New Ranger – Austin

Hello everyone! My name is Austin Smith, the new Countryside Ranger here in Bedfordshire. Coming from a farming background, I have always been interested in the Countryside. I enjoy many outdoor pursuits such as hill walking, mountain biking and camping. I especially enjoy roaming around the countryside with my dog Swift – a black Cocker Spaniel.

Since graduating from the University of Plymouth where I studied Biological Sciences, I moved to Scotland to enjoy its remote beauty where I started working as a landscape gardener on the Fife coast. I then decided to have a change of career and pursued the life of a Countryside Ranger, first with the RSPB where I undertook lots of practical habitat management practices such as tree felling, invasive species removal, heather burning, dam building and deer control.

I then moved to Dumfries and Galloway to work on Threave Estate, where I undertook much habitat management. There was a mosaic of habitats, including fen, wetlands, river, woodland and farmland as well as wildflower meadows and coastline – mudflats and saltmarshes at Rockcliffe. I undertook much general estate work such as fencing, dyking, strimming, footpath maintenance and tree work. As well as this I did much survey work including wildflower counts and bat tracking. I also led guided walks, participated in events and took out school groups – working with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. 

Since making the big move returning south to my roots, I have been able to reconnect with old friends and move closer to my family while still doing the things I enjoy. I have been captivated by the beauty of Dunstable Downs and am looking forward to the challenges that a chalk grassland environment brings. Working with the Countryside staff and volunteers has been great with so much local knowledge and advice on offer and much appreciated. I am looking forward to the changing seasons especially the transformation into summer when the flora and fauna is at its peak.

In the coming months, you will find me mainly ‘ranging’ over the Northern sites – Sharpenhoe Clappers, Whipsnade Common and Heath, Moleskin and Sundon Hills Country park, and nearby Totternhoe Knolls. At these sites I intend to preserve, enhance and enrich the biodiversity for future generations.

So if you have any questions or want to share your knowledge please come see me or give me a call on 01582 873569 or 07881 848 551!

Happy roaming!

Austin.

Of mice and men-at-work

Our volunteers were busy at Whipsnade Heath recently, cutting the meadows around the corners of the roundabout in the areas that can’t be reached by tractor (as the larger areas are cut for hay). We generally mow with pedestrian flails and strimmers and then rake the cuttings away with the aim of reducing the amount of nutrients in the ground. This discourages brambles and rank grasses and favours some of the more delicate grassland species. This in turn gives a greater variety of food plants for insects and mammals like this little field vole.

After posing for a photo this little vole was relocated to a nearby bank well away from the mowers that he had been fleeing when I caught him! He headed off under the brambles in a series of little hops, glancing around in a rather critical way at the newly mown meadow.

At Dunstable Downs today another small mammal was out looking for food. Candy (who runs ‘little lambs’ activity sessions at the visitor centre every Thursday) came out for a stroll to collect colourful autumn leaves and along the way found a house mouse exploring the path beside Chute Wood! It seemed completely calm at sharing its space with a human and even sat on her foot for a better view before scaling the bank heading in the direction of a rather good crop of berries. I had been working in Chute Wood checking the climbing frames when Candy called me and unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo but here is one taken nearby by by lovely local photographer Tony. Lovely!

Whipsnade Heath

If you have driven past Whipsnade Heath in the last two weeks you will have noticed some of the work that we are carrying out.

Our volunteers have been cutting and raking some areas of grass, this work is to ensure that it doesn’t turn to scrub. We have lots of scrub areas at the heath and need to maintain the grassland for a range of invertebrates.

Deeper into the heath a contractor is haloing some of the oak trees. This work involves taking out the smaller trees that are competing with some of the older oak trees. If we didn’t do this there is a risk that some of the older oak trees might die due to the shading from younger trees growing through.

We are grateful to funding from the Chilterns Commons Project for funding towards this work. For more information about the Chilterns Commons Project please see; http://www.chilternsaonb.org/commons.html