Life in the Park, a blog from in and around the 500 acres of Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Find out what's happening in the Park on a daily basis with our blog, Life in the Park. Updates come from the Gardens & Estates Team who work across the 500 acre landscape all year round. Tell us what life you see in the Park by emailing photos and descriptions to nina.rogers@ysp.co.uk
18-04-2012

Habitat enhancement work continues for Great Crested Newts on the Estate

Ash Ridley from the YSP Estates Team brings the latest news from whats going on around the Park.

The Estates Team have recently been entrusted with the capture, translocation, release and habitat enhancement for the Great Crested Newt population at YSP.

Specialists were brought in to erect newt proof fencing around an area of woodland at the lower end of the shelterbelt, which had been earmarked for partial felling. 145 pitfall traps and 196 carpet tiles were strategically placed on the inside of the fencing and within the woodland to give ample opportunity of capturing the newts.

Every morning a member of the Estates Team would check every trap and tile. Over 90 days, four Great Crested Newts were caught. These were released into the upper part of the shelterbelt, closer to the pond in the Formal Gardens, along with the numerous frogs and toads that were captured.

Towards the end of the 90 days a fingertip search of the log piles and brash piles within the fenced woodland was carried out to look for newts that had strill be to caught. These log piles were relocated into the upper half of the shelterbelt to enhance the habitat there.

Further habitat enhancement was achieved with the creation of five hibernacular and 15 log piles around the formal pond. The pond was also subjected to enhancement. Half of the floating weed was removed to create some open water, which gives a more desirable environment for the modern Great Crested Newt population at YSP.




06-02-2012

Restoration works continue around Bretton Hall

Landscape Coordinator Mark Chesman brings the latest news from the woodlands surrounding Bretton Hall.  

This month, ongoing restoration work on the woodland area between Bretton Hall and Country Park continues, part of YSP’s ten year Historic Landscape Management Plan, which provides the framework to conserve, restore and enhance of the Park. 

The woodland was planted in the 1970s to form a natural barrier within the Parkland. Work has began to remove a section of this woodland to reveal historic views to the Country Park and across Lower Lake. Once cleared, the area in front of Bretton Hall will be re-seeded with several species of grass and integrated back into the Country Park to be grazed. YSP will continue its programme of tree planting across the estate to more than mitigate losses in this area.

A polythene fencing was placed to prevent great crested newts from entering the area after emerging from their breeding pond in the Bothy Garden. It also allowed us to survey the area in great detail, removing other species. All the work will be completed this spring; the fencing will be removed, reintroducing the area as a terrestrial habitat for the newts.

< previous entries