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"Natural History Trail "

Shelley High School

Please note - a map and photographs will soon accompany this trail.

LOCATION

The trail is situated in the 35 acre grounds of the high school adjoining Huddersfield Rd. at Shelley. The route followed is circular, starting and finishing in the demonstration wildlife garden situated at the easternmost side of the site.

TIME

Depending on the age and physical ability of your group, allow approximately one hour at a leisurely pace.

 

LENGTH

The full trail is over 1.5 Km long although shorter routes can be followed should the weather be inclement or you wish to study only certain habitat types.

 

CONDITIONS

Due to the predominantly clay soil type and the east Pennine climate the trail can be wet and muddy at times. For your full enjoyment please make sure your group has adequate outdoor clothes and footwear.

 

Introduction

The Shelley High Natural History Trail has been designed for you to explore and experience at first hand a wide variety of different wildlife habitats* all of which were once common but, in many cases, are now fast disappearing due to economic and modern land use pressures. As you follow the trail think about the human impact on the natural environment, how we affect the landscape and the plants and animals around us. Consider too how you can perhaps help to look after the wildlife you'll see. Caring for the natural environment can take direct forms such as planting trees, putting up bird boxes and planting wildflowers to attract native species. This care can also take indirect forms such as not dropping litter (which kills wildlife), not wasting or polluting water (so allowing wetland plants and animals to thrive) and not buying products which you know are produced by wasteful and unnecessarily polluting methods.

Each station has been given the name of an animal home or breeding area. If you like you can see if you know which animals use these.

* Habitat = the type of place where a plant or animal normally grows or lives

Station 1 (The Earth)

The start of your wildlife adventure. As you walk under the wooden archway notice the fragrant flowered honeysuckle planted to attract night flying moths. Its autumn berries also provide food for birds and rodents. Activity in the natural world continues night and day. Try to imagine what animals might visit the school grounds whilst you are asleep in bed.

Leave the sanctuary of the wildlife garden and follow the arrows in a northerly direction (see map) to.....

Station 2 (The Grass Tunnel)

Here you can see a mixed hedge planted in 1996. The woody species present include Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus), Field Maple (Acer campestre), Hazel (Corylus avellana) and the Dog Rose (Rosa canina). There are also Rowans (Sorbus aucuparia) which have been left unpruned to produce tall hedgerow trees. Wild unkempt hedges are often best for wildlife, but if we want to keep hedges looking trimmed and tidy and dense to shelter and keep livestock in fields, cutting them into an A-shaped cross section during the late winter (before buds open and birds nest) strikes an acceptable compromise. This trimming encourages thick hedge base growth which is needed by low lying birds such as the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) and the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) as well as sheltering mice, voles, shrews, rabbits, hedgehogs, frogs, toads and many invertebrates.

Hedge planting in this country really started with enclosures for sheep as feudalism waned during Tudor and Stuart times. It peaked as a result of the Enclosures Acts from the mid 18th until the mid 19th centuries. Many of these surviving hedges consist primarily of hawthorn and blackthorn (other species having colonised the hedgerows later on). The thorn species were preferred because their prickles helped provide stock proof barriers. The thorns also provide good protection from predators for small nesting birds.

Across the school driveway towards the northeast you will see a large grassy mound. Climb this to ...

Station 3 (The Eyrie)

This station affords extensive views of the surrounding countryside. To the north lies mainly pasture/fodder producing farmland, to the east lies the village of Skelmanthorpe, to the south lie the High School buildings and to the west (across the sports fields) lie far reaching views towards the Pennines - 'the backbone of England'. It is important to think about how natural features (such as climate, aspect and gradient) and land use around a nature area will affect the wildlife living in it. Our locally cool, wet and windy climate is influenced by the site's altitude and proximity to the Pennines. Buildings, roads and industry affect wildlife through loss of habitat, pollution and disturbance. Farmland in the 1990s is used more intensively than ever and inorganic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides are in widespread use. As a consequence many of our native species of fauna and flora cannot compete for food and living space in modern farmland. As farming methods have changed so too have the crops and livestock produced. Genetically modified cereals are commonplace and many of the traditional breeds of farm animals are in danger of extinction. Is the mound you are standing on a natural feature? You have probably guessed that it is not. The mound has been artificially created by heaping rubble (left over from the building of the school in the early 1970s into a contoured mound, covering it with a thin layer of soil and then seeding it with grass.

