Wildlife Trust BCN carried out extensive clearance of invasive species at Fulbourn Fen Nature Reserve, maximising biodiversity and conservation value.

The site, with its diverse range of habitats, was at risk of being degraded through invasive scrub and weed species. Particularly important for botany (including six orchid species), the reserve also provides a diversity of habitats for a range of resident and transiting bird, invertebrate, reptile and amphibian species. The project aimed to help enrich the biodiversity of the area, whilst also providing improved educational value and experiences for the local communities and other visitors to the reserve.  

A £3,500 PEBBLE grant enabled 'Fulbourn Fen to flourish' through extensive management work in 2020 and completing in March 2021. This included invasive species and scrub control, and improvement to protective infrastructure to support the conservation grazing over the following two years.  

Photos of scrub clearance
(by Mark Ricketts)









The work will allow the six species of orchid to flourish, marsh orchids a particular highlight.

As Fulbourn is a wet fen, with a reduction in scrub, the site should prove more suitable for snipe to use over winter in the future, as they once did before scrub took over.

Photos of marsh orchids and common spotted orchids at Fulbourn Fen(by Luca Patriccioli)

Posted: March 2021