Our activity on Sunday 2 March was at Lindow Common with the Cheshire East Rangers.
Context – The site was all former heath and we were tackling a quarter acre on the east side of the Common that had become established ‘high forest’ woodland. The opportunity to regenerate this area was due to the falling of a huge oak tree. The space under the canopy was in fact the area we worked on which just shows how broad an oak can grow with its canopy! The tree had been completely cut down and the resultant arisings had to be shifted into an enormous dead hedge (a.k.a. a pile!) at the side of the perimeter woodland along with a pile of heavy cut logs to establish habitat for fauna.
Task – The main task after this considerable clearance was to pull up/cut/uproot the many small native saplings which were developing in the woodland, along with many heavily overgrown brambles which were making a dense thicket above the soil. The more removal the better as this would expose the soil to light and permit the seed bank of the heath to begin to regenerate. Nicola Ginn, our Cheshire East Ranger who is helping Bollin Valley Partnership, oversaw our work and gave us a quick overview of the Common and some of the work being attempted. Some of the birch arisings will be used to create bundles to place on the banks of the large mere to protect them from erosion caused by ducks.
With Nicola, our nine volunteers and one canine associate (Rocky) set about clearing the felled oak, and making an enormous pile followed by extensive raking and pulling of the straggly brambles. Some volunteers tried out the bright yellow tree poppers to help fully remove invasive saplings including oak, holly, birch and alder. Others used spades and others used hand and bow saws to cut the bigger whips; some of which were over 20′ high as they had grown fast and close together. Any larger stumps were brushed with a Roundup mix to prevent regrowth from the rootstocks that were not removed. Lots of very co-operative working brought these slim but still weighty trees down safely. They were then cut up and much of this new debris laid into a brand-new dead hedge alongside the path towards the mere. Thicker offcuts ended up as logs for volunteers to take home for their stoves.
Pictures show the changing site as the group worked and shots of the ‘poppers’ show one technique.
Result – Site cleared nearly completely and left very trim for the heather reinstatement. Nicola was delighted with our efforts and keen to invite us along again to help progress this important project on what is one of Cheshire’s largest heathland areas, c. 70 acres. The group were tired but satisfied with a good-humoured day with happy chat and great weather and job well done!
SMCV 