

Alan Heeks