Restore – Nature

27th May 2022

From the tip of Grune Point, full of historic remnants, to the colourful pockets of dune waxcap grassland and healthland tucked away at North Walney, this project has chosen 11 different sites on the Cumbrian coast that will benefit from practical habitat management and conservation works. Many of which face very similar challenges. We now know that sand dunes need to be dynamic to support healthy wildlife populations, but, in most of these systems, bare sand can only be found at the frontal dunes, where the winds of winter storms keep some of it mobile amongst the marram grass.

Site visit location

Mawbray Banks, Solway Coast AONB. Mawbray Banks is a site of special scientific interest and contains a large amount of dune heath, a habitat becoming very rare in Cumbria. It is also home to some rare and interesting species such as Isle of Man cabbage and natterjack toads.

Aim

Provide an overview of the work carried out to improve dune habitat and increase natterjack toad populations. Work has included pond installation, invasive species removal and the introduction of grazing – herd of Belted Galloways. We are currently training the cattle to graze in certain areas using No Fence collars.

Visit overview

AM: Walk and talk by Richard Storton, Cumbria Project Officer – Dynamic Dunescapes DuneLIFE Project, Natural England, introducing the project and what work has been carried out and why.

PM: Field activity – transects and species ID by Eve Mulholland Cumbria Wildlife Trust Dynamic Dunescapes Engagement Officer.

8th June 2022

The Somerset lowlands, have big open skies, expanses of waterways, fields of pasture, wet woodlands, reedbeds, vibrant birdlife, and be-jewelled dragonflies on the wing. The Somerset Levels & Moors are the largest remaining wetland in England, and are protected by a plethora of environmental designations, from being a ‘Ramsar’ site of international importance for wetland birds and invertebrates, a Special Protection Area (SPA) for migratory birds, a network of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI’s) cited for the richness of its flora and fauna and with many National Nature Reserves – the ‘jewels in the crown’ of England’s wildlife-rich places. It remains of outstanding importance for wintering wildfowl and is one of the last strongholds in southern England for breeding waders and sits between two AONB’s.

But as a landscape they are on the frontline of climate change and also face huge challenges. Water quality is poor due to high phosphate levels. With sea levels predicted to rise and extreme weather events to become more common, we need to work with nature to find solutions, such as ways of storing carbon, holding and moving water to the right places in the landscape, and buffering our coastlines with habitats that absorb the seas power. Working in this way we also improve our landscape greatly for wildlife and all the joy that brings us.

The partnership of conservation organisations in Somerset intend to rise to the scale of this challenge.

Our nature reserves are clearly strongholds where we can start this work and begin to recover nature on a bigger scale. Natural England, working with partners the Somerset Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, the Environment Agency, the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust, National Trust and Hawk & Owl Trust intend to bring together all our existing nature reserves, as well as a number of connecting waterways in the Somerset lowlands, into one larger ‘super’ Somerset Wetlands NNR.

The visit will cover coastal issues at steart, peat restoration at shapwick and visitor engagement & education at both.

16th June 2022

Vattenfall Wind Farm and Pealtland restoration in Partnershipwith Natural Resources Wales

Vattenfall’s Pen y Cymoedd wind farm has a large scale forest to bog habitat restoration programme currently taking place. The habitat management area covers over 1400 ha of NRW forest estate around the wind farm, with the restoration being implemented by NRW on behalf of Vattenfall. The site visit will take us to some of the HMP management units at various stages of restoration (from over two years ago to work carried out last winter) and describe the various restoration techniques being used including ground smoothing and stump flipping. Key challenges to forest to bog restoration will be discussed as well plans for monitoring and anticipated wider benefits to the local area.