| Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire’s Day of Action - Ryton Wood Meadows Reserve |
| by Mike Slater |
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| Above: Tackling the brick and concrete blocks |
On the 1st March 2008 a further special conservation day of action took place at Butterfly Conservation’s Ryton Wood Meadows nature reserve. This event was in support of Butterfly Conservation’s 40th anniversary and was aimed at helping not only the rare species of butterflies still found in Warwickshire but other species such as the Great Crested Newt, and species of dragonflies and bats.
In preparation for the day two ponds were dug (funded by Barclays Bank) and thanks to a local haulage firm, 4 lorry loads of building rubble destined for a landfill site were dumped on the reserve.
 During the day, 40 Wych Elms were also planted in three locations to encourage the increasingly rare White-letter Hairstreak to colonise the reserve. 50 buckthorn bushes were also planted around the woodland fringe and in two newly created hedgerows. Buckthorn is the sole food plant of the locally uncommon Brimstone butterfly. Following similar experiments in the past, it is anticipated that both butterflies will increase in abundance as a result of this initiative.
The main task of the day, carried out by 14 volunteers, was to recreate and enhance the conditions found on brownfield sites (old industrial sites). These manmade habitats have lots of bare ground and rubble and mimic natural cliff faces. Both these types of habitat create very warm micro climates which are surrounded by nutrient deficient soils. When plants such as bird’s-foot trefoil and wild strawberry grow through the rubble then near perfect breeding conditions for the increasingly rare Dingy and Grizzled Skipper butterflies are created. During the day of action the rubble was broken up with sledge hammers, a highly recommended way of relieving volunteer stress. The smaller pieces were then made into a low lying rubble wall and used to cover a soil bund. These techniques were first used on the reserve last year and proved exceptionally successful with a 7 fold increase in butterfly egg numbers being achieved.
Once again, thanks go to Val Weston for getting us in the mood for the task ahead with bacon batches and for providing the chocolate and carrot cakes during tea breaks. |
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| Above: A view of the low rubble wall - recreating the micro-habitats found on brownfield sites. |
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Left and Right:
The newly created pond.. |
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Left and Right:
The work is almost complete, all that's
needed now is plants to colonise and
the Grizzled and Dingy Skipper
butterflies to move in.
Below: Some of the volunteers at work. |
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