The Friends of Marton Mere will be running monthly work parties to carry our Habitat Management Work over the Autumn / Winter period.

The work done by the Friends Group and Volunteers is essential to ensuring that the Mere remains in optimum condition and suitable for wintering and breeding birds.

Habitat Management Work takes place between late September and early March.

The volunteers attend every Tuesday, all year round, and these weekend work parties are a chance for Fylde Bird Club Members and friends to experience a range of outdoor habitat management activities and keep the site in good condition in the process.

The types of work that will be undertaken on these work parties will include the following:-

Grassland Management – Maintain the extensive grassland to ensure that a mix of fine gasses and plants are able to thrive and promote the insect and mammal life that relay upon them. Involves the use of grass manager machinery and lots of raking!

Scrub Management – An essential part of the volunteers work is to maintain suitable scrub habitat to prevent it transitioning into woodland. Involves bramble clearing, willow removal, tree crowning and tree thinning / removal.

Pond Management – Marton Mere and the associated Lawson Wetland, contains 15 ponds and the margins and ponds require maintaining to prevent them being overgrown with Willow, reedbed and floating grasses. Keeping these ponds in good order is essential for aquatic insect and amphibians and the sites are locally important for newt and insect populations. Any pond work work will be supervised by an Ecologist with a Great Crested Newt License. Waders will be provided!

Reedbed Management – Many areas of reedbed require management and some of these may be cosmetic in nature for the benefit of visitors who attend the five permanent hides and also wish to view the mere from a number of specific viewpoints.  Many Willow trees establish themselves in the reedbed and these all need to be removed to prevent the reedbed drying out and also prevent transition to scrub and ultimately woodland. Waders will be provided.

All works detailed are carried out in accordance with the Site Management Plan that is approved by and monitored by Natural England.

All work party sessions will start and end at the Marton Mere Visitor Centre.

Marton Mere LNR SSSI – Friends Group Monthly Work Party – November