Sevenoaks & Tonbridge Conservation Volunteers

 Keeping reed mace at bay in Chiddingstone Reserve

STCV volunteers teamed up with local volunteers and site wardens to clear willow and reed mace from three of the many ponds at this redundant clay extraction site.  Ongoing management prevents the ponds from silting up and gives wetland wildlife room to thrive.

This reserve is managed under the auspices of Kent Wildlife Trust and is home to diverse plant and animal species. Some such as the Service Tree are unusual but common to the Weald of Kent.

Reeds grow quickly and overwhelm a pond reducing the diversity of plant life and leaving no open water for insect larvae to live in. The task is to keep the plant in check  and to do this the rhizomes, called mace, need to be pulled from the mud. This pictures shows a volunteer using a crome to lift the mace from the pond bed..