Bog Myrtle Cuttings 

A few weeks ago, staff members from Natural England and the Wildlife Trust got together to take cuttings from Bog Myrtle at Woodwalton Fen. These were sent off to an external nursery, where they will be grown on to produce plants that can be used in further paludiculture on the Great Fen.  

Using plants of such local provenance is great. Not only does it mean genetic diversity of the wider Bog Myrtle population is maintained; it also makes the population of “Woodwalton Bog Myrtle” larger and therefore more resilient; and furthermore, means the plants that stock the Great Fen are perfectly suited to the precise conditions of the area. 

This kind of partnership working is part of what makes the Great Fen so special; combining resources to get a positive result that we might not have achieved alone. It was great fun to meet up with colleagues and have a catch-up whilst doing something productive and outdoors! 

Further Bog Myrtle restoration at Holme Fen 

Whilst the Bog Myrtle at Woodwalton Fen is doing well enough for us to be able to use it as a reservoir for plants to stock restoration land on the Great Fen, the Bog Myrtle at Holme Fen is not quite so healthy.  

Last year, I wrote in this blog that we had cleared a small area of trees around Bog Myrtle at Holme Fen. We saw some positive results; the reduction in shade has allowed the Bog Myrtle to start recovering. On this basis, we have undertaken more felling to encourage further growth in other areas.  

We have also erected some temporary fencing around one of the cleared areas. This is to try and prevent grazing by deer and reduce trampling. Hopefully this should maximise the chances of the Bog Myrtle recovering and spreading.  

Ditch clearance at Holme Fen 

Bog Myrtle is not the only thing at Holme Fen affected by shading from trees. Many of the ditches around Holme Fen get very little sunlight. The result is that some of the more shade intolerant aquatic species that one might expect to find in a fen struggle here. 

Earlier this year, we removed a number of trees alongside ditches in the very north of Holme Fen. Hopefully this work allows more sunlight into these ditches and makes them more suitable for a wide variety of plants and invertebrates that require a sunnier aquatic environment.