Conservation work at Mancetter Quarry

After I graduated from polytechnic in 1991 I got involved with a group called the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (later the BTCV). Although the person in charge was paid, everyone else were volunteers. A contingent of volunteers from the University of Warwick used to get collected in the mini bus to come along and help. Some of them are in the group photograph. The group used to go out Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, which is when I most often attended. We got engaged with conservation projects throughout Coventry and Warwickshire (later north Oxfordshire as well) getting involved in such things as hedge laying, planting, coppicing, etc,. Sometimes the projects could just be for one day.

Longer, ongoing projects

On other occasions they could be a longer, ongoing project and Mancetter Quarry was one of these. The area had had some Roman activity, although just before quarrying took place, it had been farm land. The people who ran the quarry were (and still are as far as I know) environmentally responsible and had various conservation projects going on at the site (not where there was actual quarrying though!). The main idea was that when everything of value had been extracted from one part of the quarry, it was backfilled and made conducive for a variety of plant life, which in turn would encourage animal life.

A success story

One major success story was that we were going to plant some rare orchids in one newly backfilled spot. They were suitable because the same ones were growing at other similar areas in the quarry site. We did not have to bother though, some started growing there of their own accord. Mother Nature knows best! Other activities which we were involved with there was tree planting, cutting back vegetation which was impeding the growth of less resilient plants and making things conducive for insect life.

I do remember a large pool there, which was obviously an excavation which had got filled with water, being a beautiful bright blue colour. The reason it was that colour though was because it was very alkaline. So appearances can be deceptive!