Our volunteers gather, ready for the day’s work
On Friday, 29th May, nearly twenty volunteers joined us for our monthly Habitat Management session. Led by Tom from Cheshire Wildlife Trust, we tackled The Heath’s latest challenge: a determined invasion of Rosebay Willowherb.
A Beautiful Troublemaker
Rosebay Willowherb is, in many ways, a lovely plant. Its vivid purple-pink flowers are a magnet for pollinators, and its feathery seeds are a favourite food source for birds. We have admired it in past years, brightening the woodland edge beyond the heather.
But now it has become a problem. It has slowly spread through the heather adjacent to the grassland of the Large Heath, creeping via underground rhizomes, and by last summer, the scale of the problem had become hard to ignore. Left unchecked, it would smother the heather that makes this habitat so special.
Volunteers spread out across the heather, searching for willowherb
A Day of Meticulous Work
We got to work pulling out the willowherb by hand. Starting at the path through the heather, we moved south toward Northwich Road, carefully searching through the heather to find and remove every plant we could.
It was painstaking, but satisfying work. By the end of the day, we’d covered around three-quarters of the heather area — a tremendous achievement for a single session. The willowherb is a resilient plant, and keeping it in check will almost certainly become a regular part of our calendar from here on — but Friday proved that with enough willing hands, we can stay on top of it.
Our Incredible Volunteers
One of the best parts of Friday was seeing how diverse and enthusiastic our group was. Along with our regular Friends of The Heath members, we welcomed corporate volunteers from three fantastic organisations: Fenton+Reece • APEM • Tatton Estate
We were also delighted to welcome three enthusiastic young graduates and other volunteers who had travelled from further afield to lend a hand. It was a wonderfully mixed group — united by a shared love of green spaces — and it was a real pleasure to get to know them over the course of the day.
We are hugely grateful to every single person who gave up their Friday to help protect Knutsford Heath. This kind of work truly makes a difference, and we couldn’t do it without you.
Our amazing Fenton+Reece volunteers
Come and Join Us!
We hold Habitat Management sessions every month, and everyone is welcome — no experience, no special skills, and no particular fitness level required. Just bring yourself, wear clothes you don’t mind getting grubby, and come ready to enjoy a few hours outdoors in good company. We’ll supply the tools and the guidance!
Our next session is on Friday, 26th June. Sign up using the link below:
And a huge thank you once again to all of Friday’s volunteers — from Fenton+Reece, APEM, Tatton Estate, and the wider community. You made a real difference to Knutsford Heath. We hope to see you again soon!
Lost Property Alert
We found two items where we were working:
- An iPhone in the burnt gorse area we cleared two months ago. It may have been lost then, as it appears to have been on the ground for many weeks.
- A Freja-branded thermos cup. We think the cup was left by one of our volunteers on Friday.
If either item is yours, please get in touch with us via our Contact page.
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