Cawood Castle Garth Group - a voluntary organisation of residents from the area of Cawood, North Yorkshire, England, aiming to raise awareness and investigate the archaeology, history and natural history of the site.

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Natural History of Cawood Castle Garth

Great Crested Newts saved the Garth site from development. How? Because they live in the margins of the pond. Protected by law, sites with these newts in residence cannot be disturbed. They are nocturnal creatures so it is not easy to film them. As part of the LHI project, we will be learning techniques for studying the newt population. Torch light surveys are planned for Spring 2007, as spring is the best season to find them.

Our group arose from the community in Cawood acknowledging that the Garth site, brought by the villagers in the 1980s to save it from a housing development, was largely an unknown quantity. We knew that there were some rare plant species, some Great Crested Newts and other amphibians, but we weren't sure what to do with the grassland, the pond and the wooded areas to ensure their future survival. The pond was in danger of drying out and is being over-run by rushes. These had been removed but reappear each year, swamping the site. In the past, the grassland had been grazed by cattle but that stopped when the village bought it. The main use now is for recreation and walking dogs. So we need advice on what to do to improve the site and to encourage a wider range of wildlife to thrive on it.

There are hundreds of molehills on the Garth - several families appear to enjoy living here. In the course of their tunneling, as the moles dig through the roots searching for food, they push soil to the surface. In some molehills we have seen traces of building materials. English Heritage has supported us and we worked with local experts and the children of Cawood School to survey part of the grassland area in September 2004. One of our first project tasks is to get the children to wash and evaluate the finds they recorded in the 2004 sift. We plan to survey the molehills on the rest of the site too.

In May 2006 we started to manage a small area of the grassland, with a view to improving the diversity of plants appearing there. The forth coming Garth video shows the some of team in action - marking out the area and then later, raking it up after the first cut. The idea is to cut and rake the site to remove the excess grass vegetation and to leave the sward to see what species take advantage of the new conditions. We'll be keeping an eye on the resulting area and counting how many species are present each season. We're trying to leave this area undisturbed but may cut some grass tracks through it in future years. Raking is hard work, so any villagers interested in helping us clear the cut grass would be very welcome to join us.

Garth Ecology Report
In 2006, a full Ecological Survey of the Garth was undertaken, in order to inform the propoer management of features such as the meadow and the pond reedmace.

We have made available the PDF of the Ecological Report.

Pond Clearing 2007
In January 2007, volunteers from Cawood undertook an operation to thin the reeds in the pond. It was a cold and messy job, but a third of the pond was cleared in just one weekend, providing open water for the waterfowl and helping to maintain high oxygen levels in the water.

The pond clearing team in action. Several people in waders in waist high water, pulling up reeds by the root

Several people in waders in waist high water, pulling up reeds by the root

The pond clearing team pulling reeds. More people in waders pulling up reeds.

Scooping away floating debris with a rake A garden rake was useful to scoop any floating debris to the side of the pond.

Two of the land-based volunteers exhibiting a good deal of silt from the reeds. Two volunteers whose coats and overtrousers are covered in mud.

Sometimes when one is coated in waterproofs and a liberal veneer of mud, one's partner has to be brought in if one develops an itch! A volunteer gets a helping scratch from their partner.

A volunteer gets a helping scratch from their partner.

The third of the pond that was cleared. One third of the pond was cleared, this phot shows an unbroken water surface at that end of the pond.

The cleared part of the pond, with a mound of removed reeds in the background Another photo of the cleared part of the pond showing a large mound about 1.5 metres high of reeds on the bank.

Another photo of the cleared part of the pond showing a large mound about 1.5 metres high of reeds on the bank.

The pond after clearing - the cleared part is at the far end. The pond on a frosty morning showing a light coating of ice, especially noticeable at the far end where the reeds have been cleared.