Managing our Reserve: summer
Find out what the reserve team is up to this month to keep the site in top condition.
Our Centre is entirely man-made and managed. It’s cared for by our hardworking Grounds and Reserve teams, plus our wonderful volunteers.
Each month the teams undertake a number of tasks to ensure the reserve stays in top condition to provide a habitat for a broad range of species, maintaining biodiversity in our wonderful wetland.
This month, the reserve team will be carrying out grassland mowing and hay making. Cutting the grass on the reserve removes nutrients from the ground and reduces competition from weeds. The cutting also benefits wildflower growth, as they prefer nutrient-poor soil. Any hay created from the grass cutting is saved to feed our Dexter cattle in the winter.
Areas of grassland are cut in stages, rather than all at once, giving a mosaic like look to the grazing marsh. Keeping the grass short on the marsh also creates ideal grazing conditions for Wigeon and other winter visitors, which will start to arrive in the autumn.
