Restoration diary – Nov-Jan

Last year work started on turning the old QPA restoration award-winning Hanson sand and gravel operation at Middleton Hall near Tamworth, Staffordshire into the largest nature reserve in the Midlands. The £1.3million deal is spearheaded by the RSPB and is part of a growing drive among conservation bodies to forge closer links with quarry firms. MQR seeks to support such partnerships as a major benefit to both the industry and to the flora and fauna of the UK. In light of this we will be following the progress of the site in a diary penned by project manager Nick Martin as Middleton evolves from partly restored land to full-blown nature reserve.

Introduction from RSPB conservation director Mark Avery
What is happening at Middleton Hall is both exciting and inspiring. The transformation of this former Hanson quarry into 170hectares of prime wetland will create a fantastic wildlife site and visitor attraction in the heart of the Midlands. It is also an example of the amazing potential for habitat creation locked up in the UK’s mineral sites.

Targets for habitat creation are included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the UK Government’s commitment to biodiversity. Our study found that by focusing effort on just 412 sites within 1km of existing habitat, targets for nine priority habitats could be met or exceeded, including lowland heathland, wet reedbeds and grazing marsh.

The RSPB has a long history of creating semi-natural habitats, often on post-industrial land. Some of our most beautiful nature reserves are former mineral sites. Such places benefit not only wildlife, but also local communities, providing attractive green space where they can meet friends and family, take a gentle stroll, and be surrounded by nature.

Using local green space in this way means people improve both their physical and mental wellbeing. New nature reserves also provide jobs and attract visitors, supporting and generating economic activity within local communities.

Moreover, creating priority wildlife habitats allows us to redress historical habitat loss. It is exciting to be able to put something back – to help turn the tide of habitat destruction.

By increasing the area of priority habitats, we can help ensure the plants and animals that depend on them can expand in range and population. And in an increasingly uncertain world, where wildlife is under pressure from climate change and changing land-uses, creating habitat can make species more resilient, increasing the chances of future generations enjoying a country rich in biodiversity.

Many minerals operators have already risen to the challenge and there are many examples of good practice. Nevertheless, our study shows there is a great deal of potential left untapped.

Here is an opportunity for a major industry and the planning system to work together with nature conservation organisations to provide vast public good by making this vision a reality. I hope the unfolding story of Middleton’s transformation will serve as an inspiring example of what is possible.


Restoration diaries

November
With the fallout from the summer floods still backing up extraction work around the quarry, the restoration has fallen behind on the new reserve.

A site meeting with Hanson’s architect though was productive and gave an opportunity for some fresh thinking.

The benefit of this rethink for me is that I now have much greater appreciation of the site and conditions. The greatest revelation is that while the river level fluctuates hugely, the adjacent lakes in the flood plain drain quickly so any level changes are brief.

I expected large discrepancies between summer and winter levels but have not seen them. To really get the full picture though gauge boards need to be installed so that we can plot the movement of the water following inundation.

This month has also seen the commissioning of a topographical survey of the site.

Using this data uploaded into recently acquired LSS digital terrain modelling software we should be able to carefully plan footpath routes that are above flood level while creating areas of grazing that will be periodically flooded.

This will create the right nesting and feeding conditions for lapwing, redshank and snipe all of which have suffered drastic declines across the region over the last few decades.

December
After a large volunteer drive and recruitment effort in the Autumn, work parties have taken off with a vengeance.

Over twenty willing locals are turning out twice a month for practical tasks on the reserve. Primarily the focus has been on removal of the willow and birch scrub that has grown up around the wetlands. This is important for creating the open grassland aspect that breeding waders require and the clear flight paths to the water bodies necessary for wintering and breeding wildfowl.

Being such a rampant and successful wetland coloniser, willow in particular is a difficult species to tackle. Cut plants will re-grow with multiple stems and can reach over two meters in height in a single year.

A lesson for the future for quarry firms looking at restoration schemes to become nature habitats would be to introduce grazing or mowing as soon as re-landscaping is complete. This would have reduced the large task that now befalls us to cut, burn and treat many hundreds of willow stems. Some of the larger stools will need mechanical removal also to reduce their interference with future mowing or landscaping.

January
The turn of the year has brought the breeding season into sharp focus again and added a sense of urgency to plans. Working around wildlife sensitive areas requires careful time planning. The breeding season for many species can be quite long and begin much earlier than people might imagine.

Herons for example will be nest building in January and on eggs in February in many cases. At the other end of the scale, pond dredging in late summer could have a devastating impact on dragonflies and amphibians. So for many nature reserve staff the spring is a time when wellies and spades are swapped for clipboards and binoculars and we focus on recording what is using the site.

For me though, my spring will be spent looking at the topographical data and preparing specification and tender documents for some of the new re-profiling work we are planning for some of the older previously restored areas.

Hopefully we will then have contractors ready to go when the last of the breeding birds have fledged and can move to less disturbed areas in late July or August.