The Dorset branch of Butterfly Conservation looks after a number of different wildlife sites, two of which are formally established Butterfly Reserves – Lankham Bottom and Alners Gorse – but many more are important places where we have informal arrangements with the landowners.

We try to carry out as much of the management work as possible with volunteers, but where this is not possible we use contractors. At our recent workparty on Lankham Bottom reserve, a group of contractors worked alongside volunteers to fell and process a seriously diseased (and dangerous) ash tree, to brushcut a huge swathe of bramble and to clear a very large area of bramble, gorse and thorn regrowth using a frontmounted 3m wide flail (see photo at top of article).

Dead ash tree. Photo: Nigel Spring

Over recent years we have cleared a large amount of dense scrub on the reserve in order to recover the chalk grassland that is so vital a habitat for several of our specialist species of butterflies and moths, but every year the scrub tries to grow back and the heavy machinery does a very effective job – as long as the ground is dry and the slope not too steep. Adverse weather conditions and the pandemic had prevented us from using this machine since 2018 and the backlog of regrowth had become serious.

Don Simcock, one of our volunteers on Thursday’s task, made a very nice video record of the day – and included a beautiful selection of the fungi for which this reserve is renowned.

Our thanks to our volunteers for all the work they put in. We always need more help, so contact Nigel Spring if you are interested.