Conservation Volunteers of St.Mellons & Trowbridge
Vegetation Cutting
Why is Vegetation cutting important ?
​
​
Open habitats of the past would have been maintained by grazing animals and local people living off the land cutting wood & vegetation for shelter, fuel and their livestock. Many wild species came to rely on the open spaces created by this way of life and much of our work today replicates these actions. The cutting benefits wildlife including birds, butterflies & bees that rely on open habitat with wild flowers. If green space was left unchecked too much overgrowth can compromise the diversity of wildlife .
What type of vegetation needs to be cut ?
Plants such as hawthorn, blackthorn and bramble together with young trees of seed producers like oak and willow, left untouched can rapidly spread. These plants provide valuable shelter for birds, mammals and insects but too much of it can be a bad thing. Conservation volunteers cut back the vegetation but leave patches of plants and the occasional tree to grow to improve diversity and structure. Clearing invasive or unwanted vegetation is often just as important to the habitats as planting new trees and hedges
The work is carried out under the supervision of the Park rangers team as part of their management plan for improving the multitude of habitats in the area which sustain life for many different plants and animals .
​Vegetation Cutting Hendre Lake
Sat 21st September 2024 10.00am - 12.00pm
A bit of rain won't stop these volunteers!
6 of us met with our Park Ranger at Hendre Lake to cut back a lot of encroaching bramble at one of our meadows. It's was quite a workout but very valuable work to do in order to keep the bramble at bay so the grasses and wildflowers can thrive, as a meadow should.
This was our second event at this site this year and we're pleased to say that we've made quite a difference. Hopefully next year, we'll see more flowers like birds foot trefoil, tufted vetch and greater willowherb flourishing in the area.
​
We raked all the bramble that we cut using shears & loppers for the thicker pieces, and then we used a pitchfork to carry it off to the side to create a habitat pile and to rot down.
We were enjoying the wildlife by watching 2 dragonflies that joined us as we finished, likely Migrant Hawkers. It's great to watch nature up close.
We also saw a Speckled Wood Butterfly fluttering about during today's volunteer session