The first task of the year saw a return
to the National Trust owned area of Crickley Hill Country Park.
The work was scrub clearance on the limestone grassland slopes
of the Cotswold escarpment. This was a continuation of the section
we started last winter.
Unimproved limestone grassland is a reasonably rare habitat with Gloucestershire having a sizeable percentage of the national total. It supports a variety of plants, including a number of orchids, which can be seen during spring and early summer.
These grasslands were created centuries ago when forests were cleared for agriculture and would have been maintained by grazing animals.
During the war large swathes of grassland were ploughed up for food production. Since the 1950s, chemical fertilisers have been applied to most of the remaining areas to 'improve' them for agricultural purposes resulting in the loss of their ecological value or 'biodiversity'.
After
the obligatory safety talk and site introduction twelve of us
under the guidance of Martin Jones the National Trust warden set
to work.
After a slight struggle we managed to get a bonfire started and began to make inroads into the large pile of cut scrub that had accumulated. By lunchtime we had opened up a considerable area on the edge of the mature woodland.
The afternoon saw more scrub cut down and fortunately an equal amount burnt by an ever-hungry bonfire. Luckily it stayed dry all day, albeit in a typically drab January fashion.
By the close of play we left the site tired but pleased in the knowledge that we have extended the life of a few more orchids!
Rob
