Estone Grange is a residential housing development in the village of Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire. The 150 homes were built in 2016, and a management company (Estone Grange Management Company Ltd) oversee the shared green spaces. Wild Estone Grange is a community group set up by local volunteer Katy Todd. 

Katy’s background in fundraising and time she spent volunteering with the Trust for Conservation Volunteers gave her the experience and confidence to encourage local people to get involved.  She says, “I wish there was a movement of developers to embrace nature instead of having shorn grass and flailed hedges.” 

In 2022, the fledgling volunteer group worked with the Chiltern Conservation Board’s Chalk Cherries and Chairs (CCC) Lottery-funded project where they attended a number of training workshops for community orchard groups, led by the BBOWT ‘Rough Around the Edges’ Project Officer and funded via the CCC project. 

Unfortunately plans for planting a community orchard were vetoed by residents. This was a difficult time but Katy persevered, she knew that “if you give nature a chance eventually the results will show through and people will start to appreciate it.” 

In 2024, Katy told us, “Another year and we are making some progress here. The Chilterns Society WildBelt volunteers have been working with us, and we have established a reasonable way of working to restore nature. It wasn't easy but we now have some residents volunteering alongside the WildBelt team, and we've even managed a few sessions on our own, including planting 4,000 daffodil bulbs.

“We have installed three interpretation boards to explain how and why the wild areas in particular, and the estate in general, are managed and to inform people about the nature on our doorstep. We received funding from various sources for this. We have a Wild Estone Grange Facebook page where people post sightings - the membership is growing slowly. We also have a volunteers WhatsApp group. I write a regular article on all things wild for the Village Life Magazine. There is still a need to balance the neat and tidy with nature, but there is a definite improvement in people's acceptance, in part I guess because the more left to nature the less it is costing residents and it is very beautiful." 

In February 2025, BBOWT Community Network arranged an ecologist-led walk around Estone Grange. The walk had two aims: firstly, to provide ecological advice to volunteers from Wild Estone Grange and other local groups and secondly to provide networking opportunities for groups in the region. 

Richard Birch from the BBOWT Chilterns volunteer group attended the walk and said he appreciated “seeing and understanding how patches of land on the margin of a housing estate are being turned into a recreation and conservation area. There are established native hedges (no longer flailed), three ponds, a watercourse, two designated wildflower meadows. The birders present counted eight common species and a pair of stonechats, an uncommon winter visitor to Bucks. Coltsfoot was seen in flower. Wild flowers are establishing naturally.” 

Another participant, Nick Bowles says, “I came along because we are starting a rather tiny group called Wilder Spaces Tring. We are hoping to get a lot more involvement from townsfolk in maintaining the grass areas better than at present. The visit to Estone Grange was helpful and shows that putting people in contact with each other is very useful. Maybe fashion will swing a little further towards wilder spaces being better than tidy and totally boring ones, and people will join me.” Nick and Katy had a follow up meeting to discuss ideas and tips. 

After the walk Katy Todd, told us that “As a result there are four new people signed up to join our volunteer group. The event has given us confidence to carry on working to improve habitats for nature. There is more acceptance of managing our open spaces for nature because of the endorsement brought about by BBOWT’s publicity. All in all, it was very worthwhile event and thank you for organising.” 

When we caught up with Katy in 2026, she told us that the walk also prompted the local church to request a nature-themed session for "messy church". The local school have also got involved.  Children come to Estone Grange for their forest school wildlife lessons and are planning to do some site surveys and build a bug city. Katy has agreed to give some talks about wildlife to the children in school. 

Some benches are planned after requests from people for somewhere to sit and enjoy nature. These and the interpretation boards have been funded by the Parish Council, the management company and Buckinghamshire County council, Laxton Properties and Neil Douglas.  The Lindengate charity in Wendover made the benches and frames for the boards and were installed by WildBelt volunteers. 

Residents are generally feeling more positive about Wild Estone Grange.  Orchids were seen beside the big ponds for the first time last year. Volunteers in the group have created their own Whatsapp group. Katy is now thinking about succession planning. With the help of the Chilterns Society, she is writing a simple management plan to summarise everything which the group has learned over the years. A local volunteer is creating a map of the area to use alongside the plan. Katy says, “To me it’s a legacy to know that the environment here can be managed for the benefit of nature and people. It’s all set up, it just needs to continue.” 

BBOWT Community Network and Katy Todd are planning a guided walk of Wild Estone Grange at 10am on Tuesday 31 March 2026. 

Please email to book a place on the walk