A team of volunteers from west Dorset rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in helping an international animal welfare charity restore some of its ancient woodland.

Volunteers from the European Conservation Action Network (EuCAN) Dorset group joined staff and volunteers from The Donkey Sanctuary on the project to improve the biodiversity of a 90-acre ancient semi-natural woodland near its international headquarters in east Devon.

The group spent some time manually clearing rhododendron plants from Paccombe woods, east Devon, and its removal helped to open up parts of the woodland allowing native fauna and flora to flourish.

Volunteers have also been working at The Donkey Sanctuary’s East Axnoller Farm, near Beaminster, where they helped remove invasive Himalayan balsam and restored suitable habitats for water voles at two ponds.

Rob Johns, conservation officer at sanctuary, said: “Rhodedenron is a dense and dominant plant which often out-competes native species. Removing it manually is physically demanding, but eliminates the risk of damage to native trees, ground flora and soil structure that heavy machinery can cause.”

To provide additional habitat in the cleared areas, log piles were made from the thicker rhododendron trunks that had been cut, while in line with standard management practices, fallen wood was left to decay naturally, creating a great environment for beetles, fungi and other wildlife.

Mike Durham, treasurer for EuCAN’s Dorset mid-weekers, said: “The denser part of the area was more like the Amazonian rain forest, but our volunteers liked getting stuck in.”

EuCAN’s team leader, Dave Searle says: “The plan at Paccombe, is to clear the non-native rhododendron to reopen the natural woodland floor, while at the Axnoller site, we’ve been felling and clearing around two large ponds to encourage the local water vole population to recover.”

The Donkey Sanctuary occupies more than 1,200 acres of land in Devon and Dorset. The land provides the resident donkeys with summer grazing pastures and haylage for winter, as well as supporting wildlife and semi-natural habitats.

As part of the sanctuary’s commitment to improve biodiversity across its land, the organisation hold conservation volunteer days across its farms to carry out tasks such as hedgelaying, planting, woodland management, grassland restoration and species monitoring.

The Donkey Sanctuary is constantly exploring ways to integrate the health and wellbeing of donkeys, people and the natural environment on sanctuary land. The charity works to enrich the lives of the resident donkeys, safeguard the longevity and quality of the wildlife and give people the opportunity to connect with donkeys and nature.

Mr Johns added: “We are really grateful to our volunteers who help us with our conservation projects. It is through their hard work and enthusiasm which makes improvements to our sites possible.”

For more information, and to get involved with the conservation volunteer groups at The Donkey Sanctuary, call 01395 573162 or email conservation@thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk.