Scrub management at Hedleyhope Fell
Saturday 8th November 2008
We will be joining Durham Wildlife Trust to cut gorse on the eastern Hedleyhope Fell as part of the wider aim to restore this area to heathland (see more below). We'll be meeting outside DSU at 9:25am to be picked up by the minibus at 9:30am, and whisked away to the Fell to tackle the nasty spikey gorse. We'll be leaving the Fell at around 3pm at the latest and returning to Durham by 3.45pm... so you've got plenty of time to start tackling that essay!
BACKGROUND: The absence of grazing on the site has resulted in large areas of gorse and other trees. Cattle and sheep will be grazing soon! We will give them a helping hand by cutting and burning the old gorse. Once a sustainable grazing regime is in place, this will ensure the site is not susceptible to succession (i.e. too many trees and large areas smothered by gorse).
Bring some sensible shoes / boots/ wellies, warm clothes (jeans are chilly, layers are snug), waterproofs, lunch and a drink.
Depending on the weather there will be a bonfire so bring anything that you want to cook, marshmallows, crumpets etc
Below: Gorse is spikey. Wear at least three layers of pants.
