Restoring Quarry Grassland
Revisited a site we did last year with Glorious Grasslands to continue restoring a beautiful calcareous site within a former quarry.
I ignored the road closed sign and braved the steep narrow climb up to the farm, slipping wildly in ice along the way. Only to be informed by Chris that there’s a major road about 400 yards away in the other direction.
There were only seven of us who braved the weather today, and we walked the half mile or so track to the site. Anna’s truck got stuck here last March, but no chance of that today with the hard ground.
The first thing we noticed was the bank area restored last year was now covered in grass. This was a real tangle of scrub and bramble which took all day to remove.
It’s always a joy to see positive results from a previous work party.
We focussed mainly today on extending the bramble clearance further down the slope and around some standing trees. Two brush cutters today and we managed to get the main parts done before lunch.
It was amazing to see how much we achieved with a small team – lots of potential grassland opened up and the grazing regime in future will keep the bramble back.
I uncovered an old, large fallen trunk under one of the bramble patches. This was cross cut and removed, otherwise the bramble will just grow up around it again.
