Week 3: 22nd – 25th October

Monday

Today was an “office day” – a welcome day inside as it was pouring with rain and pretty chilly!  We spent the morning creating our blog so viewers can read about what work we do on a weekly basis.  In the afternoon we began researching a new project which will hopefully incorporate many green spaces in the local area, increasing the general health and biodiversity in the landscape.

Tuesday

We spent today up at Silent Valley completing our weekly reserve check.  We walked all the trails around the reserve and made notes of any areas requiring maintenance.  We also recorded wildlife sightings and were rewarded for our patient bird watching with a view of a beautiful female merlin (Falco columbarius) perching at the top of a beech tree.

Merlin (Falco columbarius) - adult female.
Image: © John Downer; naturepl.com

The merlin is the smallest falcon in the UK, having a total body length of just 26-33cm and a wingspan of 55-69cm.  They breed mainly in birch and willow zones, nesting in trees, scrub, or on the ground.  Their main food source is small birds caught in mid air.  

Although male and female colouration makes them fairly easy to distinguish from each other, juvenile merlins look much the same as the females and are generally not separable in the field (Collins Bird Guide, 2^nd Ed.)

Other wildlife sightings

Robin • Blackbird • Blue Tit • Woodpigeon • Magpie • Nuthatch • Raven • Jay • Treecreeper • Grey Squirrel

Wednesday

Back at Magor Marsh today, we both helped out with the ongoing project on the newly purchased lands.  Our work today included the chopping up and burning of willow trees to make space for the new fence line which will keep livestock off the road; clearing the waterway of discarded rubbish; and starting building the new fence line by putting in some of the posts.

We also spent time measuring the groundwater levels at various points throughout the reserve.  The water levels were measured in two different ways: one using pipe wells in the fields, and one using water control structures in the reen systems.  All results were noted and are being used by Magor Marsh to produce graphs showing the water levels throughout the reserve over a period of time.

Pipe wells

This method involved placing an electric measuring tape down a pipe well which had been inserted in the ground at a specific point in the reserve.  The battery-powered electric measuring tape consists of a pair of insulated wires whose exposed ends are separated by an air gap in an electrode.  When the electrode contacts the water surface, a current flows through the circuit and produces an audible high-pitched sound (http://il.water.usgs.gov/pubs/ofr01-50_chapter4_4.pdf).  After contacting water, the tape is marked where it meets the top of the pipe and is pulled out.  A measurement is taken of the length between the marked tape and the end with the electrode.  A measurement was also taken of the height of the top of the pipe to the ground so that this can be deducted from the tape measurement.

Beth checking water levels in the pipe wells using the electrode. 

Diagram of pipe well method.
(http://il.water.usgs.gov/pubs/ofr01-50_chapter4_4.pdf)

Water control structure

These are placed around the reserve to control the flow of the water passing through reen systems.  Using a measuring tape, the distance between the ground level and the water level was taken both on the inside of the water control structure and on the outside.

Marking the distance on the measuring tape
between the ground surface and the water. 

Sally taking the measurement reading (in cm)
from the measuring tape.

Thursday

We spent the morning in Croes-Robert Wood, where they have begun coppicing the trees to store for next year's charcoal production.  Using bow-saws, we cut through small sycamore trees in a previously selected area.  We then took off any small branches from coppiced trees and cut the trunks into lengths of roughly 2 metres which were then stacked in piles for storing.

Beth coppicing a small tree in Croes-Robert Wood.

Coppiced tree stump showing clear rings.

Week 2: 15th - 18th October

Monday

We spent the start of the week up at Silent Valley.  The set of steps leading from the yellow trail to the blue trail required maintenance due to flooding from water running down the hillside into the stream at the valley bottom.  We decided that the best solution would be to dig a small trench alongside the steps to divert the water away from the public footpath.

Before commencing we carried out a risk assessment – risks included slipping in the mud on the edges of the steps, possibility of loose dead branches (as we were working under beech trees), and injuries from shovels.

After the risk assessment we began by visually planning the layout of the trench and cleared the area of debris such as broken branches and rocks.  Starting at the highest point of the steps, we began with one of us churning and loosening the mud, while the other cleared the loose mud.  After the trench had been completely dug out, we lined the sloping sides with flat rocks to prevent the mud collapsing in on the trench during bad weather. 

