The idea was to have a close look at the work the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust has been doing over the last decade to restore Scilly’s precious coastal wildlife sites, to see what has worked, what could be improved and how best to let people know just why Scilly’s nature needs looking after.
The specialists who joined Wildlife Trust staff included: Isabel Alonso, Natural England’s National Heathland Specialist, Jules Webber, Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship and Site of Special Scientific Interest advisor for Scilly, Ray Lawman, Site Manager of Lizard National Nature Reserve, Rosemary Parslow the Botanical Society of the British Isles Vice County Recorder for Scilly, Mark Spencer from the Department of Botany at the Natural History Museum. During their visit, the specialists also met people from Scilly who have a keen interest in how the coastal lands are managed.
We went to Porth Hellick Down and then Peninnis Head on St Mary’s. These are just two of the many sites where the Trust has used traditional land management methods such as burning, cutting and rolling vegetation, and cattle grazing to help restore areas of heather and coastal grassland. This restoration benefits threatened wildlife, reveals nationally important archaeological features and improves people’s access to and enjoyment of the sites.
Rosemary, Ray and Mark, who have been visiting Scilly for decades, commented how over the years they have seen areas of Scilly’s heathland and maritime grassland and their special features being lost to gorse, bracken and bramble because they have fallen out of active use. These species have spread and have enveloped the heathland and grassland, crowding out the less vigorous species typical of these habitats. They were also concerned that non-native plants introduced to the Islands from overseas, such as pittosporum and hottentot fig are growing very successfully and now threaten to replace our native plants and the native wildlife they support.
A recurring theme throughout the event was the topic of ‘change and balance’, and how the restoration process actually goes through different stages, changing from one to the next. For instance, standing in a grassy area where the Trust regularly cuts bracken and grazes cattle, superficially it can be difficult to see anything worthwhile that has been achieved because there is not yet large swathes of heather growing on this site, something we ultimately want to recreate. But using their combined botanical expertise Rosemary and Mark quickly produced a list of 30 interesting heathland plants that are growing there. Heath milkwort, with its petals in any colour from white through pink to deep blue, little yellow star-like flowers of tormentil or the esoteric western clover were all recorded. They were able to explain how these actively managed areas contain important plant communities and provide valuable habitat whilst they are transitioning to mature heathland.
Scilly is constantly changing, and no part of Scilly remains unchanged by the presence of people. With or without our activity, Scilly’s coastal wild areas will continue to change. I often wonder what my ancestors, who lived in Scilly, would think if they could see these areas now looking so different from how they were in their day.
We discussed alternative methods for heathland restoration which are commonly used elsewhere and could speed up the restoration, but that the Trust does not use at the moment. Some of these are quite intensive, such as ‘soil scarification’ which is implemented to quickly reduce the nutrients in the soil. This makes it easier for heather to grow because it prevents plants that grow vigorously in richer soils, such as bracken and bramble, from dominating. The process involves removing large quantities of soil and decaying plant material to reduce the nutrients available, burying the top layer of soil underneath less nutrient-rich soils found lower down, then cutting and spreading heather to reintroduce heather seeds, then waiting for it to establish and grow. Because this process it is essentially stripping a large area of top soil away from the land it is very dramatic in terms of how it looks, at least until the heather is fully established. For this reason it was agreed this method is not appropriate for Scilly at this time, because the beauty of the landscape is very important to many people who live in and visit Scilly.
We discussed how our current approaches of traditional cutting, burning and grazing can also appear very dramatic at times, but it was agreed they are actually the most low-key and appropriate approach to use in Scilly when compared to other options such as soil scarification.
The event was a wonderful chance for the Wildlife Trust, the specialists and different people who live on Scilly who all care so much about the Islands, its wildlife, its archaeology and its beauty to discuss how the Trust are managing the land, and importantly, why it’s being done.
It was great to hear a range of views and experiences of Scilly’s coastal land; the excitement from discovering new flowers where previously dense bracken covered the ground; the enjoyment of returning to a place year after year that brings great happiness, being thrilled by the site of a dung beetle enjoying a meal; enjoying walking a land that feels so wild; wondering at a rare lichen that only grows on waved heath; concerns about how cutting and rolling can affect the natural look of the place, enjoying the vibrant yellow colour and coconut smell of the gorse, listening to the parachuting song flight of meadow pipits which have returned to breed; the desire to ensure all footpaths are accessible when grazing is taking place; marvelling at a new archaeological feature that has been revealed. The passion we all have for Scilly is wonderful, and is what makes Scilly so special.
The scale of the work the Trust has undertaken was also discussed. Ecological systems function on a large scale and habitats need to be varied but connected, which is why it is better to manage large areas which are linked, and not just concentrate efforts at isolated locations. Given the limited resources and other constraints the specialists concluded that very significant habitat restoration is being achieved.
From our discussions, we realised how important it is to share with locals and visitors alike the value of Scilly’s wildlife and archaeology and how looking after them is great for our well-being. How they rely on our actions, how they are both fragile yet robust, and how habitats change constantly although subtly at speeds difficult to detect. How we are working within time-scales that may span generations, and looking after these habitats will be a constant endeavour. But ultimately we are investing in Scilly’s future for people’s enjoyment of the special wildlife we are so fortunate to have here.
Porth Hellick Down from Water Rocks in 1998, showing a near blanket spread of bracken.
Porth Hellick Down from Water Rocks in 2011, showing how the Trust’s management of bracken has reduced it, allowing less vigorous plants to grow improving the number of species on the site and opening the area up so people’s access is improved.
