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Extra funding could be used for new infrastructure on sites such as Dunsdon to ensur...
Never Mind the Tussocks (Here's the Wildlife)
Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
Aim
Help rare wildlife to flourish at a dozen of Devon's most stunning nature reserves featuring a special habitat found hardly anywhere else
Never Mind the Tussocks (Here’s the Wildlife)
Orchids, butterflies, dragonflies and barn owls all thrive in a Devon habitat whose long grasses might lead it to be overlooked. But never mind the tussocks, here’s the wildlife!
These special sites need traditional management to be at their best for wildflowers and wild creatures – but with rising costs this year, DWT needs to raise at least £5,000 from this crowdfunder to help keep thirteen nature reserves in prime condition for wildlife.
At this time of year, the wet, tussocky pastures of northern Devon might not look spectacular. But they are vitally important havens for rare wildflowers, for threatened butterflies and other insects, for barn owls and willow tits, reptiles and small mammals. Nature conservationists know this habitat as Culm grassland and the only areas of England where it can be found are in Devon and Cornwall.
With 90% of wildflower-rich Culm grassland lost from northern Devon during the 20th century, Devon Wildlife Trust has worked for more than 20 years to protect what remains and help landowners to bring back the Culm’s diverse wildflowers to their own land. Some of the best remaining Culm grasslands have been purchased by DWT to become stunning nature reserves.
Now, more than one in five Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserves is a Culm grassland site. As a habitat maintained for centuries by traditional agricultural methods, these dozen wildlife havens need active management by DWT’s Nature Reserves staff and volunteers.
Increasing costs in the last year – of tools and equipment, of material for fencing, even of fuel for staff to get to these remote places – mean DWT needs to raise at least £5,000 to be able to carry out habitat management of our thirteen Culm grassland reserves to ensure the habitats can support the widest range of wildlife.
Wildlife of the Culm
A rainbow of wild colour lights up northern Devon’s Culm grasslands from late spring: meadow thistle, ragged robin, heath-spotted orchids and Devil’s-bit scabious are just a handful of the flowering plants in bloom through a long flowering season. These flowers attract scores of pollinating insect species, including marsh fritillary butterflies – one of the ten most endangered animals in Europe – and the rare narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth.
Those tussocks of long grasses and rushes provide cover for mice and voles; that means barn owls and kestrels find food on these sites too. The wettest Culm grasslands support good populations of dragonflies and damselflies, while the long grasses are home to grasshopper warblers.
Natural solutions for human problems
Healthy Culm grassland also performs vital functions in the landscape, of holding water after heavy rain and storing carbon. Research carried out by University of Exeter on DWT nature reserves demonstrates that Culm grassland stores five times as much water as intensively managed farmland in the county, helping to reduce the risk of flooding downstream. And it’s not just the grasses, flowers and other plants holding higher amounts of carbon than in dryer, species-poor fields - the top soils beneath Culm grassland sites store twice as much carbon as the soils of intensively farmed land.
A traditional Devon landscape
For centuries the traditionally-farmed landscape of northern Devon included large areas of Culm grassland, where small herds of cattle grazed in spring and summer and the top layer of vegetation was ‘swaled’ (burned) in winter to promote fresh growth of grasses and plants. With changes to farming methods and machinery, and government grants to drain wetter land or plant conifers, most of Devon’s Culm grassland was lost in the 20th century.
DWT’s dozen Culm grassland reserves are managed to mimic the centuries-long practices that allowed these wet, tussocky pastures to support such a wide range of flowering plants, insects and other wildlife. Managing these reserves involves moving small numbers of cattle to different sites for light grazing of the sward on each reserve, maintaining fencing to keep grazing animals in the right areas, winter scrub clearance to stop willow and gorse from smothering the delicate wildflowers, plus maintenance of hedges, ditches and ponds.
Donating to help manage Culm grassland nature reserves doesn’t only benefit the wildlife of the wet, tussocky pastures. Hedges on these sites can support up to two thousand species when well-managed. Hosting wood white butterflies and local specialities like the Devon whitebeam tree, it’s also the wet conditions of Culm sites that provide the perfect home for willow tits. This increasingly rare bird creates space for its nests by making holes in soft, rotting wood at the base of trees.
You can help all these wild plants and creatures with a donation today.
