The Hicks Park Wood project will restore ecosystems while also supporting sustainable land use and local employment. At the heart of the wider project is a vision to let nature take the lead, with native regeneration and animals playing a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, improving biodiversity, and enriching the soil.  

The addition of Hicks Park Wood, an ancient woodland dating back to the 13th century with its origins in the ancient Saxon Selwood Forest, adds a historic dimension to the project with traditional forest management supporting habitat restoration, biodiversity and sustainability. 

Hicks Park Wood aims to strengthen ecological corridors across the region. Plans include woodland restoration, enhancing public access and restored nature trails. Additionally, the initiative aims to expand educational opportunities, building on the success of local school visits to inspire future generations in conservation and ecological restoration. 

The Hicks Park Wood team plans to restore ecosystems by allowing natural processes to shape the landscape. The first phase involves active timber management, selectively removing non-native conifers to increase sunlight penetration, restoring oak woodland and encouraging native regeneration.  

Across the wider project area, once this groundwork is complete, a low-intervention approach will take over, enabling forests, grasslands, and wetlands to recover naturally - specifically to provide habitats for the recovery of species which are otherwise in decline. Grazing animals such as Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, Exmoor ponies, and red deer will act as ecosystem engineers, shaping vegetation dynamics and enriching soil health. Meanwhile, wetland restoration, including re-meandering streams both within and outside the old woods, will enhance water quality and help mitigate flooding for local communities. 

Triodos Bank UK specialises in financing nature-based solutions and is committed to supporting the urgent need for nature restoration and conservation in the UK assisting with the removal of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, nature restoration and the provision of associated societal benefits. Triodos has previously supported Heal Rewilding with the purchase of a nearby site in 2023, and charity Avon Needs Trees with the purchase of 422 acres between Bristol and Bath. 

Laura Rumph, senior relationship manager at Triodos Bank UK:“As a sustainable bank, we are supporting the restoration of biodiversity and protection nature in the UK. Both are essential in addressing the interconnected climate and ecological emergencies that we face. Nature will only recover if it has far more space to thrive. We are excited to see how Hicks Park Wood progresses and hope to be able to support similar landscape-scale initiatives nationwide that are advancing more connected and coordinated rewilding efforts.” 

Triodos Bank recently committed to over EUR 500 million worldwide to support nature-based solutions by 2030 and aims to play a leading role in financing the sector and promoting biodiversity conservation and restoration. This commitment aligns with the Bank's mission to help create a society that protects and promotes the quality of life of all its members, and that has human dignity at its core. 

-Ends- 

Notes to editors: 
For further information and photography please contact: 
Ellie James 
T: 0117 311 0241 
[email protected] 

About Triodos Bank   
Founded in 1980, Triodos Bank has become a frontrunner in sustainable banking globally. As an independent bank that promotes responsible and transparent banking, it does not see any conflict between a focus on people and the planet and a good financial return. Instead it believes that they reinforce each other in the long-term.    

Triodos Bank has banking activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Spain and Germany as well as Investment Management activities based in the Netherlands but active globally. Triodos Bank co-founded the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of sustainable banks. Together these banks want to grow sustainable banking and its impact on the real economy substantially.   

Triodos Bank UK Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triodos Bank NV. Registered Office: Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS. Registered in England and Wales Company No. 11379025. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 817008. VAT reg no 793493383.