Stevenston Environmental Group is a community group dedicated to preserving and improving Stevenston's green spaces for the benefit of both people and wildlife. We currently have about twelve group members and are always keen for new interested locals to attend our meetings to listen to our ideas and plans and/or give their thoughts on projects and issues in Stevenston.
We are currently pursuing various projects around the town, in areas such as Stevenston Dunes, Ardeer Quarry, Auchenharvie, and Kerelaw. We are keen to involve as many local people as possible in these plans and so have decided to hold a public consultation on our current projects at Ardeer Quarry Local Nature Reserve.
If you have any comments (positive or negative) on these projects, please feel free to contact us at stevenstonenvironmentalgroup@yahoo.com
1. Thin trees in the Woodhead Plantation
The tall Ash trees in particular have shaded out many of the wood's slower growing trees. Selective felling of Ash and Sycamore will serve two main purposes: a) it will allow some of the wood's slower growing trees to survive (e.g. the Oaks and the Elms that are suckering from the tree stumps of the site's original trees) as well as encouraging newly planted shrubs to flourish, and b) it will let more light into parts of the woodland and create a bit more structural diversity, resulting in more habitat niches for invertebrates.
2. Plant shrubs in the Woodhead Plantation
When the reserve's plantations were originally planted, no shrub planting took place. The resulting lack of shrub layer has negative consequences for a wide variety of woodland creatures because native shrubs provide important food, shelter, and nesting opportunities. Hawthorn, Hazel, and Elder will be planted in the wood. Most of this new planting will be directed at the woodland edge and the clearings which will result from tree thinning.
3. Restore heathland on road embankment
Before council planting took place, some of the B752's embankment was covered in heathland and supported the attendant heathland vegetation and wildlife. We intend to fell the council planting along a stretch of embankment with a view to regenerating the heathland from the dormant seed bank.
4. Thicken the cycle path hedge
In terms of birdlife, the long Hawthorn hedge which runs alongside the cycle path is arguably the most productive feature on the reserve: the berries are an important food source for winter thrushes and the insects which hibernate in the bushes are an important food source for Tit/Treecreeper/Goldcrest flocks. Furthermore, when the land around Gavin's Wee Pond is converted into a wetland, the Hawthorns will act as important songposts for breeding Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers. We plan to broaden the hedgerow through new shrub planting. As well as providing more food for birds, a thicker hedge will create new nesting opportunities.
5. Restore pathside ditch as a wildlife feature
The ditch was once full of water and was an interesting pathside feature. However, the diversion of water away from the ditch over a decade ago has left it largely dry and uninteresting. We plan to redirect water back into the ditch in order to restore it as an interesting feature on the reserve.
6. Expand Gavin's Wee Pond and surrounding wetland
The area around Gavin's Wee Pond has lots of unrealised potential. Most of this land is currently underutilised: it consists largely of amenity grassland and species poor grassland dominated by dense soft rush. The pond itself appears to be good for invertebrates and amphibians. However, the gradient at the edge of the pond is very steep and there is consequently next to no ‘drawdown zone' (the area of land which lies between the winter water level and summer water level). Furthermore, the transition from pond to dry land is immediate, with only a scattering of marshy patches in the area. The site would be greatly improved if the north and west edges of the pond were extended, the purpose of the extension being to create a very shallow gradient at the water's edge and so a broad drawdown zone. Within this drawdown zone, small (perhaps in effect temporary) pools will be created. The rest of the soft rush/amenity grassland beyond this will be altered to create a marsh and damp meadow. Artificial depressions will be created in this damp meadow to create variation in wetness across the field. The result will be a series of connected habitats: damp meadow, marsh, broad drawdown zone/shallows, and pond.
7. Create a new ‘woodland clearing' walk
Despite the fact that most of the reserve is covered in trees and scrub, there is no stretch of woodland walk at the site. We aim to rectify this by creating a short circular extension off the existing path network which will take visitors through an interesting area of woodland. Central to this woodland will be a large clearing, heavily fringed with shrubs, which will be managed for butterflies and other insects. Tree species will be diversified by planting Oak, Rowan, and Birch.
