Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin
Train with us
DSC06740

Winter tree planting camp – Forest Rising

Forest Rising are once again joining us for a few days of tree planting! Forest Rising is youth-led community action focused on city nature and trees, part of the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest Project.

If you’d like to get involved in Forest Rising, including for this tree planting camp, click the link below to check out their webpage.

Check out Forest Rising here
  • 3rd to 6th February 2026
  • Lower Sharpham Farm, Ashprington, Totnes. TQ9 7DX.

Creating diverse Wood Pasture at Sharpham!

With a vision of a more biodiverse future, we are embarking on transforming 24 ha of farmland into a mosaic of trees and shrubs to mimic natural regeneration. This will supercharge the recovery of our landscape from farmed agricultural land into a thriving wildlife-rich habitat. Our project, Sharpham Wild About Trees, funded by Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest, is about bringing trees and people together. We want our project to not only provide valuable nature and carbon sequestration for generations to come but also hold enriching experiences along the way. Across the next year we plan to have planted nearly 6000 trees spread throughout the land, to help to build a more resilient landscape.

Find out more about this exciting new project

Experience Description

  • Tree identification and ecology
  • Effective tree planting methods
  • Tree guarding and staking
  • Tree maintenance and success; mulching and pasture management
  • Building cactus guards and wooden post and rail guards
  • Learn about livestock exclusion including the use of cattle collars
  • Training time - a half day learning about soil and fungi and importance for trees

Nature recovery in action

  • Use of a variety of hand tools; e.g. spade, hand drill, hammer, battery powered staple gun
  • Interacting with farm livestock and learn about conservation grazing 
  • Working outdoors in all weather conditions
  • Talks from nature experts.
  • Tree ecology and identification
  • The world of soils and mycelium networks
  • The importance of our temperate rainforest landscapes
  • Working with a varied group of people and work together to carry out the tasks
  • Chatting to experts and further your networking skills

The Residential Experience

You will be live and work alongside your fellow tree planters during your stay with Ambios. You will be based at Lower Sharpham Farm, our wildlife-friendly working farm and rewilding site on 130 acres of the Sharpham Estate, near to the vibrant market town of Totnes. The site sits among the trees with spectacular views of the River Dart and the idyllic surrounding countryside.

You can learn more about Lower Sharpham Farm on our Venues and Facilities page.

You’ll be staying in a single room in a bunkhouse, enjoying your meals and evenings in our new adjoining communal dayroom space which has a shared kitchen with a comfortable living area and log burner.

Meals are prepared communally with all ingredients provided using local, organic produce where possible, some directly from the farm.

Training with Ambios

“What Ambios does is completely unique. You can find conservation training anywhere, but I don’t think there’s another place that offers this level of practical tuition and immersive learning with such a current, sector-leading approach.”
Ambios alumni
“The course proved I could achieve the career I’d longed for - it provided the skills I needed to access jobs and confirmed I loved the reality of conservation work too.”
Ambios AlumniCEO
“My experience has been like an incredible journey of friendship, conservation, skill building and self-esteem”
Ambios alumni
“I have learnt so much to do generally with wildlife, conservation and the environment, I feel that it greatly adds to my future job prospects.”
Ambios Alumni
“The course at Ambios proved I could achieve the career I’d longed for - it provided the skills I needed to access jobs and confirmed I loved the reality of conservation work too.”
Ambios alumni
“It really is a unique mix of theoretical and practical education and then there’s the expertise of your co-workers and teachers which is priceless.”
Ambios alumniCEO
“I gained a lifelong experience and lasting knowledge about the scientific part and the personal side of life too.”
Ambios AlumniCEO
“With this placement I feel I have practical knowledge and experience which is not just a piece of paper and will help me achieve my goals"
Ambios AlumniCEO
“Things I’ve learnt here and the people I’ve met have really changed how I see things”
Ambios AlumniCEO
"Thanks to my time at Ambios, the scales have fallen from my eyes, and, in a very good way, I will never see our natural world in the same way again.   I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity"
Ambios AlumniCEO
"It was a fantastic experience from start to finish, the course is chock full of amazing content, the location is stunning, the facilities excellent and all the team are passionate, welcoming and quite frankly ecological geniuses."
Ambios AlumniCEO
“It was the best 3 months of my life”
Ambios AlumniCEO
“Without doubt, doing the traineeship with Ambios has enabled me to make the leap from working for arts charities to working in conservation in a matter of months. The traineeship gives you practical, tangible skills that employers in the environmental sector need to see"
Ambios AlumniCEO

Get the latest from us

Sign up to our newsletter

By entering your email you consent to receive emails &
updates from us.