If you look down at your feet you will notice that the grass sward is made up of many different plant species as well as grasses; for example, self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), Common Field Speedwell (Veronica persica), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Daisies (Bellis perennis), Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), Ribwort plantain (Plantago lancelota) and Black Knapweed (Centarea nigra) to name but a few. If you look down at ground level (particularly on a warm summers day with a hand lense) you will see the variety of living organisms that live in just one small patch of 'grass'. Remember there are also millions of microscopic plants and animals living there that you cannot see with the naked eye.

Continue down the far side of the mound towards the playing fields and cross the driveway to ...

Station 4 (Tree hole)

This station provides an example of woodland edge habitat. The trees were planted in the mid 1970's to provide shelter and screening for the school and are now maturing well. They provide good cover and form a wildlife 'corridor' which animals can use to move about and pass through the school grounds unseen by potential predators (including humans). Such wildlife corridors are essential for linking increasingly fragmented suitable wildlife habitats. The trees have never been thinned to produce good timber so they have to compete with each other for light, twisting and turning as they grow. At present there is a good variety of species including Hawthorne (Crataegus monogyna), Cherry (prunus avium), Birch (betula pendula) and Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) as you would expect from the original planting. In a natural succession the climax woodland type would be Common oak (Quercus robur). Oak seedlings can tolerate some shade and are a tough long-lived species. In milder southern climates Beech woodland (Fagus sylvatica) can succeed oak as the dominant tree species because its seedlings are even more shade tollerant than oak.

Continue walking along the woodland until you reach ...

Station 4A (Sett)

Coppicing, a traditional form of woodland management, is gradually being introduced to this area. Coppicing generally produced smaller timber for use as fencing, firewood, charcoal, tool handles etc. Some larger trees (particularly oak) were left to grow to provide larger timbers for ship and house building. In a coppiced wood trees are periodically cut down to just above ground level to stimulate regrowth of shoots (poles) from the stumps (stools) and, in some species, the roots. This cutting can actually lengthen the trees' lifetime.

Coppicing sections of woodland at different times creates a great variety of different mini-habitats within the woodland which, in turn, attracts a wide range of plants and animals. These plants and animals can then colonise other suitable areas of the wood as a particular patch grows thicker and shades over once again. Fewer species can survive in dense shaded areas; notice, for example, how many more butterflies flit along woodland glades and rides where sunlight penetrates the tree canopy and greater numbers of wildflowers can grow. Non-coppiced woods tend to contain trees of very similar age thus the woodland structure (canopy, tree layer, shrub layer, herb layer, ground flora) tends to be fairly uniform and thus supports fewer species than coppiced woodland.

Continue along the woodland edge and the hedgerow until you are level with tall trees nearer to the school buildings. Cross the playing fields to marker no. 5 ...

Station 5 (Drey)

Mature trees are an important part of our familiar landscape. It is reckoned that seven to ten saplings need to be planted to ensure the survival to maturity of just one full grown tree. The great landscape gardeners of the past planned ahead beyond their own lifetimes to create the impressive parklands and gardens of places like Studley Royal, Harewood and Chatsworth. The trees you see here are specimen trees. A number of them have been planted since the school was built. Can you tell which they are? Judging by the great height and width of the Beech, Oak and Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) these trees predate the school by many years.

Did you know that you can estimate the age of a tree by counting the number of transverse rings in its trunk? However unless a tree has been cut down or suffered damage to a large lower branch you will probably only be able to guess the age by looking at its height and girth and comparing these with the same species of tree of known age locally. You can practice gauging the age of a tree by counting annual rings when looking at recently cut coppice stools. Researchers do sometimes take core samples from living trees to count their annual rings. It should be remembered that in a warm wet year the annual ring grown by the tree is wider than in a cold and/or dry year so tree girth can only give a rough estimate of likely age.

Walk to the edge of the all-weather pitch, towards the Pennine side, then across to the tall, stately trees you can see from here...

Station 6 (Nest)

These White Poplars (Populus alba) like to grow in damp areas so, appropriately enough, are flourishing on this wet ground beside the old mill pond. At this height above sea level they have, in all probability, been planted for their beauty and to provide shelter rather than grown here naturally. They are lovely trees, members of the willow family (salicaceae), having attractive leaves which appear to shimmer as the breeze moves them in the sunlight. If you look at the upper surface of a leaf it is a dark glossy green whereas the underside remains covered with the thick white down of the young shoots and leaves.

Follow the woodland edge southwards to ....

Station 7 (Den)

The hawthorn hedge is a remnant of the old field boundary hedge from the time when the site was still farmland. It provides very valuable wildlife food and shelter in the middle of what could otherwise be relatively a barren area of school playing fields. Half of the hedge has been left 'derelict' and overgrown. Horizontal boughs show evidence of it having been layed when it was a field boundary hedge. The other half of the hedge has been layed by a local contractor (in the Yorkshire style) both to rejuvenate the hedge and to provide shelter for wildlife and people using the site.

