🏞️A Grumpy Optimist on “Tor”: An Ecology Midweek Special
Mari reflects on all the cool stuff she learned and saw on her Ecology Masters trip to Cornwall - from seal pups to lynxes!
Happy Thursday, Mari here 👋
Last week, I began a part-time Ecology Masters, alongside my Defra day job. It began with a trip to Cornwall to give us hands on experience of the challenges and opportunities (talk about grumpy optimism) that come with ecological restoration.
What struck me most during the week was that: 1) social and environmental context is everything 2) we don’t know all the solutions yet (but that’s no excuse to keep trying!) 3) people working in this sector are amazing 💚
P.S. You may or may not have gotten the terrible pun on “tor” (a granite rock formation) in the title - dad jokes are always welcome here.
Anyhoo, let’s dig in!
🦫 Day 1: Beavers and Biomes
We kicked the week off in style at the Cabilla Cornwall Rewilding Project in Bodmin Moor. Cabilla boasts a diverse range of habitats, from ancient oak woodland, to wildflower meadows, to peat bog.
The word “rewilding” is a foggy and sometimes contentious term, so let’s unpick it. The definition given by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is:
“Rewilding aims to restore ecosystems and reverse biodiversity declines by allowing wildlife and natural processes to reclaim areas no longer under human management.”
At Cabilla, for example, they have introduced beavers to restore some of the natural hydrological (water) processes that have been lost since humans began using hard engineering to reshape rivers and, sadly drove beavers to extinction. As a climate change adaptation policy gal, I’m interested in the way beavers promote drought resilience through their creation of new water bodies, helping to store water and providing sanctuaries for species such as insects and fish. This video shows some of the ways these clever little creatures are reshaping the landscape.
We also met Gloria, a gorgeous Cornish Black pig (who smelled delightfully of lentil dahl). Her role is to root around the earth, searching for food, as wild boars used to at least 300 years ago in the UK. The main purpose of this is to disrupt dominant plant species and create a varied land surface to encourage greater biodiversity.
You may have noticed there is a reference to lack of human management in the definition of rewilding above, but in reality, it can be difficult without it. The pressures put onto nature, such as climate change, invasive species and land use, mean we often have to lend a helping hand.
For example, beech trees pose a challenge to Atlantic temperate forest (of which there is tragically only 2% of its historical extent left). Whilst beech is a lovely part of the English landscape, it grows faster and taller than other trees, such as oak, which is a fundamental component of temperate forests and can provide food and habitat to over 2000 different species within its ~1000-year lifespan.
Beech then blocks out the light, outcompeting other species and threatening this rare and crucial habitat. The folks at Cabilla therefore remove beech saplings to stop them from taking over.
We also visited the Cornwall Beaver Project, who highlighted another challenge - people. Understandably, stakeholders like farmers don’t want their already challenged livelihoods to be undermined by beavers flooding the landscape, so they need to be located strategically. This emphasises the importance of involving stakeholders from the beginning of a rewilding project in its design and implementation.
The final part of day 1 was a visit to the The Eden Project - an environmental and educational charity which has a global mission to:
“Create a movement that builds relationships between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things”.
What was once a sterile clay pit twenty years ago posed the opportunity of, effectively, a giant petri dish to experiment and play around with. The 60m deep, barren depression was transformed as they planted in soil made from waste and used a water gun to spray the sides of the pit with biodiverse seed mixes of plants such as gorse and nitrogen-fixing legumes. Within the centre of the pit, you will also find their two hallmark, igloo-like constructions made up of hexagon tiles (Brian Cox does a nice explanation of why it's the best shape). They have created the perfect conditions for a Mediterranean biome in one; a Rainforest biome in the other.
A highlight for me was the strong sense of optimism that you feel as you’re walking around Eden. They have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and proposed some innovative solutions for the climate and biodiversity crises - such as their Geothermal Energy Project. This isn’t even beginning to cover all the awesome projects that they have abroad.
