Countryside Students Tractor Driving Skills Continue to Improve....

The countryside Students have been back out in the tractors this week. The group practised their driving with trailers attached and demonstrated how to tip rubble safely. Abbey and Brady can be seen chugging across the yard with Brady providing expert advice to an already very compitent Abbey!

 

Deer Management at Bush Walk Woods

Extended Diploma Countryside Management students have recently prepared deer management plans for a local woodland. They have carried out regular surveys of the wood including the use of ‘trail cam’s’ (remote cameras which can be positioned in the woods and will record movement of wildlife) to determine which deer species are present and their approximate numbers.

 

 

 

They have found that there is a healthy population of Reeves Muntjac present in the woods and have recently submitted plans which would ensure that the deer population does not negatively impact on the sensitive ground flora and planned coppice work in the woodland.

 

Otter Holt Completion

The second phase of the otter holt build is now complete, and all that is left is to pin the structure down in-case the flood waters rise. The hexagonal, chambered structure was roofed with brash, waste timber and turf to create a non-intrusive holt for any resident otters – Lois, David and Dan are pictured standing outside the holt. A camera-trap was placed near the entrance so any subsequent use can be monitored – check back to the blog to see if the otter’s occupy their fancy new home!

 

In addition, students carried out some water quality testing by ‘kick-sampling’ a gravel riffle and identifying macro-invertebrates found (pictured). Some species are more tolerant of pollution than others, but thankfully clean water indicators including stoneflies were present.

 

 

 

Hunt for Rare Amphibian Proves ‘Great’ Experience

An intrepid team of HE students including Martin (pictured), Heather, Helen, Nat, Joe, Mark, Kat and Liz checked the live capture traps on the ponds on the eastern margins this morning which yielded a fantastic result – live specimens of the rare and protected Great Crested Newt. Pictures were taken of the ornate belly markings  to allow subsequent identification of individuals specimens – in this case a mature male. Unusually long lived, these fascinating creatures are a welcome addition to the biodiversity of the farm.

Farming and Countryside Management Event @MoultonCollege Wednesday 5th June 2013

Countryside students survey the pitfalls of hedgerow biodiversity

Countryside management students continue to look for signs of life in the college hedgerows. Having identified the value of the college hedgerows in previous weeks, the group set out to find what insects the farm hedgerows were supporting. The students set five pitfall traps at five very different hedgerows so they could compare the results and calculate the value of each of the hedgerows.

Tom managed to dig up part of an old chain-harrow as he set his pitfall trap which led to a group discussion on what they would do if they dug up an historical artefact such as a pot of roman coins. While no decision was made on what the group would do if they did make such a discovery it was agreed that an unexploded second world war bomb was the item they would least want to dig up…..

High River Levels Refuse to ‘Holt’ Otter Build

BSc Land Management students had an opportunity to do something a little different this week – to build a home (or holt) for Leicesteshire’s threatened otters. Staff member James has built several of these over the years and has the hexagonal, chambered and thatched design down to a fine art!

 

The mystery location of the holt was a river west of Corby that has received funding from the Environment Agency (EA) to restore the river system. As well as new fencing, cattle drinkers, flow deflectors and bank stabilisation areas an otter holt was also on the list, and this is where our group of students working with the EA and Ecology Link Ltd led by Lewis, David, Jarvis and Amber bravely stepped up.

 

Of course, otters do not dig their own burrows and are hard pushed to find suitable areas to hide when river corridors have been channelised and improved so much. So what better way to help them occupy this area than by building them their own ‘des-res’?! As you can see from the pictures the holt is half finished, so check back to the blog next week to see the finished masterpiece! Trailcam’s will also be set up to monitor occupancy.