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Conservation grazing introduced at Freshfield Dune Heath

Hebridean sheep at Freshfield Dune Heath - by Jenny Bennion

New fencing introduced at Freshfield Dune Heath will allow cattle, sheep and goats to safely and effectively help to manage this rare and precious habitat for wildlife.

Take a wander down the Formby coast and in amongst the breath-taking views across the sea and the occasional glimpse of a red squirrel you might come across a rare area of lowland dune heath; our Freshfield Dune Heath nature reserve. This precious habitat accounts for a whopping nine per cent of the remaining lowland dune heath in the UK.

But there’s a problem. Freshfield Dune Heath was only created as a nature reserve 18 years ago, having previously been Ministry of Defence land for the neighbouring RAF Woodvale air base. Whilst it is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, it is currently classified as being in ‘unfavourable’ condition.

To bring it back to full health we need to control the large areas of gorse and scrub birch that are threatening to dominate the site and outcompete many of the varied species that would naturally be present. We also want to protect and support the over 1000 invertebrate species, including over 500 different butterflies and moths, that already call Freshfield Dune Heath home.

A pink blanket of heather growing on the rare habitat of Freshfield Dune Heath in Merseyside

Freshfield Dune Heath is an internationally rare habitat and would be lost without conservation grazing. Image by Alan Wright

Regular visitors may have noticed some changes to the current paths around the nature reserve. Where once a permissible path ran around the edge of the main heath area some areas of this have now had fencing erected running alongside, and part of the path has been diverted through a lovely area of woodland.

Why is there new fencing?

We are really excited to be introducing additional conservation grazing livestock onto Freshfield Dune Heath. The newly fenced off area will soon be home to cattle, sheep and goats. Each of these different breeds will do a different job helping us to manage the site in the most natural way possible.

Metal wire fencing going through an area with green grass and purple flowering heather

Newly installed fencing at Freshfield Dune Heath - by Jenny Bennion

Cattle are large herbivores and rough grazers, tearing up large chunks of vegetation as they move through the area creating a varied sward height, perfect for a wide range of invertebrates and wildflowers. Their large size also means that they will break up dense areas of gorse and mature areas of heather and create small areas of bare ground which is perfect for reptiles such as common lizard to bask and also allow plants to naturally regenerate and create a varied age structure.

Sheep graze slightly differently, nibbling the vegetation closer to the ground creating small patches of tightly grazed sward where a different community of plants and invertebrates will thrive. It will also allow heather to compete with more dominant grasses so that the heathland will continue to expand.

Goats are particularly good at grazing scrub, particularly tree saplings and gorse. The goats will help manage recently cleared areas of gorse and also reduce the number of tree saplings spreading across the site. As a heathland, we want sporadic occasional trees rather than dense copses or woodland.

great crested newt crawling on moss

Great Crested Newt by John Bridges

As well as protecting our livestock, the fencing will also create a ‘wildlife only’ area and protect against disturbance to breeding species such as common toad, smooth newts and great crested newts that inhabit the ponds. There will also be less disturbance to potential ground nesting birds such as skylark.

What next?

Once the livestock have settled in, we will be able to turn our attention to other areas of the site that still need attention. Whereas previously our wonderful band of volunteers have done an amazing job at controlling the worst of the scrub in the main heath area, now they will be able to work on other areas.

We are also trialling a new form of fencing which uses galvanised metal posts. This has approximately five times the life span (up to 25 years) of wooden posts, for a comparable cost. As we are a charity, we have to be careful and spend our money wisely, so whilst we understand that this may look a bit harsh at first, we believe that it will soften over time and could be a great way of freeing up future funds for other vital conservation work.

We are looking forward to continuing to care for Freshfield Dune Heath, for wildlife, for our environment and for our wonderful visitors.

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