Not scrubbing up too badly

Being back at work can seem like the last thing you want to do following on from Christmas and the New Year, but some jobs aren't quite so bad.  Along with the catching up with emails, colleagues and switching my brain in to gear to write 2015, I'd programmed in a few surveys to get me out of the office.  The main focus of these surveys so far has been scrub, both wanted and unwanted.  For one of the surveys I've also been fortunate enough to visit one of my favourite Trust reserves, Loynton Moss.

Loynton Moss was the first Trust reserve and part of the reserve, the 'Moss' and surrounding alder carr, is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  Like any wetland surrounded by woodland, there is an ongoing battle to keep scrub encroachment in check.  To try and record this and help monitor the condition of the SSSI, I've been testing out a few ways technology might be able to help.  As you may have seen in earlier posts, I've tried a GPS tracking app on my iPhone but sadly this didn't produce anything I could use back in the office, despite looking pretty accurate.  So it was time to don the wellies again and head out with a real GPS.  Thankfully the results are much better, and transferable to the Trust's mapping software.

The data gathered will allow the Trust to monitor any further encroachment and keep track of what methods of control have worked best, or if some areas are more prone to being encroached than others.  You could argue that this knowledge is easily gathered by people on the ground rather than a record on a computer, but the record on the computer will allow anyone to monitor the situation and not rely on the person still being around or how accurately they remember what was a few years ago.  In other news, the snowdrops at Loynton Moss are coming along nicely, so make sure you visit soon to see the bank in full bloom.

I've also been monitoring scrub at two other Trust reserves; Rod Wood and Weag's Barn.  The object here is that all the scrub is wanted, just in the right condition.  The main challenge with both reserves to the scrubby areas is access.  The scrub at Rod Wood is at the bottom of a slippery slope and across a very wet piece of unimproved grassland.  Meanwhile, the scrub at Weag's Barn is very much on the slope, which is perhaps even more slippery and much steeper!

I'd highly recommend a visit to either Rod Wood or Weag's Barn, but you're probably best leaving it until the summer when the hay meadows are blooming, the scrub is full of breeding birds and the conditions underfoot don't leave your boots in the state they left mine!

Find more details about the reserves here:
Loynton Moss - http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/reserves/loynton-moss
Rod Wood - http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/reserves/rod-wood
Weag's Barn - http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/reserves/weags-barn