When laying a hedge the undergrowth is cleared to allow better access, i.e., the tangle of brambles, bindweed, grasses etc. is removed. The hedging plants are then trimmed (as necessary) and their individual stems (or pleachers) are cut nearly through and bent over in the same direction. This is always uphill if the ground slopes to aid the sap rising and to allow the hedge to survive. These pleachers do survive because the hinge contains some sapwood, bast and cambium with the bark. The cut stumps also tend to sprout new shoots which grow up and thicken the hedge base. If hedges are layed on a 7 to 15 year cycle they can remain vigorous and stock-proof almost infinitely. Hedge laying was traditionally an autumn and winter job for farm hands. The regular cycle of hedge laying across farms benefited wildlife as well as farm stock. As farms became more intensive (particularly after World War II) and fewer people were employed on the land, hedge laying became far less widespread. The majority of farm hedges are now cut (often very severely) with a flail cutter. This gradually weakens the hedge, as ripped branches allow disease to take hold, therefore hedges become 'gappy' over time and they loose their usefulness for stock and wildlife alike.

Walk along the line of the hedge on its right hand side as you look away from the school buildings until you reach ...

Station 8 (Web)

This area of mixed woodland contains both deciduous and coniferous trees. Oak (Quercus robur), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), Silver Birch (Betula pendula) and Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) predominate here.

See if you can find the soil pit (located near the desire line pathway to the road). This was dug to show the different layers of soil which can easily be distinguished by their different colours. The colour varies according to the layer's differing mineral and humic (organic matter) content, the origin of the parental rock from which they were formed and according to the process which acted on / are acting on them, for example, (as in this instance) waterlogging.

Brash piles (cut branches stacked into heaps) have been left to provide shelter for mammals such as the Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and for low nesting birds like the Blackcap and Wren. The understorey is dominated by stands of cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) from April to June followed by Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odonata) and Upright Hedge Parsley (Torilis japonica). These plants provide a wonderful larder for many types of insect including hoverflies which can reach the nectar of their umbellifer flowers with their short tongues. They also provide excellent cover for many small rodents. Shrews can often be heard here if you stand still and listen during the warmer months. Moles (Talpa europaea) frequent this site, particularly on the edges of the grassed fields, because the soil is fairly deep and easy to tunnel in. The damp conditions and leaves also attract large numbers of the moles' main prey species, worms.

Walk through the gap in the hedge and along the shelterbelt of trees until you reach ....

Station 9 (Holt)

 The Wetland Area - this includes wet grassland, willow and alder woodland and a seasonal pond with dipping platform.

The seasonal pond was dug and lined with sodium bentonite clay during 1995/6 to increase the range of habitats on site and thus the range of wildlife attracted to this naturally wet grassland area. The pond is shallow so that the water evaporates rapidly and the main area of the pond dries up completely during the drier times of the year. Many farm ponds have been lost this century due to the drainage and intensification of modern farmland. As a result, vital amphibian habitat has been lost. Contrary to popular belief, toads, newts and frogs spend the majority of their time in damp areas near to, but not actually in, water. Wet grassland habitat is particularly important for the newts and frogs, whilst toads are often found under rotting logs and within damp spaces in drystone walls. Allowing the pond to dry up completely prevents tadpole predators, such as fish, from surviving from year to year. This increases the survival rate of amphibians eggs and tadpoles as long as the early stages of their lifestyles are completed before the water disappears. Shelley High's seasonal pond mimics what often happens in truly natural surroundings. The pond is not topped up with water artificially.

Note the presence of Hedge Parsley and Nettles (Urtica diocia) which thrive on damp, nutrient rich soils. Also note the alder trees (Alnus glutinosa) which also flourish on wet soils. Typical wetland wildflowers such as Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) have been planted in this area to increase the range of species present.

Walk up the steps away from the wetland and along the line of the grassed bank to ...

Station 10 (Form)

The grassland bank is on the site of an old access road so the ground here is compacted and the soil in places is thin and nutrient poor. The grass is also cut short regularly. Many annual 'weed' species can survive here because they can out-compete more vigorous species (such as ryegrass) in the localised drought conditions. Maturing, flowering and setting seed within one short season these annuals then die back. The next generation of plants grow on the following year having lain dormant as seeds in the soil's seed bank waiting for the right conditions to germinate.

