Cothill Fen - Saturday 8th March 2025

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 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Julio and Henry

It was a bright, sunny day and very warm for March when we met in the car park. We made our way to the board walk on the far side of the fen, where Steph from Natural England briefed us on the tasks.

The entrance gate




The Fen




Steph gives us our instructions



There was scything of  the grass to do, raking and carrying the grass to the causeways and to repair and build up the "fish scales" at the edge of the fen. These are scallop shapes at the edge of the fen, which trap the water to make shallower pools. There was also alder at the edge of the wood, which needed to be cut back to prevent it from encroaching on the fen.
So we set to work.

Carolyn raking




 
Susan pitchforking



 
Helen and Henry carrying a load




Steph and Kevin raking on to the fish scales



When it was time for tea break, we sat on the edge of the board walk enjoying the warm sunshine.

Tea break - Kevin, Carolyn, Jan and Steph





One of the tasks after the break was to trim the alder branches so they could be laid on top of the fish scales.

Eleanor trimming branches




Here are some photos of the wildlife we saw:

A frog




A moorhen




A fieldmouse nest from last year





A newt



So you can see that the fen is an important habitat which supports supports a large variety of wildlife and we really enjoy working there.

The fen at the end of the morning


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