Ashtead's in the Premier League!

Q: What have Epping Forest, Sherwood Forest, Windsor Great Park and Ashtead Common all got in common?

A: They are all in the insect life premier league of England.

The reason for the abundance of insects on the Common is the existence of about 2000 pollarded three to four hundred year old oak trees. For this reason Ashtead Common was declared a National Nature Reserve at the end of last year. Ashtead Common is a nationally important site, an area of conservation that is managed for both wildlife and for the local community.

Through the efforts of Head Keeper Bob Warnock and his team, the Common is managed well enough for English Nature to consider it a prime example of Woodland Pasture. However more work needs to be done.

This spring Bob will organise an army of volunteers to continue the construction of paths, the building of bridges and provision of way markers.

"Further improvements of the common will involve removing the choking legacy of neglect," says Bob. "We aim to recreate the ancient practices that have shaped Ashtead Common." Pollarding oak trees means cutting off branches to allow new growth from the trunk. This also serves to prolong the life of the trunk, supplying beetle-friendly hollows with plenty of rotten wood.

A plague of bracken started after a devastating fire in 1990. Removing bracken will allow growth of the natural woodland pasture that should be present over much of the Common.

Bob says that another important step is to clear mature scrub from the southern slope. The grass can then regenerate, providing sites for wild flowers and insects such as butterflies. The slope should be covered with a mixture of fresh grassland and mature scrub. Providing many different types of habitat will increase the variety of wildlife found on the Common.

In the woodland areas, animals such as cows and ponies will be introduced to help retain an open woodland pasture. This will enable the pollarded oaks to flourish and restrict development of new growth on the woodland floor.

On the Common it is necessary to remove the old to bring in the new for better wildlife and more attractive scenery.

The Ashtead Common Volunteers meet regularly once a week (or once a fortnight during the summer) to carry out practical conservation work.

For further details contact:

Bob Warnock, Community Woodland Officer, Corporation of London, PO Box 49, Ashtead, Surrey, KT21 1YG

Please check out our new website for all the latest information sgsgashtead.com