8. Create new stretch of path
We plan to create a new stretch of ash pathway to connect the Railtrack access road to the stretch of path at Gavin's Wee Pond. After the path is completed, visitors will no longer need to walk along the B752 when completing a circuit of the reserve.
9. Create a new wetland
We plan to create a large new wetland on the reserve. This will add a significant amount of interest to the site all year round. The wetland will have the following features:
a) The water's edge will be a considerable distance from the surrounding paths. Dabbling ducks such as Teal, Wigeon, and Shoveler are particularly nervous birds and would not tolerate the frequent passage of walkers passing close to the water's edge.
b) At the north and/or the south of the new wetland a secluded bay will be created in which Teal etc. can feed and roost hidden from human passers by.
c) It is important that the water level is very shallow so that dabbling ducks can dabble and waders can wade. Although the water will be at least a couple of feet deep in the middle of the pond, the shallow edges will be extensive and have a very shallow gradient.
d) Muddy margins will be encouraged by lowering the water level of the pond during autumn passage. Hydrological control of the wetland is therefore required. Regular weeding/ground disturbance of sections of edge habitat will also be required in order to retain areas of open mud for waders.
e) A single shingle island will be piloted with a view to attracting breeding waders.
f) One or two other, non-shingle islands will be created for nesting wildfowl.
g) Regarding the disposal of material excavated during the creation of the wetland: the layer under the topsoil will be used to create a south-facing embankment immediately facing (and continuous with) the pre-existing area of wildflower rich grassland at the south of the reserve.
10. Clear some vegetation from the ditch
In autumn and winter this stretch of ditch is popular with Kingfisher and Water Rail. In recent years, however, the ditch has become overgrown with vegetation. We plan to clear some of the vegetation along a section of ditch, making Water Rail more visible and rendering the channel more suitable for Kingfisher.
11. Create sight line along the ditch
Because of the growth of Willow scrub, most of the ditch is not visible to passers by. By selectively felling and pruning a small number of trees, we will create a sightline along the ditch to allow visitors to a) see the ditch, which is an interesting archaeological feature in its own right, and b) see what birdlife is in the ditch.
12. Expand the wildflower-rich grassland
This area of wildflower-rich grassland is the best part of the reserve for butterflies. However, Gorse, Birch, Willow, and Sea Buckthorn scrub has taken over most of the grassland. Soon there will be no grassland left. We plan to remove most of this encroaching scrub in order to restore the grassland habitat.
Manage nettle patches for butterflies
There are several large nettle patches located on the reserve. These provide feeding opportunities for the caterpillars of both Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. We plan to manage nettle patches for these butterflies by cutting back an area within the nettle patch in order to encourage the succulent new growth on which the caterpillars thrive.
Erect new nestboxes
Because the reserve's plantations are still relatively young, few natural nesting holes are available for birds. Over the years, several nestboxes have been erected on the reserve, almost all of which have been readily adopted by Blue Tits, Great Tits, and Coal Tits. We plan to continue with our nestbox scheme, providing a variety of different nestboxes for a range of bird species. In addition, several batboxes will be erected around the reserve.
Manage the neighbouring amenity grassland for wildlife
The western side of the reserve is bordered by a large area of amenity grassland. We plan to work with North Ayrshire Council's Grounds Maintenance Department to manage the boundary between the reserve and the amenity grassland for the benefit of wildlife. In particular, we aim to leave the some of the amenity grassland to grow wild so as to create a narrow strip of unkempt grassland as a border between the reserve and its environs.
Plant wildflowers to encourage butterflies
Following the advice of Butterfly Conservation, wildflowers will be planted around the reserve. For example Garlic Mustard will be planted in appropriate locations near the main path to increase the number of Orange Tip butterflies, and various species of native violets will be planted to attract fritillaries.
Improve cycle path borders for wildlife
We plan to work with Grounds Maintenance to maximise the quality of habitat bordering the cycle path. In particular, we want to ensure that the path's grassy verges and Hawthorn hedgerow are not cut back to an unnecessarily large extent.