Turning donations into the practical work that benefits wildlife
Culm grasslands, and their associated hedges and freshwater habitats, have evolved over centuries of the landscape being shaped by humans and their grazing animals. To maintain these habitats in prime condition for the widest range of plants and animals, we need to carry out management tasks on DWT’s Culm grassland nature reserves.
Your donation to this Crowdfunder will allow DWT to cover the increased costs this year of:
• Managing around 25 hectares (62 acres) of scrub on several Culm reserves – rather than clear scrub we plan to create openings in this dense habitat so there are areas where wildflowers can flourish to attract pollinators, while leaving some scrub in place as shelter for birds and small mammals
• Hedge-laying – we need to ‘steep’ (the Devon word for laying a hedge) around 100 metres of hedges on Culm sites to ensure they are in the best condition for many of the 2,000 or so species of plants and animals that can be supported by a well-managed Devon hedge
• Invasive species control – we need to clear Himalayan balsam from DWT’s two Culm nature reserves on the banks of the River Torridge to ensure this non-native plant doesn’t crowd out the rare flowers that should be flourishing on these sites
• Ditch clearing – former agricultural land often includes ditches which can be valuable freshwater habitats – we need to carry out ditch clearing at Meresfelle nature reserve to ensure some of the water is not covered by vegetation to benefit dragonflies and damselflies
• Repairing and replacing fences, gates and water troughs – Culm grasslands are lightly grazed to provide the prime conditions for a diverse range of wildflowers. The infrastructure to support grazing on most of our Culm reserves requires maintenance and replacement
• Butterfly and moth surveys – summer surveys of marsh fritillary butterflies and other invertebrates are essential for demonstrating whether current habitat management is working or needs to be amended
Culm stars – six awesome animals and plants your donation will help
Marsh fritillary butterfly
Drainage and ploughing of wet grasslands over the last few decades was a disaster for the marsh fritillary, which saw the sharpest declines of any UK farmland butterfly. The Culm grasslands of Devon and Cornwall are the last English stronghold for this beautiful butterfly. That’s because the food plant for the marsh fritillary caterpillar is Devil’s-bit scabious, which thrives in this wet, tussocky habitat. With your support, we can help the marsh fritillary in two ways: firstly, by carrying out essential surveys to monitor this species by counting caterpillars inside the nest-like webs spun to protect them from predators. And secondly, by managing the encroachment of scrub to maintain the conditions required for lots of flowering Devil’s-bit scabious.
Narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth
Another insect whose life-cycle depends on the Devil’s-bit scabious is this day-flying moth. As striking as other hawk-moths, the 'narrow border' referred to in its name are the dark markings on the edge of the wings. A bumblebee mimic, this moth can be spotted on the wing in June at Culm reserves like Volehouse Moor. It is listed as a Devon Special Species, one of the 100-plus species we have a particular duty to conserve because Devon still has significant populations despite profound losses elsewhere.
Devil’s-bit scabious
Rich in both nectar and pollen, this late-flowering member of the teasel family attracts a wide range of bees, butterflies and moths. Once very common across the northern Devon countryside, Devil’s bit scabious was a victim of the rise of intensive agriculture in the second half of the 20th century. Those remaining Culm grasslands that were not drained or impacted by chemical fertilizer are now the places you are most likely to see this vivid blue flower in abundance. With your support we can keep wildflowers like this thriving on more than a dozen Culm grassland nature reserves.
Devon whitebeam
Found among the hedges of many DWT Culm grassland reserves, this tree is the most representative of several local whitebeam species that can reproduce without their flowers being fertilized, resulting in populations of genetically distinct clones. Though mechanical hedge-flailing has led to a loss of mature Devon whitebeams from the wider landscape, DWT’s Culm grassland nature reserves are still a haven for these Devon trees. Supporting this Crowdfunder will help DWT’s hedge-laying work this year.
Lesser butterfly orchid
The freshness of the green-tinged white petals of this orchid are like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day. But the lesser butterfly orchid was lost from 75% of its recorded range in England during the 20th century. This is partly because the plant needs a particular fungus to be present in the soil for its seeds to germinate successfully and fungi like this are affected by chemical fertilizers. Lesser butterfly orchids are still a regular feature of Culm grasslands like Dunsdon thanks to this site’s traditional grassland management - your donation can support this work at DWT Culm reserves.
