Ratty Returns!

Well with all that's been happening it has been a while since the last post, but we though you might be interested in these finds. Our intrepid Foundation Degree students recently carried out a survey along a local headwater stream of the River Ise and found signs of not one but two European Protected Species!

Alongside fresh otter prints and spraints, water vole footprints were found clearly outlined in fresh silt deposits on the stream side. Both of these species are protected under UK wildlife law and to find both within 10 miles of the College is a marvellous find! Water voles of course feature as the character 'Ratty' within the children's classic 'The Wind in the Willows'.

Pictures courtesy of eagle eyed higher education student, Jamie Gould!

Water vole

Otter

All in a Days Work.....

Under the expert eye of countryside lecturer and keen bee keeper Jonny, further education students have been jumping in at the deep end by donning waders to carry out some wildlife surveys of our farm ponds this week.

Elsewhere, adventure is high on the agenda with second year students undertaking bushcraft skills, firelighting techniques and  creating a unique hedgerow cordial! Students are gaining skills in teamwork and leadership as they battle against the elements and put their survival skills to the test - I'm sure Ray Mears would be proud!

Finally Jonny is able to report that this year saw the first honey harvest at the apiary in Clump Wood. Students harvested an amazing 43 pounds of honey which sold out in 30 minutes! After a mild winter and early spring, colony sizes expanded rapidly and many swarms were seen this season. Our apiary now stands at seven hives and if all hives survive the winter we hope to significantly increase our honey production. 

 

Keeping Countryside Skills Alive!

Although the world has moved on in many ways, our countryside is often managed by using techniques handed down over many generations - the 'traditional craft skills' if you like.

Keeping this tradition alive, subsidiary diploma students have been practising their hedgelaying techniques on the farm with tutor Paul. Using the traditional method of repeated cutting with a billhook to stimulate regrowth in the layered pleacher, they aim to make sure that the hedges are great for wildlife yet also keep the livestock in! 

Extended diploma students have also been using strimmers this week to help manage vegetation which helps keep the grass at different levels, ideal for our resident small mammal population who then provide a wild larder for resident kestrels and barn owls. 

Nice work!

Work starts on the Conifers for Colleges site!

Under the expert instruction of Paul, our intrepid level 2 Agriculture and Countryside students are pictured ready to break the ground for the Conifers for Colleges site fence!

I wonder how many students it takes to put up a straining post? Answers on a postcard please!

Conifers for Colleges National Launch Gathering Force!

With a national launch date of the 5th of November, the Royal Forestry Society were able to confirm that a keynote address will be provided by Ian Gambles, Director of Forestry Commission (England). With students busy working on the design of the plantation and a site identified for the farm, this promises to be an exciting event to put coniferous trees back on the map!

Check back to track our progress before the big event!
 

Such a Fun-gi to be with!

Ok, sorry readers. This terrible pun provides a neat link to the discovering of a notable species of fungus by HE student Lynne Barnett at Kelmarsh Estate, Northamptonshire. Lynne sent the specimen to Dr A. Martyn Ainsworth - a Senior Mycologist at Kew who confirmed her identification as Hericium coralloides with the specimen  now accessioned in the collections at Kew as K(M) 194380. 

Read more about this story at Neil McMahon's (Kelmarsh recorder) website: http://northamptonshirebirding.blogspot.co.uk. 

Did the Harvest Mouse Cross the Road?!

The headline of this article is of course not the beginning of a joke, but rather a serious research question being answered by some PhD research examining wildlife dispersal along ecological networks in our countryside.

By the way, the answer appears to be yes! And for those mathematicians amongst you, the probability of crossing a 4 metre wide gap is 0.09.

The Natural Environment: Use it but Don’t Lose it!

