The importance of ivy - please can someone check the facts

[Deb London]

Hi people,

Can some of you guys check this sheet. If anything is incorrect, please point this out. If anything can be added to it, PLEASE help us do this:

Serious attacks on our most precious plant

Did you know that Ivy is the best plant for wildlife on this reserve?
Yet some people have cut it off your trees.

Does this matter?
Ivy has the most important flowers for nectar and pollen in September and October. Ivy flowers, high in the trees, feed many thousands of insects – including honey bees.

Birds feed on these insects in autumn, and then in winter their only food on the Nature Reserve are the fat-rich berries of Ivy to help them survive harsh weather.

Which birds eat ivy berries?
Blackbirds, Mistle Thrushes, Song Thrushes, Robins, Blackcaps, Redwings, Fieldfares, Starlings and Wood Pigeons need these energy-rich ivy berries to stay alive during winter.

Cutting the ivy on these trees will have destroyed the future of perhaps 3,000 flowers and berries. This will almost certainly be detrimental to hundreds of Honey Bees and 50 birds this autumn and winter.

This is a message to those who have cut the ivy:
Please contact me: xxxxxxx@talktalk.net and arrange to meet

If that person fails to contact us by 28th February, then clearly they intend to continue destroying other parts of this nature reserve.

Then we will have no option but to close off the access to the wood from the xxxxxxx xxxxxx Estate in order to protect it from further damage by that person.

We don’t want to close this entrance but hope those people will contact us - to prevent further damage and help restoration work.

xxxxxx xxxxxxxx - working here every week for 27 years

Some background to all this : there is a battle between some elderly residents and a group of conservationists that I sometimes help. I have just heard that the police are now involved. The elderly ladies have been killing the ivy and objecting to small tree removal from part of the wood. A notice like this has now been pinned to some of the damaged trees. I believe the ladies had cut into the bark of these trees when they removed the ivy.

I deal in facts and logic, so I don't want one of the old biddies (ooops, elderly ladies) that normally assault us while we work, pulling us up on anything written on this notice. I also wondered if the case for ivy could be made any stronger than this?

Cheers.

[Dogghound]

I would say its one of the best plants on the reserve.

Also try and emphersise its importance to nesting birds and roosting/feeding bats. You could also suggest that cutting it in spring/summer may damage these species.

[Deb London]

Good points.

The birds' nests were mentioned in the accompanying email, but the notice has missed this out. Thanks D

[ForestPaul]

Could be worth pointing out that contrary to popular belief, ivy doesn't harm trees in any way, and isn't parasitic. It draws it's nutrient through it's roots and only uses trees for support.

[Gill Catton]

Seems correct to me, If you are making edits then I'd add in butterflies and bumblebees to the hon ey bees as they are also popular with people.

And I wonder about dispelling the myth that Ivy directly kills trees (which is usually why people feel the need to cut it down.)

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Debs,

This is a message to those who have cut the ivy:
Please contact me: xxxxxxx@talktalk.net and arrange to meet

I like this bit, though don't doubt you'll meet them in the presence of a colleague! The key to preventing further repeats of this I'd imagine is in knowing why they're doing it. Is there a particular reason they have a 'connection' with the tree/s in question? That said, I suppose if there was anything deep-routed (pardon the pun...), they'd perhaps have put something in writing in the first place.

Take care,

Jason

[Deb London]

All these points are great!

I should stress that this note wasn't written by me and it's not me who will be meeting anyone to explain things. Although I have met the ring leader anyway. A retired lady with a tremendous set of lungs for shouting abuse and who swears like a trooper. I have had a "chat" with her.

If we meet again, I certainly will be mentioning some of the extra points that people here have made. I'm no good at arguing, so I'll need to be mentally prepared.

Thanks all.

[RKB]

If the old crones are damaging tangible elements of habitat on a reserve that has an owner, without permission, then that's criminal damage. Ivy is a shrub, so removing it is vandalism, the same as if they were removing oak trees or holly bushes.

If they are damaging the trees too, then that's all the more solid, as trees (as timber) are property.

[Deb London]

She looked me in the eye when she admitted that her and her friends were doing this damage and said it was OK for her to cut the ivy as the Firecrest that had nested here for several years in a row was no longer seen anyway.

Ohh, so that's OK then is it lady? Right!

But it's all just word of mouth. And I doubt whether anyone will take it seriously. The police have better things to do, and the council don't care.

[davecatt]

Hi Deb
May I suggest a notice should be posted at every access point to the wood explaining the nature and reason for the work being done? Perhaps include an invitation to discuss any concerns with the project leader. Better to build bridges than to put up fences. Get 'em on your side,all it takes is a bit of diplomacy and perhaps education. Maybe both sides will learn something.
Dave