Two damselfly species return to restored woodland
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The Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly was recorded for the first time at Astonbury Wood Two species of damselfly have been recorded for the first time in a woodland after the completion of a three-year project to restore habitat across seven nature reserves, a wildlife trust has revealed.
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Work on the Ancient Astonbury and Wilder Woodlands project, in Hertfordshire, was made possible with a £162,698 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
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An increase in flowers attracted more butterflies, with Silver-washed Fritillaries also recorded in much higher numbers during summer 2026 than in previous years, the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust said.
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The Beautiful Demoiselle and Willow Emerald damselflies were spotted at Astonbury Wood, close to Stevenage.
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The seven sites that made up the project were Astonbury Wood, Balls Wood near Hertford, Fir & Pond Woods near Potters Bar, Gobions Wood near Brookmans Park, Old Park Wood in Harefield, Long Deans in Hemel Hempstead, and Hawkins Wood between Buntingford and Royston.
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An ancient woodland, the size of a football pitch, was turned back into coppice management, to allow more light to reach the woodland floor and encourage flowers, insects and birds to thrive.
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An area of hornbeam trees at Astonbury Wood was also coppiced in December 2025 and showed "strong regrowth following its first growing season, despite the dry summer," the trust added.
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Further coppicing is planned to take place in the future.
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The practice is an ancient method of tree management, external which involves felling trees at their base to create a "stool" where new shoots will grow. At Astonbury Wood, woodland glades were reverted to woodland after about 20 years without management.
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"Clearing trees and dense bramble, followed by annual cutting and raking, is helping to restore these open habitats and the flowers and insects that depend on them", the trust added.
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Iain Ward, wilder woodlands officer at the trust, said: "It has been fantastic to see these habitats responding so positively to careful management, and to see more wildlife making use of the restored glades and coppice areas."
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He hopes more work can be carried out at Astonbury Wood to restore the ponds and prevent them drying out completely, as summers "become increasingly hot and dry".
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