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Management policies for LWA
Management policies for LWA
This was agreed at our AGM on 6 July 2006, having previously been approved by Tandridge District Council, English Nature, Surrey County Council and Surrey Wildlife Trust. It attaches to and forms part of our constitution.
MANAGEMENT POLICIES FOR LWA
Purpose
This document sets out the main objectives and practices for managing Lingfield Wildlife Area (that is, Bloomer's Field and the margin of Jenner's Field) [1]. It has been prepared with the help and approval of Jonathan Bruce, Community & Amenity Services Department, Tandridge District Council; Jenny Bowen, Surrey and Sussex Team, English Nature; John Edwards, County Ecologist, Surrey County Council; and Jill Barton, Head of Conservation, Surrey Wildlife Trust. Its purpose is to guide the present and future management committees, so the principles adopted during the first decade or more of the reserve's life can continue into the future.
These principles might need to change, and the present committee cannot tie the hands of future committee members. However, by making this document part of the wildlife area's constitution, we hope to ensure that any changes will arise only after measured consideration and with the approval of a clear majority of members.
Any significant aspect of planting or reserve management not covered in this document or in the management agreement with Tandridge District Council will be discussed and agreed in full committee. The nominated representative of Surrey Wildlife Trust must be among the members agreeing.
This document forms part of our constitution. The constitution can be changed only with the agreement of Tandridge District Council and of at least seven members of the Management Committee at an annual general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting called for that purpose.
Background
The objective of Lingfield Wildlife Area (LWA) was defined in its original constitution, agreed on 23 June 1994. It is:
To create a wildlife area for the people of Lingfield and the surrounding district, for enjoyment, conservation and education. The area will be developed and maintained in perpetuity, in keeping with the character of the local countryside [2] and giving genuine access to all, irrespective of fitness and physical condition.
The planting and management principles for the reserve, agreed in August 1995, expanded on that. They make clear that our purpose is not to try to reconstruct an ancient woodland, with all that means in terms of species and management. Even if we were to try, this would take several hundred years to accomplish. Similarly, we are not trying to create a wildlife refuge for uncommon or endangered species. There are none here that we know of. Besides, the need for public access militates against that approach.
Instead, LWA is looking to make an area that presents indigenous species of herbs, shrubs and trees in harmonious and naturalistic ways, for visitors to enjoy and learn from. In doing this, LWA will try to aid the development of populations of invertebrates, mammals and birds. This will include using plant species that are important to emerging, migrant and over-wintering creatures, as well as to resident populations of them.
Since adopting those principles, we have planted thousands of trees and shrubs to form hedges and small woods. This planting was not through ecological need. Its purpose was to provide perceptible progress in a short time and to ensure that growth was where we wanted it. We could have waited for trees and shrubs to arise spontaneously through self-seeding and vegetative growth, such as suckering. This would, though, have meant a wait of many decades, with no certainty that we would get the desired result.
We use native plants, appropriate to the locality and, preferably, of local origin, for their own value and to encourage communities of wildlife. We have also planted a few naturalized species for their educational value. They are kept in check to ensure that they do not overrun native species. We have stopped planting herbs - annual plants - in favour of letting the existing species in the ground layer grow naturally.
Reserves like Lingfield Wildlife Area exist to preserve or recreate habitats - the interacting combinations of species and terrain that give an area its special character. Sometimes that character is unique. At LWA it is simply threatened, which is the main reason for us to do what we do. We are, in effect, looking to recreate the sort of environment that existed around Lingfield up to about sixty years ago (pre-World War II, in other words).
Although we refer to LWA as a nature reserve and a wildlife area, there is little of the wilderness about it. What we are recreating is the equivalent of a farmed landscape but without produce or livestock.[3] A farm is and has always been an artificially preserved environment. Unless the land is worked and managed, it becomes useless and loses its character. If left untended, not only would its productivity suffer, it would eventually turn into scrub and then woodland.
That said, sixty or more years ago a farm was not the sterile, monocultured desert that many modern holdings have become. In those days, the abundance of 'weeds' [4] and untended corners, allied to a sparing use of agrochemicals, meant that a wide range of invertebrates, birds and other animals shared the place with the farmer and his livestock.
Our hope is that the area becomes home once more to the native plants and wildlife that are scarce today but which were commonplace then. While doing so, we hope to meet our other two aims of making the reserve a place where people can enjoy themselves and learn.
[The following sections follow:
[There then come these appendices:
Notes
1. This document does not apply to Centenary Fields, which has its own principles and policies. These are set out in the management agreement for that reserve made with Lingfield Parish Council in 2003. Bloomer's Hedge, which abuts Centenary Field, is part of Lingfield Wildlife Area. The centre of Jenner's Field is managed by Tandridge District Council, as are the swings and skateboard ramps within it.
This document does not apply to Centenary Fields, which has its own principles and policies. These are set out in the management agreement for that reserve made with Lingfield Parish Council in 2003. Bloomer's Hedge, which abuts Centenary Field, is part of Lingfield Wildlife Area. The centre of Jenner's Field is managed by Tandridge District Council, as are the swings and skateboard ramps within it.2. The Surrey County Council report, The Future of Surrey's Landscape and Woodlands (SCC, 1997) refers to the area between Lingfield and Newdigate as “open weald”. This area, it says, is characterised by:
The Surrey County Council report, The Future of Surrey's Landscape and Woodlands (SCC, 1997) refers to the area between Lingfield and Newdigate as “open weald”. This area, it says, is characterised by:
light woodland cover (typically less than 10% by area)low hedges, with evenly-spaced hedgerow trees, usually Oaksmall and moderately open landscape.The report describes the hedges on the Low Weald as generally being square-cut and “species rich”, typically containing Hazel, Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Blackthorn, Ash and Field Maple.
3. We could guarantee neither the welfare of the animals nor that of the public if we were to use livestock on LWA. The combined threat of vandals and badly-controlled dogs make it impracticable.
We could guarantee neither the welfare of the animals nor that of the public if we were to use livestock on LWA. The combined threat of vandals and badly-controlled dogs make it impracticable.4. A weed is a flower where it isn't wanted. With the wholesale loss of pasture and hedgerows since the 19th century, several plants then seen as weeds are national or local rarities today.
A weed is a flower where it isn't wanted. With the wholesale loss of pasture and hedgerows since the 19th century, several plants then seen as weeds are national or local rarities today.