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Our work here
18 July 2011
Blean Woods is one of the largest protected woodlands in southern England. For over 1,000 years it was coppiced to provide poles for firewood and fencing, creating a habitat for specialised wildlife such as nightingales. Today the RSPB helps manage the area with other conservation bodies. Habitats include heathland, open glades and mature oak woodland.
A fair coppice
About a third of the reserve (170 ha) consists of coppice, which supports up to 28 breeding pairs of nightingales. To manage this habitat we cut the trees every ten years or so, reducing the dominance of sweet chestnut in favour of wildlife-friendly native species, such as birch and hazel.
Wood work
The mature oak woodland is home to birds such as woodpeckers, and plants such as lily-of-the-valley. We are working to convert some chestnut coppice to oak woodland, while also converting some conifer plantations back to native woodland and removing alien species such as rhododendron. We are extending the heathland for the benefit of breeding nightjars and rare spiders, and mowing open glades and rides for the benefit of butterflies and flowers
Butterfly balance
We are monitoring butterfly numbers along two transects each summer. Our results show that ringlet, meadow brown and gatekeeper are doing well at present, though other species are currently extinct. Most important is the rare heath fritillary, of which the reserve supports ten colonies. Annual mapping of cow-wheat, the food-plant of its caterpillars, helps tell us which areas to manage for this butterfly.
Catering to the community
Blean Woods is an integral part of the local community and receives about 30–50,000 visitors a year, many from surrounding residential areas. We manage a 32 km network of footpaths, using a zoning system to reduce potential conflicts between different types of visitor, and plan to create a new horse-riding route. We also offer guided walks, talks and local exhibitions.
Willing labour
Volunteers carry out much of our practical management work, and help defray the considerable expense of paying contractors for coppicing. We are always working to recruit more volunteers – especially chainsaw operators. Expert volunteers also help with monitoring and census projects.
Funding
We are extremely grateful for financial support from the Forestry Commission, Defra and Natural England towards conservation management at the reserve.