Looking back to a colder, wetter time, EHM is reflecting on the busy period of winter works which took place on Heathrow’s Biodiversity sites. In September we welcomed Mick to the team, who joins us as our Habitat Management Officer. Since then, EHM has been busy carrying out major works, details of which are outlined below.
At the Duke of Northumberland River Basin Site, the Willow works kicked off with coppicing a 130m stretch of Willow trees along the bank. Coppicing involves cutting a tree (or shrub etc) to its stump, leaving behind enough for it to fully regrow. There are numerous reasons as to why we have used this traditional method:
- To encourage healthy new growth and extend the willow trees’ lifespan.
- To improve habitat diversity for birds, insects, amphibians and other wildlife.
- To increase light to the river and bankside, benefitting aquatic and riparian plants.
- To reduce to risk of fallen limbs and blockages which can affect river flow.
- To maintain strong root systems that help stabilise the riverbank and reduce erosion.
- To prevent them becoming over-mature and dominating the riverside habitat.
Carrying out this work in winter was intentional, avoiding bird nesting season and disturbance to wildlife.
At Colne Valley Biodiversity Site, hedgerows along the northern site entrance border were coppiced to maintain structure and health. This hedgerow is a mixture of Willow, Field Maple, Blackthorn and Hawthorn. Other areas of hedgerow and bramble are cut at this time to ensure they don’t encroach onto the bridlepath and walkways. This is done with a tractor and flail.
Over at Princes Lakes, invasive Pampas Grass was cut to reduce its spread – under optimal conditions, it can reach heights of up to 10 feet tall in one season! Female plants produce up to 100,000 seeds per plume, which are easily carried by wind over long distances, allowing the plant to easily colonise. Left unmanaged this aggressive invasive can outcompete native plants, reduce habitat diversity and limit opportunities for wildlife. Its removal creates space for native wildflowers and grasses to thrive, helping restore a healthier, more resilient habitat. Other works on site include pushing back scrub encroaching on wildflower meadows, thinning out plantation woodland and reduction of non-native invasive species such as Cherry Laurel and Holm-oak on site. We also had 10 Aberdeen Angus cows to help us reduce the grassland and break up the scrub on site. The reach places machinery doesn’t and are a lot more effective and sympathetic. They also churn up the seed bank in the soil encouraging different wildflowers to flourish.
At Oaks Road, one of our public biodiversity sites, we also carried out Elm tree coppicing works. These trees had become unstable due to Dutch Elm disease which can cause death and decay caused by a fungus spread by the elm bark beetles, making their removal necessary to ensure public safety while supporting the long-term management of the trees. They are coppiced down low and allowed to reshoot. The new growth does not contain the fungus, prolonging their life and reducing the disease.
Peggy Bedford is another public site, which is more of a pocket park for locals in Longford village. Over the winter months we coppiced back the hedge on the internal border of the site and extended it in the warmer winter months. This was done with the help of Heathrow staff volunteers.
At Camp 4, we created a woodland glade within a previously undisturbed pocket of woodland to allow more light to reach the ground. This new habitat will help us explore how increased light levels influence the diversity of local flora and fauna. To monitor these changes, we have been carrying out regular site visits and have installed a trail camera to record the wildlife that is attracted to the area over time.
EHM has been busy doing a whole host of other biodiversity work across all Heathrow sites, including habitat management, path maintenance, scrubland clearance, hedge maintenance, grassland cutting and our weekly ranger duties ensuring public and private sites are clean, safe and secure.
EHM has been busy doing a whole host of other biodiversity work across all Heathrow sites, including habitat management, path maintenance, scrubland clearance, grassland cutting and our weekly ranger duties ensuring public and private sites are clean, safe and secure.