BSc Land Management students were invited guests of the Northamptonshire Local Nature Partnership group at a conference held at the University of Northampton today. Students were treated to a Ministerial address from Lord de Mauley TD – the Parliamentary Under Secretary of the State for Natural Environment Science. Lord de Mauley alongside Jo Lappin from the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership built a case for weaving environmental sustainability into economic and social agendas to enable the Northamptonshire region to prosper. Later speakers emphasised the value the general public associate with the Nene Valley Improvement Area and the exciting Rushden Lakes development, an integrated project involving a private developer and Natural England. 

To learn more about the work of the LNP click here: http://www.nenevalleynia.org/ including information on the Nene Valley festival running from October to November. 

To learn more about our exciting higher education courses in Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management get in touch now!

Return of the Harvest Mouse!

This weekend sees another phase of the conservation project that aims to shed some light on the ecological habitats of that most diminutive and secretive of small mammals - the harvest mouse!

A bespoke enclosure has been prepared in a secret location and micro-chipped animals will be released in stages to see how they disperse through farmland habitats. Of course, to the leyperson this all sounds rather mad - so why are we doing it? 

Well the consensus of opinion amongst ecologists in Britain is that our countryside is broken - woodland, wetland and grassland habitats are small in size and remain poorly connected which puts our native wildlife at risk. Thankfully, tenure of environmental stewardship grants mean that sympathetic land managers and farmers can repair this damage by creating linking 'nodes' (for example, by gapping up or planting new hedges) or enhancing existing habitat 'patches', yet the impact of this land management approach on certain wildlife groups is poorly understood.

So this is where our project comes in!

Check back over the next few weeks to see how our released mammals get on!

Spot the harvest mouse!

Researcher Emily lends a released mouse a helping hand!

Ever so 'Moth'-erly!

Well they always say that life as a research student is always eventful, and in the case of Emma Coulthard this has certainly been the case! Emma joined the countryside team back in 2008 as a part-time lecturer and researcher, and left to write up her PhD thesis a year ago. In thistime she has not only become a qualified teacher and undertaken ecological research that she has presented all round the world, but has also found time to have a daughter!

Her research has focused on studying that most diverse and charismatic group of invertebrates - the moths (or Lepidoptera if you really want to show off!). With guidance from her supervisors - James (from Moulton) and Duncan (from the University) - Emma yesterday negotiated her mock-viva to defend her PhD thesis which is entitled 'Habitat and Landscape-Scale Effects on the Abundance and Diversity of Macro-Moths (Lepidoptera) in Intensive Farmland'.

Emma's work looks at how to optimise biodiversity gain through land management at large spatial scales and has revealed some interesting trends on UK moth species. She is due to submit her thesis in a month and then defend it (academically, not physically!) before the end of the year. 

The countryside and agriculture team would like to wish her the best of luck!

Emma Coulthard, Moulton's moth expert!

The Regeneration of Corby

Undergraduate student Dylan Lewis will be working with Corby Borough Council in a ground-breaking project to better understand the recent green infra-structure improvements to Hazel and Thoroughsale Woods in the centre of Corby. He intends to undertake a public survey to understand how woodland improvement work in the centre of Corby has dividends for the physical and mental well being of local residents.

You can learn more about the work of the 'friends of' group here: http://www.corby.gov.uk/site-page/hazel-and-thoroughsale-woods.

The Green Man of Corby and Thoroughsale Woods

Crayfish are Coming to Moulton!

Fisheries Lecturer Chris Sturdy recently took the long drive to Bristol Zoo to investigate their population of white-clawed crayfish, the UK’s only native species of crayfish.

 This species was classified as globally endangered in 2010, with the risk of becoming extinct in the UK in the next 20-30 years. Population decline is due to their susceptibility to crayfish plague (caused by the fungus Aphanomyces astaci) and to competition from the signal crayfish which are also carriers of the plague.

Bristol Zoo have been pioneering a captive breeding programme to breed and release white-claws into designated Ark sites. Moulton College will be taking on the whole of Bristol Zoo’s 2012 captive bred population to continue the programme and to conduct research on improving animal husbandry and breeding success. 

