Reserve Management
If you go down to the woods today…well, if you go on a Tuesday or a Thursday to Cromwell Bottom all year round, you will likely see hardy souls in high viz jackets doing stuff around the reserve, and also in the Visitor Centre and in the workshop. Each season brings its own enchantment and challenges on a nature reserve such as this.
Winter
Whilst most of us crave a mild, dry winter, on the reserve water is needed to fill the wet woodlands and the lagoon, to encourage a wider diversity of wildlife to visit and hopefully raise young. To support this, a lot of winter volunteering is spent coppicing Willow, maintaining perimeters, cleaning and repairing nestboxes, trimming and replanting hedgerows where required. Our volunteers clear gulleys and drainage pipes around the reserve and our talented engineering crew repair signs, bridges, fences etc and construct new bird boxes for the coming season. It’s also a great time for schools to visit as the youngsters can experience nature ‘out of season’ and when the reserve is less busy.
Spring
Spring continues the winter activities and also is the season of renewal as we prepare for more visitors to the reserve and cabin. Inside and outside facilities are repaired, cleaned and tubs are planted with wild flowers. Bird feeders are cleaned and renewed and the pond is cleared to remove weeds and encourage oxygenating plants to flourish. It’s a busy month for monitoring migratory birds, and animal activity, assessing breeding populations and overall health of native plants.
Spring is also the season to start monitoring and removing early-season invasive plants before they spread.
Summer
Summer is dominated by the control of invasive species. In particular, we have a running battle to manage Himalayan Balsam which runs riot given the dampness caused by both a river and canal traversing the reserve. Over the past few years we have been focusing on removing Balsam from specific areas of the reserve, for example the Sphagnum Bog, Lagoon, Pond areas and Meadows with good success. But any walk around the reserve from May to October will highlight just how effectively this plant from Kashmir can propagate itself!
Summer also heralds our annual Open Day (first Saturday in August), It’s a great day to showcase the reserve and hopefully encourage a few youngsters outside to enjoy the wonders of nature!
Autumn
Many of you will know how beautiful the reserve is in Autumn as the leaves turn to vivid colours all around the valley. It’s the season to get ready for Winter and maintenance activities include reed cutting and clearing in the Lagoon, removing
sapling growth in the Sphagnum bog, selective meadow cutting and raking, removing weeds from ponds and water scrapes, clearing brambles from the bird feeding area pond areas and coppicing willow growth in woodland areas.
This is only a taste of seasonal activities on the reserve. Lots of activities happen all year round, for example, capturing trail camera videos which are curated into the wonderful wildlife footage we see in the Visitor Centre.
