Winter break-through

A round up of our autumn and winter works on the biodiversity sites

Proof that the GGP biscuit supply is so good, volunteers will even brave snow storms

While I was keeping warm, dry and caffeinated over the winter, the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership team didn't stop, keeping hard at work on conservation tasks across all of the biodiversity sites.

It is an exciting time for conservation at Gatwick, as we have just renewed our Biodiversity Action Plan for another five years, which includes additional ecological surveys and brand new habitat tasks! Tom Simpson's volunteer program continues to grow year on year, with increasing help from airport staff, local businesses, local conservationists and trainees. It has been statisfying knowing that the Wildlife Trust youth groups and trainees are shadowing Tom in the field, so that his invaluable skills are being passed on to future conservation leaders.

Somehow we never run out of conservation tasks, and here are a few examples of what has been going on over the last few months:

Dormouse box installation with GGP Youth Rangers

Pond weed management on a cold February day; no problem for these guys

Pesky willow stumps in Goat Meadow don't stand in their way

Deer exclusion fence being carefdully removed from the developing coppice woodland

Corporate volunteer teams led by Tom have made a huge difference in improving the access into our woodlands. For every calorie burned in creating board walks and edged steps, a calorie is saved for the general public, our local wildlife, and myself from wading through the winter mud!

New board walks through wet woodland

The Gatwick Greenspace Partnership weekly volunteer crew

Tom Simpson's 'Digital Detox' days are an excellent reminder of how valuable it is to maintain connections with the natural world, simply by engaging in focused activities in outdoor spaces.

Nestlé UK Ltd in Upper Picketts Wood

We have even had a team of ecologists volunteering on our sites, as they know the value in taking a break from the office during the gloomy winter months.

The Ecology Consultancy managing Blackthorn along the River Mole

So once again, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of the teams who have visited our sites over the winter; the project simply wouldn't be the same without you!

Both Gatwick Airport staff and businesses from the wider area have helped maintain our sites for wildlife

We aim to carry out as much habitat management with volunteers and hand tools as possible, however some heavier-duty works, such as woodland ride management and dense scrub removal, require the help of the professionals; Glendale Landscape Services and our Wildlife Trust recommended tree surgeons; Roots Upwards Ltd, are well versed in the sensitivities of working on biodiversity sites.

 

Woodland ride management; this area is a particularly good corridor for foraging bats

Managing woodland rides and glades rotationally creates a dynamic habitat system; while one area is gradually colonised by mature vegetation, another area is opened up, providing new space for early successional species.

Sycamore removal in a woodland glade

Each winter Roots Upwards Ltd have donated us a free day of labour for conservation works. This year they brought along their climbing harnesses and ropes, bringing down the heavy bat hibernation boxes for a much-needed winter clean out. The lads couldn't quite believe their luck when they took down the final box...

A bat hibernation box, recently occupied by Honey Bees

Nothing like a piece of fresh honey comb at the end of a hard day's work

Anyone can get involved with wildlife conservation, whether it is habitat management, learning about wildlife on guided walks, or trying out a digital detox day! Find out more here:   https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/get-involved/community-projects/gatwick

A Summer Summary

It's been a very busy summer so sticking with Rachel's trend of timely blogging, I decided to wait til the Himalayan Balsam had started to go over before kicking off the waders and getting back into the office to contribute to the blog. When you see the amount we've achieved in the last few months I think you'll agree that it was worth the wait! 

We’ve been re-surfacing woodland paths, creating new habitats in the form of bug hotels and reptile hibernacula, not to mention keeping up with the Great Gatsbees – our thriving Honey Bee population. As always, however, one of the most important jobs has been trying to control the spread of Himalayan Balsam (Glandulifera impatiens) across Gatwick’s conservation zones and beyond.

This impressive plant can grow up to eight feet in a little over sixteen weeks, using an explosive mechanism in its seed heads to disperse seeds far and wide, before spreading quickly to dominate river banks, displacing native flora in the process. If you’d like to find out more, there’s a helpful article on the Sussex Wildlife Trust website here: http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/2014/07/greenspace-invader/

Himalayan Balsam in flower

Himalayan Balsam’s dependence on river systems for seed dispersal means that low-lying areas like Gatwick Airport, which is intersected by a number of water courses such as the River Mole, Gatwick Stream, Crawters Brook and Mans Brook, receives a constant influx of seeds throughout the summer. This makes the job of controlling its spread all the more important and begs the difficult question; where do we start?

