October saw the start of gorse coppicing season on the salt marsh edge so three of the four work parties this month were taken up by this activity. The gorse is cut as low to the ground as possible, and we burn or chip what is removed. The fire is always great for morale on the cold and wet days one can expect at this time of year (though not this year yet!) but chipping releases less CO2 into the atmosphere and the chippings can be used as mulch elsewhere. So, if you want any mulch for your gardens, Campfield Marsh is giving it away by the bucket-load!
The aim of coppicing is to restart the growth cycle and create a more varied age structure in large areas of woodland or, in this case, gorse. Gorse provides excellent nesting habitat for common whitethroats, linnets, grasshopper warblers and sedge warblers. However, when it is older the gorse becomes “leggy” – bare stemmed until the top c.20% - and the floor below tends to resemble that of a conifer plantation: dark with a thick layer of needles covering the ground. Restarting the cycle therefore has two benefits. Firstly, it provides more suitable nesting sites for birds once the gorse has grown back to its bushy best. Secondly, it allows grass and flowers to grow once more, benefitting invertebrates and, as a result, birds.
Each year, we aim for the oldest stands of gorse and cut it in blocks from the road right through to the salt marsh. A new approach this year has seen us cut scallops – u-shaped chunks taken out of the side of the gorse stands – which add variety into the otherwise straight edges and can provide sheltered areas for butterflies and birds to explore.
We have been benefitted from large groups of volunteers each week so have been making excellent progress each week. Over three weeks we have managed to remove 766m2 of gorse with plenty more to come over the winter!
The other work party of the month took place down at Hodbarrow. This session followed on from the one in September, during which the group removed scrub from the edges of the natterjack toad pools and adjacent banks. This month, the material cut in September was burnt and more material was removed meaning the pool perimeters are now completely open!
We are always on the look-out for new volunteers to join us at Campfield Marsh (and Hodbarrow). We meet on Thursday mornings. If you are interested in helping with the sort of tasks mentioned above, meeting new people, developing new skills, and enjoying the outdoors, click on the following link to find out more and apply: Practical Reserve Work (Campfield Marsh, Bowness On Solway) | RSPB Volunteering.