Wildlife Sightings

Robin • Blackbird • Blue Tit • Great Tit • Nuthatch • Raven • Jay • Buzzard • Great Spotted Woodpecker • Grey Squirrel

Before

During

After

Tuesday

Today we spent the day helping out at Solutia Meadows Reserve on the Gwent Levels. The reserve is roughly 36 hectares consisting of grazing marsh/hay meadows, crossed by a system of reens and grips (drainage features). The management regime at Solutia involves an annual hay cut and low intensity sheep grazing – resulting in the grass lands slowly becoming species rich.

We worked alongside volunteers from the ‘Kaleidoscope Project’ in Newport, spreading previously cut hay containing wildflower seeds over two newly acquired fields to produce new grassland habitat for the reserve.  The production of this new habitat is important as hay meadows have reduced by approximately 97% since WWII. This reduction was due to increased nutrients in the soil as a result of increased use of fertiliser – hay meadows don’t require high nutrient levels.

Beth spreading wildflower seeds, Solutia Meadows

Wednesday

Spending the day at Magor Marsh reserve, near Newport, we helped out alongside a team of regular volunteers with a relatively new project. 

At approximately 36+ hectares, Magor Marsh is the last relatively natural area of fenland on the Gwent Levels.  The reserve holds a special place in the Trust’s history as in 1963 threats to this area of wetland were felt so strongly by a groups of naturalists that they joined together and formed what is now Gwent Wildlife Trust.  Management of the reserve incorporates multiple techniques including the use of ponies and sheep to graze the area.

We worked in an area of recently purchased land, helping to clear land alongside a public road so that a new fence-line could be built.  The clearing involved brush-cutting brambles and felling willow trees.  The willow trees then had to be cut up into smaller lengths to be placed on a controlled fire.  Burning the willow trees was important as this species is able to regrow from any reasonable size cutting.  Before we began with the cutting and burning, we were given a health and safety talk.

Burning willow, Magor Marsh

Sally chopping willow branches ready for burning

Thursday

Today we spent our day individually...

Beth:  I spent my day completing a First Aid Training course with the British Red Cross.  I learnt how to place someone in the recovery position, correctly apply bandages and slings, perform CPR, and how to address situations including shock, heart attacks, and stroke.

Sally:  The same as the previous week, I spent the day coppicing in Croes-Robert Wood alongside a small group of volunteers.  I was made aware of health and safety and correct tool use while felling trees.

Week 1: 8th - 11th October

Monday

Today we had our induction into the work of Gwent Wildlife Trust and the ERC.  We covered topics such as health and safety and our job role and responsibilities, and were introduced to other members of staff.  Our introduction concluded with a small tour around the ERC building and its grounds.

Environmental Resource Centre

Tuesday

This was our first exploration/introduction day of Silent Valley Nature Reserve. We spent the day walking all trails of the reserve, making a note of wildlife sightings and any maintenance requiring attention.

Wildlife Sightings

Robin • Blackbird • Wren • Great Tit • Nuthatch • Jay • Raven • Buzzard

Nant Merddog stream, a tributary of the River Ebbw.

Wednesday

We spent the morning in Silent Valley doing minor repairs to the board walk at the reserve entrance.  The chicken wire, in place to prevent people slipping, had worked its way loose and required re-pinning to the wood in various places. 

In the afternoon we visited a local primary school to undertake a nestbox building activity. We helped a class build two boxes for specifically for house sparrows, which would then be put up in a local allotment. During this activity the children were told about the life cycle and behaviour of the species and shown pictures to help them with future identification.

Thursday

Today we spent the day helping with storing log piles at Croes-Robert Wood; a small 15 hectare reserve in the Wye Valley, south of Dingestow.  The reserve is managed through coppicing to provide a suitable habitat for Britain’s most threatened mammal – the dormouse.  The ancient semi-natural woodland also provides a good habitat for plant species such as bluebells and the common spotted orchid, and for animal species such as the fritillary butterfly, fallow deer, woodpeckers, and other woodland birds.

Coppicing & Charcoal Production:

Coppicing in Croes-Robert Wood began in 1994/5.  Trees are cut down and then re-grown from the base, providing a self renewing source of wood.  During the autumn and winter the coppiced wood is stored in log piles and covered until the spring.  During the spring and summer, the coppiced wood is burned in kilns on site to produce charcoal which is sold locally by the Wildlife Trust.  This is a good example of sustainable conservation.

…If you want to find out more: http://www.gwentwildlife.org/reserves/charcoalProduction.htm

Charcoal kiln site at Croes-Robert Wood