Building work has started on a new woodland centre at Yarner Wood in Devon, according to Natural England, the body that manages the site. The wood lies inside a protected area designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and known as East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths.
Natural England says the new structure will take over from the reserve's ageing visitor centre. It is intended to host activities throughout the year covering conservation, education and wellbeing. Among them are NHS partnerships, with woodcraft for wellbeing and art therapy in nature named as examples, plus openings for volunteers to help look after local wildlife.
Where the timber came from
The structural frame uses Douglas fir that the Woodland Trust donated from its Bovey Valley woods, Natural England said. Those trees were cut down as part of efforts to return conifer plantations to native woodland and temperate rainforest. The agency says the wood was obtained through the Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) programme.
For the outer walls, the project will use 4km of western red cedar. Natural England says the species is naturally durable and oily, so it needs little treatment to resist the weather, which it says lowers the building's long-term environmental impact.
Off-grid running and community use
Andy Bakere, a senior reserves manager at Natural England, said the building will operate entirely off-grid through solar power and rainwater harvesting. He said this will help cut dependence on fossil fuels and contribute to the agency's net zero goals.
Neil Hornby, Natural England's chief executive, urged local organisations and community groups to take part. He said Yarner Wood already makes a difference to health, wellbeing and skills.
Progress and the site
According to Natural England, the frame and roof are finished and windows are in. Cladding is due over the coming weeks, and the agency expects the work to be complete by the end of 2026. A launch event is planned for March 2027, with updates to appear on East Dartmoor NNR's social media channels.
Yarner Wood covers 365 acres on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. The woodland belonged to the very first reserve of this kind designated in England. Pied flycatchers and wood warblers are among the birds that breed there, and wood ants build nests in summer.
Separately, the agency says its King's Series programme aims to establish new NNRs or enlarge existing ones, 25 in all, by 2027.
