Flagship woodland reserve gets £17,210 to remove trees

Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) has this month begun a major programme of woodland habitat management at its popular Halsdon nature reserve near Dolton in North Devon.

Halsdon nature reserve is a 57 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest with mixed deciduous river valley woodland, riverside meadows, marsh and a 2.4km length of the River Torridge. The woodland is predominantly oak with a broad range of other species and rare trees such as the Devon whitebeam and wild service tree.

The site has been owned by Devon Wildlife Trust  since 1983 but due to funding constraints only limited woodland management work has been carried out since then. This work is the 1st year of an ambitious ten year management plan.

The new series of restoration works is set to dramatically improve the situation and has been supported by a grant of £17,210 from Natural England through Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund along with the English Woodland Grant Scheme. The work will focus on improving access around the site for contractors and visitors alike, removal of some of the beech trees and holly which are shading out much of the ground flora and thinning of the oak canopy.

Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund
Devon Wildlife Trust's Land Management Manager Matt Boydell said: ‘It is great to have the support from Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund for this project. We have been wanting to get to grips with this reserve for a long time but we have lacked the funding needed to really get on top of the problem. The dense canopy has been hampering the growth of ground flora such as the bluebell which should be thriving on the slopes of the site.

Although it might look quite a drastic change initially, given a few years the work will make a real and noticeable difference to the reserve for both people and wildlife.'

The support also includes funding for tools and training of volunteers to help them manage the site over the coming years. Matt added: "It's all very well doing all this work one year but without the support of our volunteer wardens and other keen volunteers all the work could be in vain. We hope with the new 10 year management plan now in place and extra support for our volunteers we can maintain and improve the wildlife diversity of Halsdon."

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