{"id":4222,"date":"2025-04-24T08:43:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T08:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/wch\/?p=4222"},"modified":"2025-05-07T11:46:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T11:46:37","slug":"bracken-bashing-and-tree-tagging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/wch\/bracken-bashing-and-tree-tagging\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracken Bashing and Tree Tagging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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This week we joined up with Cumbria Woodlands<\/a><\/strong> and The Lake District National Par<\/strong><\/a>k to do some bracken bashing and tree tagging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team this time consisted of: Liam, Euan and Ellysha. We were also joined by Jamie from Cumbria Woodlands and Olivia from the LDNP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although bracken is native to the UK and common in our woodlands, that doesn\u2019t mean we can simply let it grow unchecked. Its ability to spread rapidly and dominate large areas can threaten biodiversity by outcompeting other plant species. Our first task of the day was to tackle this issue by using large sticks to bash the young bracken stems. This method damages the plants, helping to slow their growth and giving other woodland species\u2014like our recently planted tree saplings\u2014a better chance to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the last time we bashed some bracken.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our second task was to carry out a sapling survey. This involved inspecting all the recently planted saplings inside the protective tree tubes. While many of the tubes contain healthy young trees, some are empty. The missing saplings could be due to various factors, including animal browsing, disease, or harsh weather conditions. For each empty tube we found, we marked it with spray paint so that it can be easily located in winter and replanted for the next growing season. We also recorded the number of dead saplings to help keep track of survival rates and inform future planting efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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