🦭 Day 2: Sand, Seals and Soggy Weather
On the second day we were off to the sunny and exotic Upton Towans (I joke, it was drenching) to see the work of the Dynamic Dunescapes project.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the more stable a sand dune is, the better. In fact, this allows dominant species to take over at the expense of biodiversity. Dynamic Dunescapes are therefore trying to make the dunes more… dynamic (funnily enough) so that a diverse range of pioneer plants (those are the ones that first colonise bare ground), invertebrates and other critters can thrive.
A range of different techniques can be used to remove scrub, willow and any other plants with roots and sheltering foliage that are stopping the sand from moving around. This can include human volunteers, cattle or even ponies. Even signs encouraging sundry tourists to trample in target areas can make a great difference. Dune blowouts - big trough or saucer like depressions in the dunes formed by an initial disturbance and then carved out by wind erosion - also keep the landscape dynamic and varied.
As with Cabilla, there are challenges and barriers abound, from planning permission to dog poo (which releases unwanted nutrients into the sand), but Dynamic Dunescapes are doing a great job at engaging the local community. From dancing on the dunes to mobilising citizen science to monitor the success of projects, they are finding ways to raise awareness and get locals involved.
Next, a stop at Godrevy where we treated ourselves to looking at some lovely grey seals and their pups from a distance. These awesome creatures can dive to 120m, slowing down their heart rate to a few beats a minute to reduce how often they have to come up for air. Sadly, they face a number of different pressures.
For example, climate change is leading to more intense and frequent sea storm surges, sweeping away and drowning their pups. Climate change is also lengthening the summer season and therefore tourism peaks, meaning more disturbance to their habitat and less space for them to have their pups. For this reason, folks are discouraged from sharing photos or the location of seal pups to avoid too many people flocking over. I’ll share this cute photo of one from Twitter with you instead.
Luckily, grey seals have legal protection under Special Areas of Conservation and there are organisations dedicated to monitoring and supporting their population. You can visit the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust to find out how you can help. For example, don’t make lots of noise when you see them and DO NOT get one of those frisbees with a hole in the middle (they can get their necks trapped 😔).
🌸 Day 3: Wildflowers and (Cultural) Wisdom
Hump day saw us at the Eden Project’s National Wildflower Centre. Tragically, the 20th Century has seen a 98% decline in the variety of wildflowers in the UK countryside, due to pressures like agriculture and development.
When given a chance, wildflower meadows are a hotspot of beautiful flowers, butterflies, bees, bugs and birds. In one small fragmented meadow alone at the National Wildflower Centre, for example, they’ve found >150 species of moth!
Excitingly, their meadows are home to Devil’s-bit scabious, which provides crucial food and habitat for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly. This beautiful butterfly is a specialist, meaning it needs a specific set of conditions and resources to survive - they rely almost exclusively on the Devil’s scabious (the purple plant in the picture below). Unlike generalists, who are tolerant to a wider set of conditions, specialist species can fare a lot worse from environmental changes.
The key with wildflower meadows is you need them to be nutrient-poor to stop more dominant species from out-competing the wildflowers (are you starting to sense a pattern here?) by removing vegetation once or twice a year (not cutting it so low that you kill insects and their larvae though).
Before you establish a meadow, you first need to test your soil and site for suitability - e.g.: what are the nutrient levels; soil structure; water levels, and neighbouring habitats? Will stakeholders tolerate an initial period of messiness or will they expect to see pretty flowers asap? This helps you decide on an approach, such as seed mix selection.
After a very busy week so far, we took a breather with a fun “ethnobotanical” treasure hunt to get a flavour of old Cornish folklore, customs and language surrounding plants.
Did you know that wild carrot, for example, has been thought to lower the chances of getting cancer? This highlighted how important it is to consider and include traditional and indigenous knowledge in ecological research and projects.
🦬 Day 4: Rewilding and Reintroductions
Day four was another day of observing critters being used to rewild the landscape. We visited Rewilding Coombeshead - a 300-acre area that has been given over to a host of species being bred and managed for reintroduction. This includes white storks, wild cats, water buffalo, beavers, water voles and lynx.
