Last Saturday saw our May Earthworks and this time we were looking at plant life in the woods.
Why look at plant life? Well, we need to create base line surveys of the species that we have in the woodlands so that we can monitor what happens over time. What changes, what plants die back, which thrive and and what can we do to best support the ecosystem. Sometimes these changes are indicative of more global shifts and there are national databases for all species where experts can look at why numbers of various species may be rising or falling.
When you are managing a woodland for conservation, knowing what you have growing there is important. Plant life needs to be managed and monitored. An example of this is the bramble. They love to grow and they love to create huge areas of tangled, thorny, impenetrable areas (for humans). Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily as they provide vital cover for mammals to pass through and nest in, but they also block any sunlight getting to the forest floor. Wild woodland flowers can lie dormant in the soil until the conditions improve. Managing brambles can help to bring more light in for the wild flowers to break through the soil and have their time in the sun.
This management of brambles can then attract more insects in to pollinate and feed from the flowers, which in turn will attract more birds in and soon your woodland is alive with colour and sounds well beyond what the scrubby bramble could provide. Brambles do have there place, but they will take over.
Armed with maps, and the Irecord app a group of us ventured deep into the woodland to record what plant life we have. Trees were identified by our younger participants, flowers such as Speedwell, Herb Robert and Red Campion by our older participants. For anyone who wanted a different challenge, we also provided a nature connection activity based on finding colours. This is a great activity to repeat throughout the year to notice what colours are more prevalent at different times of year.
Thanks everyone for a great Earthworks. Next month we are looking at birds.
