Our team have been hard at work on the Harpenden Road/Townsend Drive side of the heath. Laurels have been cleared, creating more light into the undergrowth. A giant lump of flint was obstructing one of the paths. The team put in a mighty effort and managed to dig it up.
In the process, interesting fun-guys uncovered some interesting Fungi. The orange coloured fungi may be a rare fungus called Sarcoscypha austriaca or it could be a more common fungus called Aleuria aurantia common name is Orange peel fungus.
The British Isles are host to many hundreds of wild, foreign plants, ‘invasive aliens’, introduced mostly by human action. The more aggressive are termed ‘High-impact Aliens’. Examples are Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, Giant Hogweed, Pygmyweed, Rhododendron and Laurel.
Bernards Heath proper has had two (connected) occurrences of Japanese Knotweed in the 21st century, the last in 2016. The Friends dealt with it on the second occasion, and we wait to see if success was absolute.
Rhododendron, a native of Turkey and S-W Spain and Laurel, from S-E Europe, are similar in that (in this country) they eventually monopolise the under-storey of woodland to the exclusion of all other flora and thus all animal and bird life. The woodland floor becomes a sterile monoculture.
Since the end of brick-making on the Heath at the beginning of the 20th century, Nature has reclaimed most of that ‘brownfield’ land and it is now classified as Secondary Woodland i.e. not Ancient Woodland. Fortunately, native tree species have made good claim to the available space and aliens are not dominating so far, although it could be argued that sycamore is less than welcome as it is not a true native.
We are thankful that Rhododendron is not in evidence on the Heath and that Laurel, while present, is in what we judge to be manageable amounts. The one, notable occurrence of Laurel on the E side of Harpenden Road, against the S end of the fire station site, has been successfully eliminated within recent times.
Laurel is thus to be found principally on the W side of Harpenden Road and we have commenced a campaign to deal with it. The procedure with the larger thickets will be to cut down to ground level and then monitor in successive years, lopping-off re-growth as it appears. This procedure worked well by the fire station and the stumps gave up re-growth surprisingly readily. Grubbing-out would be difficult amongst tree roots.
Smaller bushes can be ‘weeded’ out and then monitored for any re-growth. Self-set new growth, originating with seed from outside BH will have to be continually watched-out for, but is easily removed when very young.
We are not able to engage in Laurel control during the Nesting Close Season, from the beginning of March to the end of August.
Many thanks to all volunteers who turned out on Saturday to help spruce up Bernards Heath, Beech Bottom Dyke, and the Sandridge Road Wastes. On a bright sunny morning, there were plenty of litter pickers out keeping our community clean.
The FoBH team also conducted maintenance on the Sandridge Road Wastes. They were clearing the ‘whips’ ( small secondary shoots) from the base of trees. This helps to keep the trees healthy and the Wastes looking good.
Another activity conducted by the FoBH volunteers with the support of our members. Find out more about our activities here: https://bernardsheath.org/?page_id=585
Regular users of the lower field will have noticed that the bog in the south eastern corner continued to grow this summer despite months of record low rainfall. FoBH took it upon themselves to conduct a water test in an attempt to identify the source of the water.
The results have been reassuring. The water is remarkably clean, with good ratings for inland water. This rules out the feared possibility of a burst waste pipe. Affinity were contacted regarding water pipe leaks in the area, but maintained there are none. Another mystery then, what is the source of this water if rainfall and burst pipes can be ruled out?
An old well on the heath?
FoBH member, Mandy, found a map from 1965 which shows an old well in that corner of the heath. This implies the source is a natural spring. Can anyone else assist with this mystery, please?
A great example of how your membership looks after our green spaces.
The WWII water tank near the old fire station was vandalised over the summer. Sadly, two fine oaks in a heath clearing nearby were also graffitied with lightening bolts over the summer.
Both of these have now been cleaned by FoBH volunteers. Huge thanks to our local members looking out for their local space. As you can see from the pictures below, the work took extensive scrubbing!
Plenty of activity on Bernards Heath as the flora and fauna wake following a long winter. The Friends planted another oak tree as part of extremely long-term planning! A young hedgehog was spotted out and about, and keep an eye out for bluebells in April.
Here are some of the lovely images captured by our spotters, please share your sightings below!
Members of the Friends plant an oak sapling for future heath users to enjoy.A wood anemone blooming in early springA young hedgehog spotted out and about.
Many thanks to all those who turned out to celebrate on the 12th of May. The weather was gorgeous, and hundreds of families enjoyed the organised activities, including the treasure hunt.
Please sign up to news & updates about your local heath, and help us to conserve our green spaces. Join before 5pm on Saturday 18th May 2024 & be in to win a bottle of Prosecco
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