Woodland Conservation Group (Tuesdays)

Shepherdleas Wood - Berry Hill Bluebell Slopes

Tuesday, 28th July 2026

Today brought a much more typical English summer's day. It was pleasantly cooler than the temperatures we've experienced recently, making it much more comfortable for both volunteers and wildlife.

Our Tuesday sessions are always a little different. With a smaller group of volunteers, there's far more opportunity to chat while we work, catch up on the latest news and enjoy each other's company. It's a wonderfully sociable way to spend a morning in the woods and it provides more opportunities to have a look around at the wildlife, for example this carniverous Southern Oak Bush-Cricket on the underside of a leaf. This insect is a newcomer to the UK, established in 2001. It is a predator of the Horse-Chestnut leaf miner!

Once again, we headed for the welcome shade of the bluebell slopes behind Berry Hill, where our main task was tackling the bracken that has rapidly sprung back to life. Before anyone started pulling, we carefully checked the undersides of the fronds to make sure the bracken hadn't yet begun producing spores.

Our aim is to remove as much as possible before that happens for two important reasons. Firstly, although bracken spreads mainly through its extensive underground rhizomes, it also reproduces by spores. Removing the fronds before they release spores helps reduce the chance of it colonising new areas, while repeated cutting or pulling gradually weakens the underground rhizomes. This gives woodland flowers, such as our beautiful bluebells, a better chance to thrive by allowing more light to reach the woodland floor.

Secondly, once the spores are released they can become airborne. Although the risks from occasional exposure are thought to be low, avoiding work around heavily sporing bracken is sensible practice and forms part of our commitment to keeping volunteers safe while carrying out conservation work.

Our second task had the same overall objective: increasing the amount of light reaching the woodland floor to encourage greater biodiversity. We pulled back encroaching brambles from the previously cleared area then extended it further, towards the main path. It was good to see just how many bluebells have set seed which will hopefully, spread across the cleared area in years to come.

Don't worry about the brambles though—we certainly weren't trying to remove them all! They are one of the woodland's most valuable native plants, providing nectar for pollinating insects, shelter for birds and mammals, and soon there will be a vital crop of blackberries for wildlife. We made sure to leave plenty of healthy patches laden with developing fruit.

Now all they need is a decent spell of rain to help those berries swell and ripen. If the dry weather continues, there's a risk many will shrivel before they mature, just as they did during last summer's prolonged dry spell. Fingers crossed that a little rain arrives soon—for the berries, the bluebells and the whole woodland.

Thanks to our Tuesday team for the difference you are making to Shepherdleas Wood!