We hope to work with Bristol Zoo, Bristol Conservation & Science Foundation, the South West Crayfish Partnership, and the Environment Agency to successfully breed and release our only native crayfish.

More on this soon!

From Cambodia to Alderney - A Moulton College Student Journey!

Sometimes a studying a course at Moulton College can lead on to exciting opportunities for travel and working further afield than good old Northamptonshire!

A few weeks ago ex-student Ben Thorne dropped in to share his experiences since completing a BTEC National Diploma a few years ago. Ben is now employed as a Project Director for the Song Saa Foundation based on Koh Rong Island in Sihanouk Province, Cambodia. He spends most of the year leading volunteers in coral reef surveying and teaching diving qualifications, as well as coping with the monsoon rains and venomous spiders and snakes!

Ben picks up the story.....'I work fior an island-based NGO working with the Royal Government of Cambodian Fisheries Administration to implement the country's first Marine Protected Area (MPA). We also capacity build community development projects in our local communities'. 

He adds 'The success of our operation is based on invaluable support from international volunteers - usually recent school and college leavers looking to take a gap year. Volunteers undergo PADI scuba diving training, marine research training, then undertake underwater surveys on the coral reefs around our local archipelago. Data from these surveys helps to create protection zones within the proposed MPA - a valuable and noble way to gain a life-changing experience'.

In other news, BSc Land Management graduate Lois Mayhew is heading over to work for Alderney Wildlife Trust today on the Channel Islands to head up their biological records office. Lois has worked previously on conservation projects in Central America and Asia and elsewhere, and is looking forward to this 'closer to home' challenge!

To learn more about Ben's work, visit: www.songsaafoundation.org / www.songsaa.com

Monsoon clouds over the Archipelago, Cambodia

Visitor Management in the Land of Fire and Ice

Visitor Management in the Land of Fire and Ice

Above – A spectacular view looking east across the Thórsmörk Valley astride the 627 m peak of Valahnukur, Western Iceland. Image: J. Littlemore, July 2014.

An Icelandic Wilderness

With a dramatic and heterogeneous landscape of chillingly cold glacial rivers and secretive waterfalls, imposing glaciers, striking lava fields and the odd volcanic eruption (remember the flight disruption associated with the eruption of the nearby Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010?), the ‘Tolkien-esque’ Thórsmörk Valley in the south-western interior Highlands of Iceland appears to have it all. But there is something else that lurks within the rugged mountains that appears to be threatening the integrity of this unique landscape…….can you guess what it is?

An Idyll under Threat?

With a name translating as ‘Thor's Woods’ by virtue of the thin veil of dwarf birch and willow woodland found cloaking the hidden glacial valleys, Thórsmörk is fast becoming a priority destination on the ‘bucket-list’ for tourists and hikers from all over the world. Even the cast and crew of the acclaimed ‘Game of Thrones’ television programme have visited the area to carry out filming! So whilst the economic benefits associated with more visitors is no doubt welcome news for the Icelandic Tourist Board, the demand for nature-based outdoor recreation opportunities in the wilderness areas of Iceland continues to increase and visitor use patterns have seen an unprecedented exponential rise.

Some rather gloomy key findings from their seminal academic paper published in 2013 by Dr Rannveig Ólafsdóttir and Dr Micael Lundstrom from the University of Iceland evidenced for the first time the extent of damaging trampling impacts on hiking trails originating from the increased numbers of people walking in Thórsmörk and the nearby Fjallabak Nature Reserve¹. Making the national news, a third of all hiking trails surveyed were classified as in ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ condition, with the extreme seasonality, dizzying elevation and poor planning from decision makers deemed as having an additive and deleterious impact upon undisturbed soft soils and vulnerable native moss heath plant communities.

At current levels of demand, the considerable pressure of anthropogenically derived recreational activities including hiking clearly threatens the ecological integrity of one of Europe’s most aesthetic wilderness areas.

