The Conservation Management Priorities for 2003

The list of tasks so far identified for 2003 are:

  1. To raise the water level in the sump in the bat hibernaculum to increase the humidity for the bats.
  2. To install Schwegler 1FF bat boxes on trees surrounding the pond outside the bat hibernaculum.
  3. To fit out the bat hibernaculum with bat bricks and tiles, and some duckboarding for visitors.
  4. To continue to monitor the micrometeorology of the bat hibernaculum and install a digital data logger.
  5. To install a frog and toad ramp, to enable these amphibians to continue to use the tunnel as a refuge and migration route, even when the water level in the pond outside the tunnel is low.
  6. To install more blockwork and drain tubes around the flood drain serving the pond by the tunnel, so that the water level in this pond can be raised to provide a better breeding habitat for amphibians.
  7. To plant a variety of water plants in all three ponds to establish a wider range of habitats for wildlife.
  8. To install some piped drainage at the north end of the access path to the tunnel where streams emerge.
  9. To lay some hard core onto the wetter parts of the main gravel path and resurface with Type 2 Sub-base.
  10. To add several tonnes of clay on top of the existing clay dams, and partly surface with Type 2 Sub-base.
  11. To lay an open-textured brick foundation, using reclaimed bricks, wherever streams run across the ‘circular footpath’ and lay a surface of Type 2 Sub-base on top of this.
  12. To install steps and a handrail in the circular path in two very steep sections.

Plus: To carry out routine seasonal management tasks as in 2002.

This list of mini-projects is neither exhaustive nor exclusive, but represents a fair estimate of the work to be attempted in 2003. The weather inevitably determines which tasks are addressed first in each season by our volunteers, who follow the general recommendations of the project leader, who in turn submits the details of the management plan for approval by the Parish Council. However, the work in the bat tunnel will need to be confined between May and September when there will be no bats hibernating, and the path and dam construction will depend upon the availability of suitable raw materials, or funds to purchase them, if these are not available from donors.


Copyright © Martin Harris & Alan Simpson 2003 Back to the Index Last Updated 2003-03-21