After much deliberation (and some blindfolded pointing at a map), we decided to begin our battle at Povey Cross in the North West Zone with a team from Gatwick Airport’s Engineering and Asset Integration Department. On a scorching hot day at the end of June, this nine-strong group got stuck in, removing plants over an incredible 700 meter stretch of the banks of the Mole.

Engineering and Asset Integration with Balsam casualties at Povey cross

A little over a week later, volunteers from Southern Gas Networks took up the mantle in Horleyland Wood where Balsam had taken up residence in dense patches under the woodland canopy, encroaching from the adjoining Gatwick Stream and sewage treatment works. The following day reinforcements arrived in the form of GGP’s youth rangers. They set to work with boundless energy, pulling back more valuable habitat from the Balsam’s clutches.

Southern Gas came ready for action with matching overalls.

Youth Rangers at Horleyland wood, accompanied by one slightly less youthful ecologist.

By early July it was time to call in the elite squadron and GGPs weekly volunteer group got to grips with the Balsam in Riverside Garden Park, Horley, where the Gatwick stream joins the river Mole. Undeterred by the towering Balsam-covered banks, they put in a tremendous effort over two long and very hot days. Using ladders to scale the steep banks, they tirelessly removed plant after plant. This resulted in at least one volunteer taking a bath in the cool, calming waters of the Gatwick Stream. Despite these setbacks, their hard work paid off and we managed to clear the majority of the Balsam from the park, downstream from the underpass in the south-eastern corner.

GGP Volunteers tackle towering Balsam at Riverside

A final sweep of Riverside was carried out by a group of EDF office staff who came all the way from London to join the fight. The team were very thorough and spent the morning working away from the stream, removing any stragglers in the woodland edges where seed had been carried by winter flood waters. As the day wore on and we worked our way into open grassland, it became apparent that we were going to need a change of plan. Fueled by the scorching summer temperatures, much of the Balsam in these open areas was already setting seed and too much disruption at this stage would only facilitate its spread.

EDF's London team at Riverside

We proceeded carefully, using scissors and secateurs to carefully snip all of the seed pods into bin bags before ripping out the remainder of the plant. Six bin bags of seed were removed and prevented from entering the catchment that day.

As you can see from the map below we have made a big impact this year, and its all thanks to the fantastic work of our ever-growing volunteer network. All our volunteers have proved willing and able and always up for a challenge.  

But as I said earlier, it hasn’t been all about Balsam this summer. I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has turned out to help with our many projects. And just to prove it, here are a few more pictures.

UK Power Networks and the huge pile of rubbish they cleared from Horleyland pond back in April.

Dave and Stefan "discuss" how best to lay geotextiles while building a footpath in Upper Pickets wood.

Rachel's mum, Sue and ecologist Natalie get the job done with a little less "discussion"
(I'm not sure who that slacker is trying to sneak into shot)

Another gang from UK Power Networks turned out in force in June, working competitively on woodland and grassland footpaths

 And finally, the Insect Hotel has been slowly coming together over the summer with the help of Donald and Peter.

Not long until our programme of autumn works starts up again!

An introduction to Gatwick’s Greenspaces...

Gatwick Airport, its boundaries and our two main zones of conservation focus

Gatwick Airport is its own thriving town or city; just ask anyone who works here. It also happens to be an island surrounded by the beautiful Sussex and Surrey countryside; a very rare position for such a large specimen of airport... If you take an OS map you may be surprised by the amount of undeveloped land which exists here, also the number of public footpaths passing through habitats such as woodland, grassland, floodplain meadow and wild ponds. With such a range of habitats the resulting variety of wildlife is quite astounding, and seemingly unperturbed by busy air traffic. I am continually updating Gatwick’s wildlife records database which we began in summer 2012 (anyone who enjoys a spot of data entry do drop me a line) and I am excitedly anticipating what we might find each season. These records are shared with our local biodiversity record centres which collectively hold copious information on the species and habitats of the UK.

River Mole North of the runway

Our ultimate goal is to protect and improve what we can in terms of the existing natural habitats and species diversity on Gatwick landholdings. Over the decades Gatwick Airport has become ever busier, but equally people have been working ever harder to preserve its greener zones. Thanks largely to volunteers from the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, the British Airways Engineering volunteers, the Sussex Wildlife Trust, helpful individual naturalists and the companies JS Agriculture Ltd and Ecology and Habitat Management Ltd, we are now making a concerted combined effort to achieve The Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark Award. 

                                Grassland and woodland habitat along the River Mole