Summer conservation workdays at High House Waste focus on controlling bracken, which grows extremely quickly and can smother archaeology and out-compete other native plants. Bracken grows up to 3m tall, forming dense stands which block out light to other plants, reducing overall biodiversity. Areas of bracken, as part of a mosaic of habitat, are valuable to small mammals and invertebrates and essential for the breeding cycle of Fritillary butterflies, but it is important that this plant is not allowed to take over an area. Unchecked, it can increase its coverage by 3% a year, which would be detrimental to plants and animals which require a variety of foodplants and open moorland.
At High House Waste, our Conservation volunteers use both hand tools and strimmers to break and cut down the bracken. Breaking the main stem is just as effective as a clear cut, as the upper section of the plant above the break dies off and the bracken is forced to use up food reserves in its underground root systems to regrow. Bashing back the bracken at least twice, over the course of its main growing season, can significantly deplete its stored sugars and mean that the plant returns with less vigour next year. Shrinking the size of a bracken stand, or completely removing it from an area, is the culmination of years of work.
It’s important to keep up this regime on and around the remains of the Medieval Farmstead at High House Waste, as there are significant remains of field systems which tell the important story of how people lived and worked on Dartmoor in the past. If not managed, the extensive roots systems of bracken can grow into the underground archaeology and split stone apart, removing the opportunity for future study. A full coverage of bracken would also mean that no one is able to access the archaeology, missing out on interacting with this physical stamp of human history on the landscape.
As well as controlling the bracken, volunteers spent some time on maintenance of tree guards, which have been installed to protect naturally seeded young trees from deer. In between working hard in the morning and afternoon, our Conservation Volunteers stopped for a well earned lunch break in the shade of the trees. For this workday, they were joined by DPA Artist in Residence, Erica Luke, who will be completing eight onsite visits as part of the ‘Working the Land, Drawing the Landscape’ project, which will culminate in the creation of four large scale artworks and two exhibitions, one in Dartmoor and one in Plymouth.
Erica said: ‘My second session as artist in residence with the DPA took me to High House Waste, where they run monthly volunteer conservation work days. After a long walk up to the site, we pulled out and bashed bracken around the remnants of a medieval farmstead. Others strimmed paths clear and did some maintenance around the tree guards which protect the young oak trees from deer and cattle. It was really interesting to hear about the history of the site and get some info about various flora and fauna we came across from DPA’s ecologist Albert. We had our packed lunch under the shelter of an oak tree, and were grateful for the shade as it was very hot!’
Conservation workdays at High House Waste run throughout the year and our friendly team of volunteers are always delighted to meet new people. Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet like-minded people and get exercise out in nature, as well as having a positive impact for Dartmoor. Find a full list of upcoming workdays on our website.
Images: Erica Luke