Watch as annual scrub burning begins on Greenham Common
Annual scrub clearance has been taking place on Greenham Common this week.
Amateur drone photographer, Barry Walker, captured these photos and videos of the annual clearance taking place.
It is part of the annual habitat management cycle, carried out by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT).
A spokesperson for BBOWT said that this year the trust was splitting the areas it was cutting up so there will be less cut material burnt this week.
More will be cut and burnt in the new year.
The trust carries out the cutting and burning each year because, it said, too much scrub can compromise the diversity of wildlife on its nature reserves.
But they need to ensure a good balance as the scrub provides shelter for birds and insects.
BBOWT land manager Roger Stace said that “too much of it can be a bad thing, so Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers spend much of the winter removing it from our nature reserves”.
Scrub, which is made up of shrubs such as hawthorn and bramble, can spread quickly if it isn’t controlled.
“Open habitats of the past would have been maintained by grazing animals and local commoners living off the land, cutting birch, gorse and other woody vegetation for shelter, fuel and their livestock,” added Mr Stace.
“Many wild species came to rely on the open spaces created by this way of life and much of our work today replicates these actions for the benefit of wildlife.
“If scrub was left unchecked then the heathland would be lost, replaced by silver birch woodland.
“‘Scrub bashing’, as it is often called, is our typical method of scrub control, where volunteers armed with bowsaws and loppers cut down the scrub. If we don’t want it to grow back we will paint a dab of herbicide onto the stump to kill the roots.
“Bonfires burn some of what is cut, other cut material is gathered into piles which are left to decompose, providing perfect habitat for invertebrates and reptiles.”
Trained staff work with the local fire brigade to burn the selected over-mature gorse.
The trust said burning the gorse does not contribute to climate change because as it regrows it will absorb more carbon dioxide than is released during burning.
