Day 3 - conserving Hilton nature reserves

On the third day (Thursday 20th June), the group met with George, a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Living Landscape Officer. Starting out at Hilton Annex nature reserve, a small reserve bordering Hilton Brook, we began with a quick session on the identification and issues surrounding Himalayan Balsam. Some of the group had seen Balsam before and others hadn’t. A small group began pulling up the balsalm, clearing the bank and placing it into composting piles. The second group focused their efforts on removing encroaching scrub from the great crested newt receptor ponds. During this we discussed the need to limit scrub encroachment on the sensitive pools, keeping willow at bay to prevent the drying out and over shading of these important newt ponds.

Later in the day, the group moved onto Hilton Gravel Pits, a much larger reserve with a mosaic of habitats, from woodland and scrub, to open water and reedbeds. Walking the reserve, we spoke about the general checks that are routinely carried out across the reserve including tree safety assessments and accessibility. We also found purple toothwort, a plant that parasitizes roots of certain trees. This was a first sighting for most of the group. From the day the group took home the importance of scrub management, discussing the importance of scrub, but also the importance of minimising scrub encroachment in sensitive areas.