Why racecourses are good for the Lake District’s wildlife

August 2010: Racecourses such as Aintree, Haydock, Cartmel and Bangor use thousands of bundles of birch every year in their fences. This birch is supplied to them after being harvested by hand at the Forestry Commission's site at Grizedale - and the arrangement is proving mutually beneficial.

Cutting down the birch from areas of the forest has conservation and amenity benefits by creating glades and open areas. These areas improve the habitat for a wide variety of species, including birds such as willow warblers, black caps and chiff chaffs. Insects, bats, ringlet butterfly, lizards and plants such as primrose also benefit from more sunlight being able to reach the forest floor after the birch has been removed.

Mark Shaw from Aintree firm Landcare removes the birch from Grizedale for free. He cuts birch trees that are around 6ft high. Ten birch stems make a bundle and 380 bundles are needed to build one fence at Aintree Racecourse, which contains eight fences. So for their October meeting they will use more than 3,000 bundles of birch from Grizedale.

Difficult to find birch of the quality needed
Mr Shaw said: 'It is very difficult to find birch that is of the quality needed for racecourse fences. However, Grizedale has a lot of birch which needs to come out for wildlife conservation reasons. This is great because it works both ways as we can supply fences sustainably for race days and we are helping wildlife at the same time. Birch rapidly takes over an area so when you clear it away it opens that up for a few years for other life to come through.'

Aintree Racecourse, in Liverpool, can use up to 5,000 bundles a year and Haydock, near Warrington, uses 4,000.

Good for the environment - and good for the bottom line, too
Mr Shaw also supplies Aintree with material from Grizedale for their fences for the Grand National. However, the material for the Grand National fences
is made up of waste material from forestry harvesting and is therefore gathered in a completely different way.

Nigel Williams, Forestry Commission beat forester at Grizedale, said: ‘We have got quite a good supply of birch that can be used for fences at racecourses. There are environmental benefits to the birch being cut down as it really helps to improve the habitat for different species of wildlife. We used to do this ourselves but it was very expensive for us to do as it cost around £800 to clear a hectare.

‘We have around 20 hectares of birch in Grizedale, and at other woodland areas in Cumbria, and so this is saving quite a lot of money.'

Great example of a sustainable forest product
This is the first year that Mr Shaw has been collecting birch for jumps at Grizedale. He currently harvests around five hectares of birch a year but he is hoping to be able to expand the number of racecourses he supplies.

Graeme Prest, Forestry Commission area manager for North West England, said: ‘This is a great example of how the Forestry Commission can work in partnership with small businesses to help supply a sustainable forest product from Grizedale. The forests managed by the Forestry Commission in the North West are home to some amazing wildlife, including woodland birds, butterflies, red squirrels, ospreys and now even red kites; and we are dedicated to their conservation.'