I recently spent the morning with a couple of members of our woodland team and a few volunteers at Manx Wildlife Trust Glion Darragh Nature Reserve. We began putting up the main posts for the fencing inside the reserve to create a new wildflower meadow, and by the end of this year, we aim to have everything fenced. When the fencing is complete and the site made safe, sheep can be brought in to control dominant grasses and help wildflowers grow. In mid-winter, the sheep will be removed, and the grass and wildflowers will spring back to look more like a wildflower meadow each year, Creating this glade within the forest will shelter it from the wind, and over time, as cows are brought in to graze, it will create a microclimate that is perfect for invertebrates like butterflies, bees, beetles and moths.  

Significant work was undertaken to remove fallen conifers from the meadow. Covering 2/3 of Glion Darragh, these dense conifer stands have almost no biodiversity value because their tight canopies block sunlight, creating a dark forest floor where few plants can survive. The monoculture of conifers also provides highly limited food sources and habitats for native insects and birds. Sitka spruce also surrounds the site; it is a temperate rainforest species from the west coast of North America and does not support local biodiversity. Replanting will be done with Manx native birch, oak, hawthorn, and hazel. These will support local insects and animals and can adapt more easily to our ground and climate. 

Along with native trees, new flower species have also been introduced to the site, like yellow rattle, common foxgloves, St John’s wort, sheep's sorrel, and heath spotted orchid. Introducing wildflowers can help to prevent soil erosion and will provide habitats and resources for insects. They support pollinators and act as a natural food source and habitat for insects, birds and mammals.

Glion Darragh has an almost unlimited feedstock for creating biochar, a sustainable, nature-based solution for regenerating depleted soils. Charcoal, produced through controlled high-temperature pyrolysis, can be integrated into land and woodland management to boost soil fertility and sequester carbon. It can provide an ideal porous habitat for microorganisms and can prevent nutrients and water from leaking away. On-site sifted wood can be used as biochar feedstock; it must be processed by heating it in a sealed, oxygen-limited environment. The site can also be used to promote peat formation by creating an area that is high in moisture, low in oxygen and with poor drainage; it can accumulate over time. 

Over time, the site can be used increasingly for community and farming projects. Part of the site could be in food production by 2040, and highland cows could be introduced for grazing. The fenced glades can be multipurpose and make a great place for community projects and wellbeing activities. Volunteers are needed to keep the progress on this site moving. It's important for the future of the Island to create eco spaces such as Glion Darragh that will help support our environment, and building it as a community will only strengthen our attachments to the Manx environment. If you are interested in volunteering on this project or any other projects within the Manx Wildlife Trust, you can visit our volunteer page at https://www.mwt.im/volunteering.