Management Work at Buxton Heath
Historically, heathlands and wetlands were kept open by man and his livestock. In the case of Buxton Heath, villagers collected firewood, and cut poles for fences. Many in the village of Hevingham worked as 'broom squires', making hundreds of besom brooms, using large quantities of birch brash, and also bundles of bramble which were used to tie the brushes onto the handles. Villagers would also have brought their cattle, horses, sheep and goats to graze in the mire. All of these activities served to keep the heathland and mire areas open.
Since all of these traditional activities ceased, Buxton Heath, like most other heathland and wetland sites, started to revert to woodland. If this had been allowed to run its course, the dry heath and the majority of its species would have died out. The mire would eventually have 'scrubbed up' so much that water levels would have dropped and all the wetland plants perished. To prevent the loss of these very special habitats, regular clearance work must be undertaken.
The two main types of management work undertaken at Buxton Heath are the clearance of invasive scrub from various parts of the site, and the mowing, and removal, of coarse vegetation from the valley mire. Some of this work is done by the Buxton Heath Wildlife Group, but the larger operations are dealt with by contractors and also Norfolk Wildlife Trust staff. Most of the work is funded by the government's nature agency, Natural England.
In addition to the chainsaws, tractors, forage harvestors, and other heavy plant equipment employed by the contractors, the site is also managed in a more subtle way. In the mid 90s, sheep grazing was introduced to Buxton Heath, and a few years later, cattle were used for the first time. Both animal types have their own way of grazing, and we found that they complimented each other. In the early days of the sheep grazing, we employed portable electric fencing, but before the cattle could be used, the site perimeter had to be sealed with a heavy-duty stock-proof fence, complete with gates and cattle grids.
The selection of photographs below gives an idea of the different management methods used to maintain Buxton Heath SSSI.
Since all of these traditional activities ceased, Buxton Heath, like most other heathland and wetland sites, started to revert to woodland. If this had been allowed to run its course, the dry heath and the majority of its species would have died out. The mire would eventually have 'scrubbed up' so much that water levels would have dropped and all the wetland plants perished. To prevent the loss of these very special habitats, regular clearance work must be undertaken.
The two main types of management work undertaken at Buxton Heath are the clearance of invasive scrub from various parts of the site, and the mowing, and removal, of coarse vegetation from the valley mire. Some of this work is done by the Buxton Heath Wildlife Group, but the larger operations are dealt with by contractors and also Norfolk Wildlife Trust staff. Most of the work is funded by the government's nature agency, Natural England.
In addition to the chainsaws, tractors, forage harvestors, and other heavy plant equipment employed by the contractors, the site is also managed in a more subtle way. In the mid 90s, sheep grazing was introduced to Buxton Heath, and a few years later, cattle were used for the first time. Both animal types have their own way of grazing, and we found that they complimented each other. In the early days of the sheep grazing, we employed portable electric fencing, but before the cattle could be used, the site perimeter had to be sealed with a heavy-duty stock-proof fence, complete with gates and cattle grids.
The selection of photographs below gives an idea of the different management methods used to maintain Buxton Heath SSSI.