This visit opened our eyes to the various constraints associated with species reintroductions. The most obvious one, again, was stakeholder perception.
Predators in particular have a big cloud of controversy surrounding their potential reintroduction, given the fear that they may predate on livestock or pose a threat to people. They also create a “Landscape of Fear” in a good way - for instance, they can disperse deer and other herbivore populations, giving trees and forests a better chance of growing. It has been suggested that lynx might pose a more viable option than wolves in the UK because the public perception of them is less negative (not to say that it would be a doddle to convince your local community to let them roam their hills).
Another challenge we learned about was the selection of manageable species. The term “rewilding” might evoke visions of wild and free beasts roaming our landscapes. In a world that has been changed so fundamentally by humans since they went extinct, however, it’s not that simple. They need to be moved to targeted areas where they will give the most benefit and have the fewest adverse unintended ecological or social impacts. They also need to be quarantined, checked for disease, etc. where appropriate. You can’t just pick any horned, clawed or fanged beast without considering whether a) it’s suitable for the area or b) you have management and contingency plans (Lynx on the loose is not a good headline).
⛰️ Day 5: Heaths and Helman Tor
The last day was bittersweet. We made our way to the Helman Tor Nature Reserve, including Breney Common and Red Moor which are managed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and are designated as a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) respectively. They are actively managed to maintain a diverse “mosaic” of different habitats, including heathland, acid grassland, mire, quaking bog (sounds a bit spooky) and wet woodland. This makes it a wonderful home for all sorts of plants, birds, bugs, reptiles and mammals. This video gives a wholesome overview. 👇
A highlight for me was learning about the symbiotic relationship between yellow meadow ants and Chalkhill blue butterflies. A combination of the ants’ work on the soil and the mycorrhizal relationship between plant roots and fungi creates the perfect soil structure that butterfly caterpillars love. The ants also protect the caterpillars in return for a sugary secretion.
A huge part of the management here is a constant battle with encroaching dominant species, such as yellow gorse, rhododendron and scrub. They’re trying all kinds of techniques, including cattle and horse grazing, controlled burning, removal of topsoil and sowing heather to give it an advantage. There might even be potential to use the gorse as fuel, such as making it into biogas. Each of these has its trade-offs though. For example, using cattle to graze on the scrub can go too far if they start to nibble the precious Devil’s-bit scabious.
We rounded things off with a climb of Helman Tor itself. As indicated in the intro, I have very fond memories of learning all about Tor formations in GCSE Geography. If you’re feeling nerdy, you can read this explanation.
🌍 So what were the most important lessons learned?
Consider the local social and environmental context: What might work swimmingly in one area could be disastrous in another. For example, gorse was favourable for the Eden Project for enriching the soil; whereas at Breney Common it’s a battle to stop it from outcompeting other plants. It’s also crucial to understand local stakeholder knowledge and opinions.
The importance of monitoring and adaptive management: We don’t know everything, but that shouldn’t be an excuse not to try. One of the most crucial elements of successful conservation is to monitor and evaluate how your project is going and tweak the bits that aren’t working whilst prioritising the bits that are.
There are some AMAZING people working in the environmental and ecological sectors: The best part of the week by far was the people I met. From all the project leaders, communicators and implementers from the wide variety of organisations we met; to our course convenor, Mark, who can tell you a thing or two about soil science. That’s not even starting on all the students I’ll be spending the next two years studying alongside- all of whom are doing awesome jobs alongside their studies, from agri-environment advisers to biodiversity officers to ecological consultants. If there’s anything to make me optimistic, it’s these people.
Bonus lesson: I need to buy a better waterproof coat. I ended up smelling suspiciously like a wet dog by the end of the week!
Phew, that was a lot to get through - congratulations if you’ve made it this far! What have you recently learned about the natural environment that wowed you? Is there anything Mari said that you strongly resonate with or disagree with? Let us know in the comments section and, as ever, go ahead and share with an eco pal!
The Grumpy Optimists 💚