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We shall shortly be carrying out the next phase of coppicing involving cutting back about a dozen trees, mostly sycamore. This is a traditional form of management, which does not kill the tree but stimulates it to grow new shoots which can be cut back on a cycle of maybe 15-20 years to maintain vigour. This work is carried out to prevent bankside trees becoming top heavy and falling into the river and also to reduce shade so that young trees can flourish.
Management Problems
Apart from the occasional tree toppling into the river or falling across a path we have to deal with a range of problems on the riverbank, most of them man-made.
Litter is a recurring headache with lager cans and plastic bags top of the list. Not all of it by any means is dropped by thoughtless villagers as we also receive unwanted contributions from Richmond and other places upstream, courtesy of the regular floods which drop it onto our lovely riverbank. The Parish Council carries out a regular litterpick about once per month but it is a thankless chore so please help by taking your own litter home (and if you can pick up a bit of someone else's so much the better!
In summertime we get extra hassle with fires lit (illegally) on the bank and a spate of bottle parties. More clean up work for others results.
Occasionally, we have complaints about motorbikers using the riverbank footpaths. These are footpaths and not meant for wheeled traffic, which is illegal, dangerous and damaging to the paths and local wildlife.
Finally we have an alien invasion problem -in this case the invaders are plants which shouldn't be there and which threaten our lovely native shrubs and wildflowers. The worst offenders are Japanese Knotweed, well established in several places and Indian (Himalayan) Balsam which is now abundant along most of the riverbank. Snowberry is also spreading and other plants cannot survive long under its dense shade.
For several years now the Parish Council has been spraying Japanese Knotweed with some success although it requires repeated treatments to be effective and we are unlikely ever to be fully rid of it because vigorous colonies are established further upstream and a small fragment of rhizome (root) is all that this plant needs to regrow. We have also strimmed snowberry back in an area where it is threatening wood anemone and other wildflowers.
Again you can help by not tipping your garden waste onto the bank -this is how new invasive species can get a foothold on the bank and rapidly spread to threaten our native plants.
We hope that present and future generations will continue to enjoy the peace and beauty of the Riverbank Common. Managing the area requires a lot of effort but we think it's worth it. If you agree and would like to help or want further information about the Management Strategy please contact Frank Broughton who leads for the Parish Council on this work.
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