Two Pines Fen, Frilford Heath Golf Course - 21, 24, 25 and 27 March 2025

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Blog by Sally, photos by Denis, Michele and Sally

Over the course of 4 weekdays, a total of 11 volunteers returned to Two Pines Fen (TPF) on Frilford Heath Golf Course to carry out the spring cut and rake, which we can only safely do during the week when there are fewer golfers about as the fen is bounded by two courses.  TPF is a calcareous fen, which occurs when spring water percolates through a layer of chalk where it picks up calcium carbonate which makes the water (and thereby the peat) slightly alkaline.  A number of plants and insects favour these conditions, but because this is such a rare habitat the flora and fauna are also similarly rare.  This particular fen is home to cotton grass, rare sedges and rushes and several species of orchid.  For once, the weather gods were on our side and we enjoyed fine weather.

We dropped a lot of cut vegetation into the stream (which is acting as a ditch, draining the fen) to build up the layer of peat at the bottom.  We also made lots of piles for the Green Keepers to collect at a later date.

A number of golfers stopped to ask what we were doing and why and thanked us for our efforts.  We found heaps of golf balls and a couple of golfers actually were able to claim their own balls back!

Two Pines Fen at the start on 21 March

Rosie scything on the Green Course side

We found lots of old vole nests although the left looks more like a large harvest mouse nest .... Rosie and David show them off

All hands on deck - Denis and Kathy scything and Simon digging out scrub

A wasp spider's nest - we found lots of these left them intact ready for the young to hatch

After two days' scything and raking

Day 3 action - the heaps of cut vegetation near the edge of the Fen got larger

To protect the wispy Black Bog Rush, Eleanor used shears to cut the tall vegetation around it.  
The orange tape is Natural England approved and marks the location of the tufts of Black Bog Rush.

Day 4 - Everything to play for!  David raking up after Rich

Jim fine scything for a rare sedge, which does not like to be out-competed!

Jim and Rich on the final scramble to rake up everything before leaving site

Day 4 - At the end of the day

The Green Side looking a lot clearer now

Two Pines Fen in all its glory at the end of Day 4

We left the site hoping that we had done a good enough job to give the rare fen flora a good chance to thrive and hope there's be a splendid display of orchids in late spring/early summer.



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