Friends of Aston Brickyard Plantation

Friends of Aston Brickyard Plantation Aston Brickyard is a nine-acre Local Nature Reserve with mixed woodland and grassland on the northern edge of the village of Aston-on-Trent.

Search "Aston Brickyard Plantation" on Google Maps for our exact location. On the northern edge of Aston on Trent village (South Derbyshire) lies a nine acre plantation comprising woodland and grassland areas. The land was originally quarried in the 17th and 18th century as a major source for the extraction of plaster (Gypsum) for flooring and white-washing. Clay on site was also used for small-sc

ale brick making until 1930 when the Derby Brick Company commercialised production. The site was abandoned in the 1960s and some of the clay pits were used for landfill and allowed to return to nature. In the 1970s villagers planted many trees including ash, hazel, oak, maple, sycamore, rowan and plane but until recently no routine maintenance was carried out. The site is owned by Derbyshire County Council and is open to the public, apart from a separate area is which leased to a local field archery club. The Friends of Aston Brickyard Plantation are a group of volunteers who are working to maintain, conserve and improve the site for the benefit of flora, fauna and the village community. The DCC Countryside Service Community Engagement Officer works closely with us in a support and advisory role, offering training and practical assistance on a regular basis. We meet monthly to work together on the tasks laid out in a ten year management plan. In summer we work mostly on the grassland areas, digging out brambles and scrub which is encroaching onto the meadow, mowing and raking the grass, harrowing and sowing wild flower seeds to increase the diversity, and planting species specific food plants for butterflies and birds – eg alder buckthorn for brimstone butterflies and teasels for goldfinches. In winter we work on the woodland, thinning the ash which has so successfully taken over large parts of the wood, using the cut wood to build habitat piles – homes and shelter for smaller mammals and invertebrates, and planting new trees to ensure that we have a more varied tree canopy. Come and join us or just enjoy a walk through the plantation. Details of our regular working parties can be found on the Events page. We welcome your photos, questions or feedback either by Facebook message or by email at [email protected]. Our location can be found by searching "Aston Brickyard Plantation" on Google Maps, What 3 Words "Wing.Sideburns.Servers" or Grid reference SK414303.

Spring is alive and well at the Brickyard. The cowslips are especially good this year, but we also have many other sprin...
17/04/2026

Spring is alive and well at the Brickyard.
The cowslips are especially good this year, but we also have many other spring flowers and the trees are bursting into leaf.

A busy day for our volunteers at the brickyard yesterday.A big thank you to the anonymous donor who left two sizeable ho...
15/04/2026

A busy day for our volunteers at the brickyard yesterday.

A big thank you to the anonymous donor who left two sizeable horse chestnut trees adjacent to the cabin. They have been carefully planted out, along with a number of goat willow saplings which we hope will help attract purple emperor butterflies in the future.

We welcomed three rangers from Derbyshire Countryside Services who made a major contribution to restoring the log seating in the story glade.

We also welcomed Finlay, generously supported by George Simnett Funeral Directors, who helped with new rustic fencing around our mine display.

With 14 volunteers in all we also made progress with pond clearing, mowing pathways around the meadow, as well as removing ivy and brambles.

Our next working day will be Tuesday 12th May, from 10:00. Why not come and give it a go?

A splendid example of a Dryads Saddle bracket fungus found near the top end of the reserve.
08/04/2026

A splendid example of a Dryads Saddle bracket fungus found near the top end of the reserve.

What a fine day for our working parties at the Brickyard. We were joined by rangers from Derbyshire CC, who we hope to s...
10/03/2026

What a fine day for our working parties at the Brickyard. We were joined by rangers from Derbyshire CC, who we hope to see regularly in the future. Also thanks to George Simnett Funeral Directors for releasing one of their staff for a morning of community-based work.
Lots of jobs were tackled, including installing a new bench at the edge of the wild flower meadow. Parts of the meadow were mown, as well as scything and general clearance around the pond. The third of our magnifier posts was erected and signs around the site were given a much-needed spring clean. We even found time to put up a couple of bird boxes.
We meet the on second Tuesday of every month from 10am, please feel free to come and say hello or join us, volunteers are always welcome.

We have installed a couple of Magboxes on site - this one is by the pond. There's a second by the story glade, with a th...
10/02/2026

We have installed a couple of Magboxes on site - this one is by the pond. There's a second by the story glade, with a third one to follow.
This is a post with a magnifying lens set into the top. If you find something interesting around the site you can simply place it on the top of the post and get a closer look.
So, keep your eyes peeled and get hunting!

Today's working party was blessed with mild and dry weather and had a busy morning cutting back ivy, removing brambles, ...
10/02/2026

Today's working party was blessed with mild and dry weather and had a busy morning cutting back ivy, removing brambles, cutting fencing stakes, planting 20 trees, felling one, installing MagBoxes (details to follow), repairing locks, grass mowing and dead hedging.
We meet every second Tuesday at 10:00 - more volunteers are always welcome.

The Friends of Aston Brickyard are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £4,400 from the National Lottery. Plans for...
29/01/2026

The Friends of Aston Brickyard are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £4,400 from the National Lottery.
Plans for this money include improved signage on the site, additional benches and a new mobility access path to the pond.

Despite disappointing weather our volunteers had a productive morning at the plantation.We have been clearing branches f...
13/01/2026

Despite disappointing weather our volunteers had a productive morning at the plantation.
We have been clearing branches from diseased ash trees felled by Derbyshire County Council and adding to dead hedging along the paths. We have been clearing brambles around the top of the wild flower meadow, and we have cleared rotten logs from the story glade ready for replacement.
Hopefully next month's working party will enjoy better weather.

We have produced a new flyer to advertise our activities...
12/01/2026

We have produced a new flyer to advertise our activities...

Just a few photos from the Brickyard to celebrate winter.
10/01/2026

Just a few photos from the Brickyard to celebrate winter.

09/12/2025

Thanks to our volunteers today.
Despite some inclement weather we managed to plant another 25 Goat Willow saplings, tidied the trails and started some dead hedging using the brash from recently felled trees.
We have a new ten-year Management Plan prepared by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to guide us and there's plenty to keep the monthly working parties busy.

Last year, as part of a community project, volunteers from the Friends of Aston Brickyard assembled 100 nest box kits wh...
19/02/2025

Last year, as part of a community project, volunteers from the Friends of Aston Brickyard assembled 100 nest box kits which were distributed to various organisations and friends around the village. It looks like they are going to be popular with the local bird life.

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