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Caring for the Commons
Introduction
The Commons around Castlemorton are very special. There are not many places in this county where you can still see active common grazing and as such it is hard to understate the cultural and wildlife value of this process.
Grazing of the commons over centuries has made them what they are today and is the core tool that delivers the aims of management on the common. Without the livestock the Commons would be much poorer place for the wildlife, and for people such as walkers or horse riders (due to scrub encroachment preventing access), and the cultural value of local graziers turning out stock on the common would be lost.
The grazing is carried out by local farmers with a legal right to graze on the Common. In acknowledgment of the valuable wildlife present on Castlemorton Common, some areas have been designated by Natural England as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, a national designation which gives extra protection to the common.
Any physical land management works on the commons are the responsibility of the owners; the Malvern Hills Conservators and the owners of Birtsmorton common. This includes work like maintenance of paths, internal ditches and the cutting of trees and scrub, but should not be confused with the right of estovers held by the people with legal rights to take away dead wood from the common "by hook or by crook". While the Hills Conservators look after this aspect of management on their land the common land owned by Nigel Dawes from Birtsmorton Court is managed by his appointed agent.
Types of Management
Grazing
Grazing is the key management tool for the common. It is the way the common has been managed to for centuries and it is what has made the common the way it is today. The local farmers with a legal right to turn out their cattle and sheep onto the common are the people who carry this out as part of their day to day farm businesses.
Grazing with sheep and cattle at the correct stocking levels allows the important wildflowers to flower and set seed and also helps to break up the thick patches of Rushes, which gives the wildflowers a chance to come through. 
One of the most important aspects of the grazing is that it helps to keep the scrub under control. While scrub is valued as a habitat in its own right it needs to be managed in order for it to be maintained in good condition for wildlife.
Without grazing the common would become overgrown and impassable in many areas. The special wildlife that is found on the common would also suffer as wildflowers were over shaded and ground nesting birds would have no-where left to nest. Cutting with machinery alone would not provide the diversity of plant structure necessary for many of the plants and invertebrates and would change the character of the common. The grazing also provides a really useful food source for young birds and also for the rare bats in the area that feed on the insect associated with the animal dung. Without grazing the common would be a much poorer place.
Scrub Management
As the owners of the common, the scrub management is undertaken by the Malvern Hills Conservators and by Birstmorton Court on Coombegreen common.
If scrub is left alone then through succession it will gradually turn into what is called secondary woodland. This tends to be leggy and unsuitable for nesting birds. It also tends to shade out many species of low lying scrub like Gorse, Broom and Bramble, which are very important for birds, butterflies and small mammals.
The intention of the scrub management on the common is to create a balance between the open grassy areas and the thick scrubby areas. We try to provide for birds like the Lapwing (which returned for the first time for 17 years in 2007), that like the open marshy areas with little or no perches for predatory birds. We also try and provide for the smaller birds like the warblers, stonechats and linnets that all have differing nesting requirements from isolated scrub bushes to thick patches of dense scrub.
To provide for all of the wildlife (not forgetting the plants and fungi) we need to try and maintain a mixture of all these habitats across the site. The Conservators aim to create differing age classes of scrub and different scrub structures. All this diversity helps to provide niches for all the different species present on the common. If the common was left alone then many of these habitats would become very similar and would favour only a few of the species on the common.
In order to manage and control the scrub we use a number of different techniques.
In areas where we want to remove the scrub we cut and collect the material with a specially designed machine that has a low impact on the ground. Taking away the cut material helps to reduce the fertility and makes it harder for the scrub to come back.
In areas where we want the scrub to regenerate, we tend to cut the material with a flail cutter which mulches vegetation to a pulp. This is left to rot down where it is cut and often provides a food source to birds in the area at the time. These areas tend to regenerate more quickly and help to provide the diversity of habitat needed for the birds and small mammals.
In locations were the ground conditions do not allow access with machinery, volunteers and field staff clear the scrub by hand. The Malvern Hills Conservators volunteer team do work all over the hills and commons and their work is invaluable. If you would like to get involved please contact the wardens of the Malvern Hills Conservators on 01684 892002.
Burning
Burning is a management tool that was used on the common until about 15 - 20 years ago. The experience from the Malvern Hills Conservators staff on other land is that the results of burning scrub are extremely varied from site to site. With this in mind, a trial will be run on the common to see how effective this management tool may be.
Pollarding
Pollarding is the regular cycle of cutting branches from a tree to harvest the timber from it. This process not only provides a sustainable source of timber, but also prolongs the life of the trees and 
creates rot holes that are used by nesting birds like Barn Owls. There are over 100 pollarded trees on the common and historically these would have been managed by the local residents with rights to the wood. Although there are no registered legal rights to this timber, the Malvern Hills Conservators pollard these trees for their conservation (on the land they own) and leave the wood in piles for the local people and wildlife. In most cases the trees managed in this way are either Willow or Poplar species that are quick to regenerate and grow back, although some slower growing species like Oak and Ash are also managed in this way.
One of the most common pollarded trees is the Black Poplar and although it is abundant on this common, nationally it is one of Britain 's rarest trees. There is a pollarding plan and re-planting programme to conserve this tree for the future.
Management Taking Effect
Over the last 15 - 20 years some of the characteristic breeding bird species have increased in number and the local bird experts think this is due to the management of the commons by the graziers and the owners. The increases in the wildlife populations are shown below:
Number of breeding Black Cap 1986-2007
Number of breeding Chifchaff 1986-2007
Number of breeding Stonechat 1993-2007
Conclusion
Over all, the aim of the management on the common is not to be too regimented but to create a patchwork. This ensures that there is as much diversity of structure and species on the common for the many species it supports. Having said all of this the one main ingredient to the management of the common is still the grazing. This is the process that stunts the growth of the scrub and provides seeding areas for wildflowers. It is the re-creation of the natural process that would have been carried out by the native herbivores before man's intervention in the landscape.
Rob Havard
Conservation Officer
Malvern Hills Conservators
14.11.2007
