Habitats destroyed by Wildfires at Lanarkshire conservation park

Glasgow Times

2 days ago

The charity, Viewpark Conservation Group, preserves and regenerates the historic Douglas Estate, which the M8 runs through between Coatbridge and Viewpark.
It's a 172-acre green utopia where flora and fauna flourish in the wild surroundings.
However, the peace and tranquillity of the park have been disrupted recently, as several fires have destroyed vital habitats for wildlife.
Bird nests, including eggs, were discovered in the charred remains of the park where the fires spread, and the park rangers say the blazes have left 'scars'.
Habitats destroyed by fires at Lanarkshire conservation park (Image: Supplied) The Glasgow Times was invited down to the park to see the devastation caused by the fires.
Douglas Support Ranger Douglas Traynor, 27, said: "Unfortunately, at the start of May, we had a wildfire down here in the park."
He points around him with his arms to show the extent of the damage, which stretches for hundreds of metres, with only some signs of regrowth weeks later.
Douglas continued to explain: "What you can see is a huge scar where a lot of the dried plants and wood went up in flames.
"What that was mainly in these scars was dead hedges. They are basically constructed of dead wood that's piled on top of each other to create almost like a wall or a hedge.
"The wood then decays and breaks down, and it's perfect for wildlife. It's great for small birds, for amphibians, for small mammals. Excellent for insects.
Bird's nests were destroyed in the fire (Image: Supplied) "Deadwood is one of the most underrated sources of biodiversity that we have."
Douglas revealed that the dead hedges had taken months of volunteer work by them and the various groups they have involved to help, including local scouts and schools.
He explained: "It's just such a shame, this was a representation of the hard work that all of those people helped us put in, but unfortunately, that's now gone.
"That's burned down, all that's left are scars."
It's thought that the initial fire then spread to other areas of the park from the dead hedges, causing further devastation.
Douglas said: "That wasn't the end of it either.
"We then had what seemed to be sparks from whatever wildfire started here, encroaching on what is admittedly a Japanese notweed plantation.
"That really burned down a huge scar which is now covered by the regen, such is the way of notweed.
Park Ranger Douglas Traynor (Image: Newsquest/Gordon Terris) "But what was in there before that fire went off was a lot of birds, a lot of ground nesting birds just starting out their nests.
"We pulled out a fair couple of nests, a couple which had eggs in them and were very much on the go, and unfortunately, they're now gone.
"That can't be undone. The habitat that the birds were using, the sheer number of amphibians that I'm sure were in there.
"That kind of harm can't be undone."
The dry spell might have come to an end for now, but with us sure to have some more spells of good weather later in the year, Douglas urged people to be careful when out in the wild.
He said: "Wildfires are a really, really difficult thing because of this, they can be caused by so little.
"You know, small bits of glass on a dry enough day can cause a spark.
"The key is just to think twice before you're making fires, is what we're always trying to put across.
Douglas is urging people to 'think twice' before lighting fires (Image: Newsquest/Gordon Terris) "The outdoor access code doesn't fully cover your right to have a fire. If you're going to have one, it needs to be raised as well. And the less damage we do to the ground, the better.
"When events like this happen, that could have also been a massive risk to the people who come down here.
"This is a commonly walked path as a lot of folk are coming down here to actually just check in on the progress that volunteers make as well."
Viewpark Conservation Group were established in 2019 when they secured a buyout of the land from the Douglas family.
They secured over half a million pounds of funding via the National Lottery and other fundraising.
The group will host special events to celebrate its fifth anniversary later this summer.