"Our Upland Commons" Project
Autumn update from the Our Upland Commons project
You may be aware that ‘our’ Matt is now involved with ‘Fix the Fort’ on Caradoc near Church Stretton, albeit not as part of the OUC project. His experience of the rampart repairs on Nordy Bank last year will stand him in good stead no doubt! There may still be opportunity to get involved in the physical site restoration works on Caradoc, I believe they are lifting materials to the top this Wednesday (19th October). If this interests you, please get in touch with my colleague Nigel via nigel.mcdonald@shropshire.gov.uk
Matt and a merry band of volunteers had a great time this spring digging about a boundary bank and a couple of bell pit spoil heaps as the historic environment part of the OUC project looked at medieval era and we await his report on this excavation. I wasn’t able to come to the landscape talk by Dr Rowley but I understand about 40 people did! Next year, for the third and final investigation/excavation that our project can fund, we will turn our attention to the industrial heritage up on your hill. We will hold another combined public meeting about this year’s results and next year’s plans in due course in our village hall.
A huge thank you goes to all the volunteers and participants involved in the OUC butterfly/moth and bird surveys that have taken place this summer. Mike and Jenny, our lepidoptera partners, have led at least ten events this summer across all three of the project commons which totalled more than 140 participants at the last count! We await the results from the butterfly transect and bird surveys which took place on Clee Liberty and a huge thank you goes to Miles Leach and other members of Abdon and District Community Wildlife group for the latter. If wildlife and your local natural history is your interest, and you are not yet a member of this group, do join them, this is your area wildlife group! Abdon District Wildlife Group | Shropshire Community Wildlife Groups (shropscwgs.org.uk)
I have recently started talks with our lepidoptera and bird partners as, now we are two years in, we are ready to explore what habitat recommendations we could suggest which would work both for certain upland species, as well as safeguarding the commoners grazing rights. Our project aim is to protect the centuries old agricultural system and farming practice of commoning, so whatever we suggest needs to work alongside grazing of these beautiful upland commons. And the good news is, there is lots that works for both! You may have seen or heard that there have been recent visits to the common and wondering when you can get involved or learn more about our recommendations first hand. We are in the final throws of working up some ideas and these visits have helped us understand that what we suggest is feasible and doable. We have suggested to the Parish Council and Commoners Association to jointly hold a public event before the end of the year where we can introduce our ideas and suggestions and where the wider community can give their input and opinions on them. What we would hope for is that the community sees our ideas as something to be taken up in a future management plan for the hill and that the approach of ‘you have to start somewhere’ is taken once we have jointly explored that there are no negatives to what we are suggesting. Whilst some may feel our suggestions do not go far enough, our ideas come from the areas we have investigated and that are within our gift so to speak, and we look forward to sharing and discussing them widely at the meeting alongside other ideas or suggestions of course.
As always, if you have any questions about any of the aspects of the OUC project, please drop me a line via renee@foundationforcommonland.org.uk
Kind regards
Renée Wallace
Project Officer - Shropshire Hills
Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons
The Our Upland Commons Project is a three-year, £3m, 25-partner project helping to secure the future of upland commons in Dartmoor, the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. It’s led by the Foundation for Common Land started in February 2021.
Our aims include:
- Encouraging more diverse communities to enjoy nature and connect with the commons closest to them.
- Helping everyone to understand the multiple benefits that come from commons and the importance of the commoning system.
- Sharing skills that will enable and empower commoners to increase carbon storage, protect historic sites, enhance wildlife and habitats, and maintain the ancient practice of communing.
- Equipping participating organisations so they can better secure this heritage over the long-term.
In the Shropshire Hills, the main participating commons are Longmynd, the Stiperstones and Clee Liberty. The project is delivering a wide range of activities including those connected to the historic environment, habitats and bird and butterfly species and support for those commoners who are active farmers both in terms of navigating the changing funding landscape but also related to animal health issues. There are also wider public events and capital item purchases that facilitate management of these commons. We are running a shepherding trial on the Stiperstones and will be involved in better interpretation and understanding of commons, and the heritage of commoning.
During the development phase of this project in 2018/19 visions for these three commons were drawn up and agreed and we are keen to support local stakeholders to realise these visions.
For more information about the project, please contact the Project officer for the Shropshire Hills, Renée Wallace renee@foundationforcommonland.org.uk or 07929 726337 or see https://foundationforcommonland.org.uk/our-upland-commons
