Salts Wood, Kent: 22,000 native trees across 33 acres

If you teach or study biodiversity, here’s a real site to point to. In Kent, Salts Wood has been planted as a community woodland. A Forestry Commission case study on GOV.UK, published on 28 November 2025, outlines the project and features Andy Humphryes, vice chair of Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council.

Start with the headline figures: Salts Wood covers 33 acres and includes 22,000 native trees. The site has hard paths forming a loop so people can get around more easily while wildlife finds new cover and food sources.

Quick maths: 33 acres is about 13.3 hectares - roughly 19 full‑size football pitches. With 22,000 trees, that’s around 1,650 per hectare, a typical starting density for new native woodland before natural thinning and management.

What it means: “Native trees” are species that occur naturally in the UK and have long relationships with local insects, birds and fungi. Planting them boosts food webs across the seasons and helps link nearby habitats into a stronger network.

Why access matters: reliable, circular paths turn a map dot into a place you and your students can actually use. Hard surfaces cut through winter mud, predictable routes make group visits simpler, and a clear circuit encourages regular walking for fitness and focus.

People benefit as well as wildlife. A community wood offers neighbours a safe place to walk, learn plant names, record birds and notice seasonal change. For schools and colleges, it doubles as an outdoor classroom for science, geography, art and wellbeing activities.

Try this in class: sketch 33 acres on squared paper or GIS, estimate canopy cover after 5 and 10 years, and discuss which native species might support pollinators, soil health and shade. Then plan a short observation walk that starts and ends at the same point.

Media literacy check: ask who is speaking, when they said it and what we can verify. Here, the Forestry Commission published the Salts Wood case study on GOV.UK on 28 November 2025, confirming the size, tree numbers and accessible paths. Use that to model good source habits.

Questions to keep asking: how will young trees be protected through dry spells, what survival rate will the project aim for by year five, and who will maintain the paths as visitor numbers grow? Reading beyond the first announcement turns a nice story into informed citizenship. When you next teach native planting or community access, Salts Wood gives you a practical, numbers‑led example you can visit or explore on a map.