off -the-wall walling

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   hi folks,

i went to look at a bit of land for sale today. my dad is looking to buy a couple of acres or so and im gonna try and create better herp habitat on it by digging a carefully-planned pond, creating refugia/ potential basking sites (log and stone piles), cutting down trees to let light in if necessary etc etc
if it all comes off then i shall seek further habitat-establishment and/or management guidance (poss inc from YOU LOT!) and when i die ill leave the site to the Glos WLT.
thats the current plan anyhow!

the plot is an acre or so of open-aspect but thick and blanket, north-facing bramble/nettles/bracken with a bit of mature/semi-mature hazel and sycamore woodland to one side.
but its got issues (water i mean - not personal problems!) 
so no need for artificial pond liners! wahey!
its the same valley as Stroud Cemetery (vipera/viv) as it happens.

anyway, as i explored i noticed what first appeared to be a typical woodland bank but turned out as a 30m wide stretch of "rubber". 
- carefully-stacked car tyres partially-buried - and several metres high!
creating a huge artificial wall.

perhaps its an old silage clamp.

this top section has lots of hidey-holes for herps! yay!

stranger still was THIS walling beside the public footpath.
it looks like cotswold stone - but its just polystyrene blocks!!!!!

odd.

this construction is no problem for a hungry badger then.
wonder if he or she also mistook it for stone at first? ;

thanks for viewing.
your comments are invited!  

regards, ben

Edited by ben rigsby - 15 May 2011 at 9:29pm

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Liz Heard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Location: South West Status: Offline Points: 1429	Post Options Post Reply Quote Liz Heard Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: off -the-wall walling Posted: 15 May 2011 at 7:09pm
	hi folks, i went to look at a bit of land for sale today. my dad is looking to buy a couple of acres or so and im gonna try and create better herp habitat on it by digging a carefully-planned pond, creating refugia/ potential basking sites (log and stone piles), cutting down trees to let light in if necessary etc etc if it all comes off then i shall seek further habitat-establishment and/or management guidance (poss inc from YOU LOT!) and when i die ill leave the site to the Glos WLT. thats the current plan anyhow! the plot is an acre or so of open-aspect but thick and blanket, north-facing bramble/nettles/bracken with a bit of mature/semi-mature hazel and sycamore woodland to one side. but its got issues (water i mean - not personal problems!) so no need for artificial pond liners! wahey! its the same valley as Stroud Cemetery (vipera/viv) as it happens. anyway, as i explored i noticed what first appeared to be a typical woodland bank but turned out as a 30m wide stretch of "rubber". - carefully-stacked car tyres partially-buried - and several metres high! creating a huge artificial wall. perhaps its an old silage clamp. this top section has lots of hidey-holes for herps! yay! stranger still was THIS walling beside the public footpath. it looks like cotswold stone - but its just polystyrene blocks!!!!! odd. this construction is no problem for a hungry badger then. wonder if he or she also mistook it for stone at first? ; thanks for viewing. your comments are invited! regards, ben Edited by ben rigsby - 15 May 2011 at 9:29pm

will Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1830	Post Options Post Reply Quote will Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 2011 at 7:30am
	Great idea Ben; I reckon a field in Dorset converted into various herpetiliaries for native species (like in the New Forest - but BIGGER!) would be a major tourist attraction (in spring and summer, anyway), good for public education, and as a captive breeding centre animals could be released into the wild in areas of newly created habitat. Maybe start in Gloucs and set up in Dorset afterwards?! One of the best adder sites I knew was an old quarry stuffed full of walls of old tyres - they loved the combo of elevation, warmth and cover. The quarry got remediated and all those nasty tyres were got rid of... Cheers Will

tim-f Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 13 Apr 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Status: Offline Points: 208	Post Options Post Reply Quote tim-f Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 2011 at 8:12pm
	Good luck with the project Ben. I'd love to have the cash and time to create a viable nature reserve from nothing. From the tyres and polystyrene, I wonder if someone's previously tried to landscape the land? Regards, Tim.