Low growing species such as Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris), Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea) are common here. The Shaggy Ink Cap fungus (Coprinus comatus) thrives on the areas of slightly deeper, richer soil on this previously disturbed ground. Its distinctive fruiting bodies (toadstools) grow in clusters from late spring until the autumn. When young it is white with a pinkish or buff hue. It darkens as it matures, eventually becoming a black semi-liquid slimy mass.

Follow the fenceline until you reach ...

Station 11 (Burrow)

The importance of shelter to attract wildlife cannot be overstated. Even where non-native plant species are used, as in this corner shrub bed, the cover they provide allows insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals to use areas of the school grounds which they might otherwise avoid due to disturbance by people near to the buildings. The shrub bed would be even better for wildlife if it consisted of native plant species however, as these are more likely to provide food to suit the greatest number and variety of insects. Because our native insects have evolved alongside native wild plants they have the adaptions best suited to exploiting their resources rather than those of non-native exotics.

In allowing long meadow grasses to grow alongside the shrub bed a good wildlife corridor has been created for many animals. As animals use the areas close to buildings the school pupils also benefit through being able to study the natural environment firs hand. They also benefit from from the convenience of being close to their own shelter and materials such as hand lenses, petri-dishes, nets and reference books. People, however sophisticated their lifestyles, should remember that they are entirely dependent on the natural world. It can, therefore, only benefit us if we seek to understand and to look after our natural environment to the best of our ability.

Go down the slope to the flagged pathway to ...

Station 12 (Scrape)

There are three managed meadow areas on the slope opposite the laboratories. The first (next to the marker post and to the left of the steps as you look up towards the pond area) is maintained as a spring meadow. This area is left unmown and untrampled throughout the spring. It is cut for the first time in July when the spring flowering plants have finished flowering, set and shed their seed. Grass cuttings are left lying for two weeks after cutting to allow any remaining seed to shed, then raked up to prevent any further build up of nutrients. The last point is important when managing wildflower meadows otherwise a build up of nutrients allows vigorous competitive species such as dandelions and rye grass to dominate the sward.

The next meadow (to the right of the steps) is a summer flowering meadow. This is left unmown and untrampled from May until late September. From then on it is mown throughout the growing season and all cuttings are removed after they have shed any remaining wildflower seed. Yarrow (Archillea millefoium), Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) and Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris) flourish here.

The third meadow is located between the summer meadow and the corner shrub bed. This is a 'wait and see' experimental plot. It is cut once in the early to mid spring and once in mid September (all cuttings being removed) and the plants are left to colonise the area for themselves. Surveys are being done once a month using line transects and quadrats and records are being kept of their results.

Climb up the steps and go through the gateway to the pond area ...

Station 13 (Shell)

This pond was constructed and established during 1992/94 after the original pond in the grounds (which predated the school) had to be filled in when the sixth form block extension was built. Many plants and invertebrates, fish and amphibians were transferred from the old pond to this new one. Extra plants were brought in to create a new bog garden and to increase the species range (biodiversity) of the new pond.

Since its construction the pond has matured well and is now home to an amazing variety of life. It is used for dipping sessions by science students and, together with its inhabitants, has also been the inspiration for much creative writing and artistic work. This pond boasts all three native species of newt. The colourful three-spined male sticklebacks (Pungitus pungitus and Gasterosteus aculeatus) can be watched patrolling their territories and courting females during the warmer late spring and summer months. They are not long-lived fish, probably reaching a maximum of three years in the wild. A number of different dragonfly and damselfly species are attracted to this pond to hunt and breed. Grey herons (Ardea cinerea), Swallows (Hurundo rustica), House Martins (Delichon urbica)and even Snipe (Gallinago galinago), on occasion, are seen here.

Go through the second gateway to ...

Station 14 (Gall)

Beside this post you will find an apple tree (Malus domestica). If you look further along the track towards the playing fields you will see a crab apple (Malus sylvestris). This is the wild version of our familiar eating apple. It was planted to cross-pollinate the apple tree so that fruit is produced to benefit wildlife. Insects, particularly bees and hoverflies, are attracted to the blossom which is rich in nectar. Many birds and insects such as wasps (and of course humans) are attracted by the ripe apples in the late summer and autumn. Without pollinating insects visiting our commercial orchards and gardens we would not be able to enjoy the fruit which we all take for granted.

Step across the track and look for the next trail post to your left.