Above – trail re-profiling and brashing on eroded trails on the 25 km Skógar hiking trail from that runs south from the Thórsmörk Valley over the Fimmvörðuháls pass. Image: J. Littlemore, July 2014.

Indeed, whilst the ecological impacts of on mountainous areas of Europe have long been understood², the approaches taken to manage such activities vary. With the recognition that the extent of true Icelandic wilderness diminished by 70 % in the last 80 years there remains an exigent requirement to provide pro-active management advice so that multi-purpose objectives can be managed in a sustainable way.

Co-ordinated Trail Restoration

Working with the Iceland Forest Service and the Environment Agency of Iceland, the Icelandic Tourist Board remain fully aware of the sensitive nature of the wilderness environment so have thankfully allocated generous funding for the management of environmental issues at key tourism sites, especially through supporting individual environmental projects.

For example, at Thor’s Wood the Iceland Forest Service is tackling environmental issues by co-ordinating a trail maintenance programme that is popular with volunteers of all ages who orignate from all over the world³. Dr Hreinn Óskarsson and Chas Goemans of the Iceland Forest Service have managed the area and programme respectively for many years and supervise staff and volunteers who carry out upland path management measures including trail re-profiling, improving drainage, turfing and seeding, building steps and boardwalks and installing interpretative media. Moreover, this work is of considerable merit as Thórsmörk is the destination end point of the very popular Laugavegur trail that starts in the famed hot springs area of Landmannalaugar located 55 km to the north.

Above – Interpretative signage to dissuade the lateral spread of human trampling of vulnerable moss heath vegetation communities near Landmannalaugar. Image: J. Littlemore, July 2014.

A Positive Way Forward

On a recent visit to the area to carry out a reconnaissance for a future expedition on behalf of the Brathay Exploration Trust (BET)⁴, it was heartening for the authors to meet with Chas, Hreinn, Rannveig and others and share not only their enthusiasm for the Icelandic wilderness but also their stoic resilience in trying to seek a balance when it comes to managing this area for the ever increasing numbers of visitors.

Future projects will aim to gauge the sensitivity of vegetation stands to hiker impacts, facilitating the production of coarse scale Geographical Information System (GIS) maps indicating areas of ecological sensitivity which will assist with habitat zoning and trail management. Additional work may examine the most appropriate methods for re-vegetating eroded trails at higher elevations using various combinations of trampling tolerant plant species and fertiliser applications. Such baseline data focussing in on recreation ecology impacts should liberate meaningful management criteria that could build a case for proposing ‘limits of acceptable change’ but more perhaps more importantly mitigate existing impacts through ecological restoration, ensuring a long-term sustainable future for the trail environ.

Balancing Conflicts with Compromise and Common Sense

So like anywhere else in the world the trick evidently lies in not allowing the burgeoning recreational use to compromise the special qualities that attract visitors to the Icelandic Highlands in the first place. If linear routes are maintained and well planned, then the majority of hikers will keep to them. In addition, with a combination of pro-active management and visitor education, one hopes that the aesthetics of Thor’s Wood and surrounds will remain indefinitely for future generations and for even more hikers (and the odd film cast and crew) to enjoy!

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the BET who generously funded their trip to Iceland as part of an initial reconnaissance expedition. They would also like to acknowledge the wisdom of Graham Barrow, whose initial discussions led to the trip.

Further Information

¹ Olafsdottir, R. & Runnstrom, M.C. (2013) Assessing hiking trails condition in two popular tourist destinations in the Icelandic highlands. Journal of Outdoor Recreation & Tourism 3-4, 57-67

² Bayfield, N.G. & Barrow, G.C. (eds) (1984) The Ecological Impacts of Outdoor Recreation on Mountain Areas in Europe and North America. R.E.R.G Report No. 9.

³ Thórsmörk Trail Volunteers: http://trailteam.is/

⁴ Brathay Exploration Trust: http://www.brathayexploration.org.uk/