ARC life in lockdown

Toads, trees and tea: A winter volunteering tale By Hannah Frame - Assistant Ecologist at Thomson

Since starting as an Assistant Ecologist in March last year, I have enjoyed working with a variety of animal groups but still have a soft spot for our UK reptiles and amphibians. During my degree I was able to volunteer with wildlife groups in both Swansea and Surrey, which helped me start my career in consultancy. Over this winter, I have been lucky enough to continue supporting my favourite species by volunteering on Tuesdays with the Surrey branch of ARC.

During the winter, the main ARC volunteer tasks involve removal of pine saplings, overgrown gorse, and occasional larger trees from heathland reserves in order to maintain suitable reptile habitat. Without management to remove trees from heathlands, these areas would become woodland; this is less suitable for reptiles and would result in the loss of rare heathland habitats. Scrub clearance often results in the creation of a well-controlled bonfire which helps keep everyone toasty. Burning this cut material prevents nutrient enrichment and shading out effect, both of which are undesirable for heathland management and would occur if material was left in piles to rot.

The tea-fuelled volunteer crew puts in an incredible effort every week; even on days of heavy rain the team can be found out on one of the many reserves owned or managed by ARC. We often work in areas such as Hankley Common and the ARC-owned Witley Common, both of which lie within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as some of the largest remaining heathlands in

Surrey.

In December, one of the pine-removal tasks offered volunteers the chance to not only pick but cut down their very own Christmas tree! All while supporting vital habitat management for rare reptile species. One week in January this year, we were given a slightly different task –digging a trench along a road boundary to prevent car-based toad fatalities. Across from this road is a locally-important toad breeding pond; this trench boundary allows the local ‘toad patrols’ to easily locate and collect any migrating toads. This proved to be successful last year.

As an ecological consultant volunteering for ARC, it has been amazing interacting with wildlife conservation managers to understand how they work towards supporting wildlife. This has provided insights into practical habitat management for reptiles, which will help me to design and implement effective mitigation and enhancement measures for client’s projects in the future. For wildlife charities, it’s always beneficial to have extra volunteers, especially those with existing ecological knowledge.

Volunteering has provided me with key experiences to take forward into my career. It also provides the opportunity to engage in additional and more varied fieldwork, which benefits both physical and mental health during the winter. For aspiring ecologists, volunteering with wildlife groups is excellent for improving surveying skills and building a strong understanding of protected species –both of which are vital for pursuing a career in consultancy.

In the Field

An increase in demands on SSSI’s

By Chris Dresh - Senior Dorset Field Officer

ARC reserves are nearly all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and with this comes a high level of legal restrictions for site visitors as well as obligations on us as landowners and managers.

During the lock-down period we have seen an unprecedented increase in public recreation at an incredibly sensitive time for the endangered species that call these reserves their home. We have witnessed huge increases in dogs off leads running through sensitive habitats, mountain bikers and cyclists not sticking to designated bridleways, overnight camping, disposable barbecues (the cause of the recent large scale Wareham forest fire), camp fires, litter and vandalism. All of these things are damaging and in many cases illegal on a SSSI. Dealing with all of these issues has put a lot of pressure on our wardens and exposed them to unnecessary risk.

We know our regular readers and followers will be upset to hear that these things are happening, especially at a time when we want to protect and enjoy nature and their surroundings to help us through the lockdown period. We encourage you to help look after your protected spaces by reporting any antisocial behaviour or illegal activity to the police and land managers.

The following guidelines should always be adhered to:

Follow all site signage. It is there to protect visitors, wildlife and the habitat. Dogs should be kept on leads and stick to main paths to protect nesting birds. There should be no fires of any kind! If you see a fire or suspect a possible fire dial 999. A quick response could help save valuable habitat and protect local homes and lives. Cycling is only permitted on statutory bridleways. No overnight camping.

Photo: A camp found on an ARC SSSI in Dorset © ARC

ARC Volunteers in the Spotlight

A look at some of ARC’s volunteers and their invaluable contributions. Harry Clarke

Started volunteering with ARC: July 2015 Best site for butterflies: Hankley Common

During winter scrub clearance tasks, Harry is the Weald Tuesday group’s fire master, keeping the bonfire going by loading the piles of pines cut and stacked by the other volunteers. In the summer he is always keen to lend a hand with any infrastructure work we do from installing fencing to gates to information posts.

In addition to volunteering with ARC, Harry devotes a lot of his time to butterfly conservation. He is the County butterfly recorder for Surrey and helps manage Butterfly Conservation’s Oaken Wood site.

There can be a lot of potential crossover in managing habitats for reptiles and for butterflies so we have carried out joint work parties and set up tin transects at Oaken wood which supports populations of Adder, Grass snake and all the widespread amphibians. Harry also carries out Silver Studded Blue surveys on a number of ARC’s Surrey heathland sites and the data he collates helps us to manage our sites for all the wildlife that depend on them.