Station 15 (bower)

Here you will find an area of mixed deciduous woodland planted as a Community Copse during the early and mid 1990s. Pupils, parents and members of the local community paid for and planted the majority of these native trees over a period of three years. The aim has been to create a woodland that encourages wildlife into the school grounds closer to the buildings and to enhance the grounds visually for people to enjoy. Previously this area was rough grassland covering rubble strewn ground. Some of the tree planting sessions were timed to coincide with National Tree Week. Millennium plantings will also be carried out using trees grown in the schools tree nursery from seed of native provenance (seeds collected by pupils of Shelley High and other feeder schools). Many woodland birds are using this mini-woodland because it was planted close by previously existing woodland to aid rapid colonisation. Bluetits (Parus caeruleus) and Greatits (Parus major) have used the nest boxes made and put up by pupils around the school site (26 in all), and have been very good at ridding the vulnerable tree saplings of the leaf eating caterpillars. Nest hatching and fledging rates have been good due to the abundance of food close to the nest sites.

Continue along the track and go over the stile above the turning circle.

Station 15A (Mound/Hill)

Compare the woodland you find here with the Community Copse. The habitat, though wooded, is very different to that at station 15. Most of the trees here (with the exception of birch and rowan as you enter the woodland) are coniferous pine trees. Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) is our only native British Pine. The corsican Pine (Pinus nigra laricio) which you can find here has been extensively planted in this country for its fast growing, quality timber.

If you look under the coniferous trees you will notice that herb and field layer species are sparse or absent altogether. As conifers mature they tend to shade out other plants and their slow to decompose needles blanket the soil, gradually turning it more acidic, which also reduces opportunities for other plants to grow. This type of woodland does support its own wildlife, however, particularly wood ants (Formica rufa) and birds such as the Siskin (Carduelis spinus) which is adapted for feeding on birch, alder and pine cones. Pine Martins (Martes martes)and Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) also retain their strongholds in native pine forests.

Retrace your steps back over the stile and along the fence to the large pond.

Station 16 (Crevice)

NOTE: Please keep young children on the school side of the fence and do not take large groups into the pond area in one go.

This large pond was dug in 1996 with the final 'landscaping earthworks' being undertaken in 1997. Its sides are deliberately steep with two shallower areas. The pond is lined with compacted local clay and, as there is no means of topping up the water artificially, the sides have been kept fairly steep to reduce rapid evaporation of water from the pond. This pond was 'seeded' with water from a nearby small reservoir. The wildlife which colonised the pond surpassed all expectations in just the first two years and the site is now a thriving wetland ecosystem with many of the invertebrates, fish and amphibians you would expect to find in a long-standing natural pond.

Carefully follow the driveway along until you reach post no. 17.

Station 17 (Leche)

Some provision for wildlife can still be made in formal gardened areas. Compare the potential wildlife value of this close mown grass with some of the other stations you have visited on this trail. What factors might perhaps reduce the usefulness of this area as a feeding/sheltering area? - human disturbance, the shortness of the sward harbouring fewer insects, chemical weedkillers reducing the sward diversity, lack of cover for hiding from predators...

The Standard Whitebeam trees (Sorbus species) do provide some cover with flowers and berries in season. Out of school hours greater numbers of birds such as Pied Wagtails (Motacilla alba), Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Finches use this area. Crows (Corvus corone) frequently clear up food scraps dropped by pupils after breaktimes. We have put up a nest box on one of the trees to increase potential use by small birds.

Insect life would be increased by cutting the grass with mower blades set slightly higher than normal; just a couple of centimetres can make a big difference, especially if grass clippings are removed as well to encourage wildflowers. If such grass areas have to be kept short for aesthetic reasons then preventing use of chemical sprays and fertilisers will still help plants and animals to make the most of the area. Perhaps we could also educate people that wholesale taming of the wilderness and creating completely artificial habitats is not altogether desirable or even advisable.

Continue along the drive to the wildlife garden.

Station 18 (Lair)

The wildlife garden has been designed to include as many different habitat types as possible within a convenient study area. Accordingly we have established:

A mixed hedge	A herb garden
Summer meadow	A shrub garden for birds
Spring meadow	A nettle patch / wild area for butterflies, insects etc.
Sunny log pile	A 'wait-and-see' meadow
Shaded log pile	A tree nursery with seed and transplant beds
Woodland edge	Compost heaps
A pond and wet meadow	Climbers to cover fencing / provide bird and insect habitat
An insect garden	Bird tables

And, of course, seating, artwork, pathways, and work and study areas for human visitors to the wildlife garden to use and enjoy.

And finally

a message from those involved with SHEP - the Shelley High Environment Project

We hope that you have enjoyed the Shelley High School Natural History Trail. Any leaflet can only give you an idea of what you might see during your walk as the plants growing and the animals you find will vary with the seasons and the weather conditions. Please let the school know of any unusual finds or interesting encounters so that we can keep our records up to date.

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