Monday, January 19, 2009

Waveney Willows

The willow trees growing on the banks of the River Waveney are a very attractive feature. In 1996 we surveyed all the bankside trees from the source of the Waveney at Redgrave down to Bungay.


We found many old willows that were collapsing and dying because they were top heavy like this one:


It is possible to prolong the life of willows and other trees by pollarding them. We do this by cutting the tree about 10 feet above the ground and allowing it to grow back. Cutting at this height means that cattle cannot nibble the new growth and kill the tree. Once a pollard is formed it can be cut again every 10 to 15 years so that it never becomes top-heavy. Pollarding continually rejuvenates the tree so it will live for much longer. Here is a pollard with a years' growth:

Our 1996 survey discovered over 250 pollards along the Upper Waveney. Several had not been pollarded for a long time and needed swift management if they were to survive. We re-pollarded the most urgent cases with funding from the Environment Agency, Here are two old but healthy willow pollards:


This year we are carrying out another survey to see how the willows are faring. Old willow pollards are important habitats for our wildlife. The trunks are usually hollow so they make good nesting places for Barn Owls - and Egyptian Geese that are spreading along the Valley. They also make good summer roosting sites for bats.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Hedgerows

The New Year has started on a very cold note with a long spell of snow and frosts. As soon as the ground thaws we will start work on hedge planting and hedgerow management. We have been planting hedges for the last 20 years along the Valley to try and replace some of those lost when fields were enlarged in the second half of the 20th Century. The Waveney Valley is an ancient landscape - some of the hedges around Scole and the Saints villages near Bungay may be 2,000 years old - so we are keen to keep or restore as much as possible with local landowners' help.

Here are some students from Bungay High School planting a new hedge in the Saints:


The clear plastic spirals over the young hedge plants protect them from nibbling rabbits and deer, and also act as mini greenhouses to stimulate growth. After about three years they can be removed to let the hedge thicken up.

A mature hedge also needs some management or it will get tall and leggy and may collapse. Most hedges are now cut back with flails but in the past they were either coppiced or laid to promote strong, thick growth.

Here are our volunteers coppicing an old mature hedge in the Saints:


It may look drastic cutting right back to ground level but the hedge quickly regrows.

Hedges are very important for wildlife and soon the first Hazel catkins will be flowering, closely followed by Primroses and other spring flowers:


More soon.