Autumn and Winter maintenance on Therfield Heath
This time last year we had an analysis of surveys revealing that restoring grassland in areas taken over by scrub would improve biodiversity on Therfield Heath. The balance between protecting rare environmental habitats that are in decline and allowing scrub to increase is a constant battle, and we have decided to bring in more expensive mechanical methods to keep scrub to a minimum to replace the fact that we still cannot find a grazier who will safely allow sheep to graze.
After Church Hill, Penn Hill is one of our most sensitive Calcareous Grassland Habitats on Therfield Heath and to be able to maintain and develop the biodiversity we will again be conducting a major regeneration programme on Monday 14th October with the help of Royston Golf Club, Friends of Therfield Heath and as many volunteers as we can get to clear this area of Hawthorn whilst protecting the Sweet Briar.
September saw the start of our Autumn maintenance as we cut the lower steep slopes of Lankester Hill and will continue with cut and collect and removal of Hawthorn and repair of the Ancient Monuments such as the Long Barrow and Five Hills burial mounds.
Whilst we try not to disturb late brooding invertebrates, the long spring rains and warm wet summer has meant that many butterflies were disturbed, yet rain soon came in and stopped us from doing the work we so needed to do. You will continue to see the remote “Yellow Spider” being operated on the steep banks and larger machinery cutting the bigger areas of grass across the whole of Therfield Heath.
