All About The Birch!

Although Birch trees are beautiful, they are an invasive species and in some places such as in the Willow Carr, they can be a real problem. In order to allow more light in for the wildflowers, staff and volunteers set to and cut down over one hundred small Birch trees. This patch had a lot of Betony growing in it over the summer months and with additional light, it is hoped that this flower will spread even further.

The trees were small enough to cut with bow saws and pruning saws but a chainsaw helped to speed up the process!

There were a few rain showers but not enough to deter the Foxglove volunteers!

The stumps were left deliberately high so that on a sunny day the team can return to cut them down to ground level and poison them. If this is not done then the trees will grow back. It seems harsh but the loss of these trees will be off set by the planting of 600 mixed native deciduous ones. 

None of this work would be possible without the dedicated group of people who regularly give up their time to help manage the mosaic of habitats that make up the reserve.