A new pond created for a client for wildlife. The surrounding area has been seeded and, given all the recent rain, the pond was very quickly full of water!
6th October
Pond creation
Category: Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
Scape completed in Pewsey
Another scape was completed this week as part of the species recovery project “Conservation from the ground up”.
We scraped off the topsoil to create a bare patch of chalk which will be colonised by wild and site-specific species of plants, which will not be outcompeted by the stronger grasses, and which will also be good for butterflies. By doing this, we have also established a chalk bank which also creates other habitats especially on the sheltered side, out of the wind.
See our blog on early scapes for Pewsey Downs Farmers Group One more next week
20th September
Ash clearance checking for bat roosts
Last one for this week.
As part of an ash clearance, we had surveyed all the trees in the woodland last year.
Those with potential bat habitat were recorded and numbered. These were then checked again from a MEWP with an ecologist prior to felling.
Following that, 4 trees of the 143 trees surveyed, were found to have bats within them so were left untouched.
Conservation from the ground up
This week we have started work up on the Pewsey Downs as part of a species recovery project creating scrapes and banks on chalk grassland to help provide habitats for a variety of butterflies and insects Pewsey Downs Farmers Group
See too our newly focussed webpage on BNG – Biodiversity Net Gain
And here’s Alex on another scape – a bit more of a task on this bank.
Flailing around young trees
Following on from the spraying of the new woodland earlier in the spring, we have now returned to flail off between the planted rows of young trees to further aid their establishment in Year I.
We will return to spray out rows shortly with the quad-mounted sprayer to ensure the best start possible for the new woodland.
Hedge replacement following storm damage Wilsford March 2024
Replacement of a hedge damaged by a lorry which came off the road during a storm in Wilsford in the Vale of Pewsey.
We used a mix of native hedging including hawthorn and field maple as well as planting some oak trees.
Work completed by the BNG team.