Willow tit
Willow tits have declined by a shocking 94% in England in the last 50 years. They live around wet woodland areas, requiring decaying wood where they use their beaks to chip out holes for nesting. In summer they are insect-eaters but their winter diet includes berries and seeds. So a site like Dunsdon, with its damp wooded areas, insect-rich Culm grasslands and traditional Devon hedges offers all the accommodation and catering a willow tit needs. But those grasslands and hedges require active management to be in the best condition for wildlife – and with DWT facing increased costs to carry out this work, we need your help today!
The Culm jewels
Of the thirteen Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserves featuring Culm grassland, here are five where your support of this Crowdfunder will especially help wildlife - and where you can see this quintessential Devon habitat at its best.
Dunsdon - the jewel in the crown
Dunsdon National Nature Reserve is perhaps Devon’s finest example of Culm grassland on land that had been a traditionally-managed farm until it was bought by Devon Wildlife Trust. In 2012, Dunsdon was selected by the-then Prince Charles as Devon’s best wildflower-rich meadow for his Coronation Meadows scheme, celebrating wildflower-rich grasslands that could also be used as ‘donor sites’ where seed could be harvested to help restore wildflower meadows elsewhere. Marsh fritillary is one of 26 butterfly species recorded here while 189 different flowering plants have been spotted. The very rare hazel gloves fungus has also been recorded on a hedgerow hazel in Dunsdon, despite being considered a temperate rainforest species. Located north of Holsworthy, Dunsdon has a 400 metre boardwalk and viewing area so visitors with limited mobility can experience Culm grassland at its best.
Rackenford & Knowstone Moor – the big beast
The largest remaining area of Culm grassland in Devon is a place full of wild plants, bird calls, big skies and far-reaching views. But it also shows the modern world’s impact on wild habitats, as the North Devon Link Road runs straight between Rackenford Moor and Knowstone Moor. Both sides of the reserve can be explored: ragged robin, meadow thistle and heather provide warm summer colour, the air is threaded by marbled white and small pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies and keeled skimmer dragonflies, while woodcock, snipe and grasshopper warblers feed among the tussocks, and red deer are often spotted in autumn. Halfway between Tiverton and South Molton, your gift to this Crowdfunder will help to manage the habitats here.
Speccott Moor – seeds for the future
Until last year, the 60 acres of Speccott Moor was one of Devon’s largest remaining areas of unprotected Culm grassland. Now secured for the future as DWT’s 59th nature reserve, this site near Torrington offers pristine wildlife habitat including scarce plants such as wavy St John’s wort and fen bedstraw, and swathes of Devil’s- bit scabious and meadow thistle. DWT will also be using part of the Moor as a donor site - a source of seed to help re-establish wet meadows elsewhere in Devon. But under Speccott Moor’s previous owner, it took several years of DWT management advice, help with grazing animals and machinery for cutting rushes to improve the site to today's conditions. Your support will ensure Speccott Moor is maintained in this wildlife-rich state. This site doesn’t have public access but is visible from the Tarka Trail and on occasional DWT guided walks, like the Reward for this Crowdfunder.
Volehouse Moor – wildflowers by the river
Two areas of Culm grassland bisected by the River Torridge with wooded areas along the riverbanks, and hedgebanks bordering the meadows, Volehouse Moor is the essence of the traditional northern Devon countryside. An important marsh fritillary site, the reserve is managed with the life cycle of this rare butterfly in mind, which allows many additional species to thrive. The heath-spotted orchids and ragged robin, the dormice and bats, the blackcaps and buzzards will all benefit from your support.
Ash Moor – a brighter future
A landscape in recovery next to the former clay pits of Meeth Quarry, Ash Moor now boasts wildflower-rich Culm grassland and ponds that make it a superb site for dragonflies and damselflies, for swallows and sand martins and for a colony of the rare wood white butterfly. Right next to the Tarka Trail, Ash Moor is perhaps the easiest Culm grassland nature reserve to visit and see the fantastic wildlife habitats your donation will support.
Never Mind the Tussocks
Here’s the wildlife - on a quintessential Devon habitat that needs your support. Please give to our Crowdfunder today to benefit a huge range of wildflowers, insects, birds and other wildlife on more than a dozen stunning DWT nature reserves – thank you!
This project successfully funded on 30th March 2023