Newsletter October 2015 (1)

HEDGE PROJECT NEWSLETTER.AUTUMN 2015 Issue 100
HEDGE
Project
Newsletter.
Autumn 2015
OCT 2015
The last 6 months have seenthe regular seasonal changes inour
conservation work. We go from felling/scrub clearance, site repairs and
keeping the housed animals healthy and fat throughout the Winter, to
invasive weedmanagement, project work, keeping tabs on our
deployed livestock and stopping them from escaping off the heaths
throughout the Summer, as well as getting a healthy suntan of course.
And now the days shorten and we are about to switchback into our
Winter routines.
There have alsobeen changes to our livestock and team. InAugust we
wavedgoodbye to the last of our Poll Dorset sheep; although they will
be greatly missed, it has eased our workload and, as a result, our cattle
have never been inbetter fettle. KayleighWinch has been welcomedin
as Team Leader; a fresh Bournemouth University graduate who had
previously worked withus. Not only is she very sharp and intelligent(!),
winning the Jack Parsons Awardfor best dissertation, but she is also
extremely organised and the tool shed has never been so tidy.
In late July one of our cattle on Holt heath was spotted by a member of
the public, stuck in a pond, in a very sorry state. Anticipating deep
water, Dale prepared by bringing a wetsuit, much to his surprise the
water was only 18 inches deep! Sowitha push, a shove and a large
winch the cow was removed from the pond. Able tostand on its own, it
was left on the heath to recover, hoping to remainin the mainherd.
Much to our surprise the same cow was spotted by one of our
volunteers, Susi, a few days later, stuck back in a boggy area of the
heathland, just yards from the original pond. Withthe help of Dorset
Fire Brigade, she was removedfrom the bog for a 2nd time and,
reluctantly put inthe livestock trailer for safe return to the home farm
for some TLC from Nicola (see 1st picture).
The past few weeks have focused on finishing the new cow muck store
ready for the cattle returning to the barns for the Winter (see Kayleigh
at work in2nd picture). This new facility will make our manure
management much easier and greatly reduce the risk of getting
bogged down with the tractor in the middle of a damp, smelly muck
heap, without any wellingtons to aid one’s escape. There’s no way
around the hard graft, but together Dale, Kayleigh, Nicola and David
managed to lay 120 Tons of concrete in just 8 days and livedto tell the
tale!
The Summer months

HEDGE PROJECT NEWSLETTER.AUTUMN 2015 | Issue100 2
The great weather we’ve had this
year has allowedthe rarer heathland
vegetation to thrive, and also enabled
the edible grasses to last much longer
than in previous years. Thanks to this,
many of our cows could remain
deployed on the National Trust’s Holt
Heath National Nature Reserve for a
while longer; allowing us to leave the
remaining cows at the home farm in
the fields and out of the barns. Much
better for them and for us….
This year has alsobeen great for
calving; the new bull “Obee One” (as
in the Star Wars character – see
picture) seems to love doing his job as
a bovine gigolo! What he lacks in style
he makes up for in enthusiasm and
commitment.
Withover twenty calves currently bouncing around, the home farm
fields look more like a playground than a conservation project.
It has alsobeen a great learningopportunity for our new staff and
interns who have now been exposed to normal and fully assisted
calvings, calf management, downer cow management and variations in
cow behaviour before, during and after calving.
The Current Team
The Current Team comprises:
Dale Garwood – Project Manager, Head Ranger
and General Good Egg.
Kayleigh Winch – Field Team Leading Ranger. An
awardwinning graduate in Env & Wildlife Cons
(EWIC) at Bournemouth University. Having
undertaken a number of standard course
placements withus during her degree, she joined
the permanent staff team at the end of her paid
Graduate Internship.
David Stratten – A longstanding volunteer who
assists us for 3 Days eachWeek, as well as being
our mainsupplier of elite Donuts for tea breaks.
Nicola Lamb – A recent EWIC graduate from
Bournemouth University who first completed a
Summer work placement with us 2 years ago. She
is currently undertaking a 3 month paidinternship
withus via the Bournemouth University internship
scheme.
Susi Thayer – A local resident with bionic eyes and
ears who volunteers every week tohelp find our
elusive native breed cattle and Dartmoor hill
ponies out on our heathland areas.
John Terry – a mature student undertaking a full
time course in Countryside & Wildlife
Management at Kingston Maurward College. Jon
undertook a short placement withus last Autumn
and will returnto us inDecember 2015.
Matt Cook – a local VIth form student who helps
out during school holiday periods.
Tony Payne - A local resident who has
volunteered to assist us over the coming season on
an occasional basis.
Steve Beach – A Ferndown resident who
volunteers withus whenever he has gaps inhis
mainoccupation.
Ellie Seedhouse-Morton – Ellie is a student on the
Env & Wildlife Management Course at
Bournemouth University. She is planning to
undertake her next Summer course placement
withus.

Graduate Interns. We have 2 x additional paid
Graduate Internship vacancies starting inthe
current academic year, run in collaboration with
Bournemouth University. These 3 month paid
placements are suitable for any Bournemouth
University 3rd year students, those who graduated
in the last 2 years or any Masters/PhD students.
Start dates are from now through until July 2016
after exams are finished. We are looking for
personnel wishing to become reserves incase one
of our current candidates is unable tostart. Please
contact Dale if you are interested.
Apprentices. Due to the success of our graduate
internship programme, we have not recruited any
Apprentices for the current academic year. We will
reexamine our requirements inthe Spring for
Apprentice Recruitment for Summer 2016, ready
to commence the college-based phase in
September 2016.
We alsorun a range of course visits and outreach
programs to identify future staff, recruit new
volunteer helpers, educate potential placement
applicants and educate various groups from the
general public about the work that we do.

The coming
months…
As summer has now ended and the colder
weather sets in, it’s time to move the cattle
back into the barns to begin our winter
routine of bedding and feeding; a newly
concreted barn this year means extra space
for the new calves and their dams which is
always beneficial. We alsostill have cattle
due to calve inthe coming Winter months, so
the excitement (and occasional
bemusement) hasn’t stopped yet.
Site restoration work has alsobegun on our
SSSI heathland sites withsome late Autumn
scrub clearance at the forefront of it, to
improve the quality of the ecosystem and
prevent loss of biodiversity. Our semi-feral
Dartmoor Hill ponies will remainon
Whitesheet plantation, as they did last year,
to continue grazing throughout the winter
months. Compared to Dartmoor, our
heathland sites are apparently a holiday
park. Brrrr…
Looking into the New Year, plans for erection
of the new tool shed and workshop are
underway. This may not sound thrilling to
any ordinary person. However Kayleighis
itching to clean, tidy and find every last tool
an organised home. OCD does have a use…
In the
Spotlight…

Nicola Lamb
As a recent graduate with a Bsc (Hons) in
Ecology and Wildlife Conservation I have an
underpinning knowledge of conservation
theories and principles. I also understand the
importance of vegetation management for
protected sites and species. However I was
lacking many of the essential practical skills
needed tosecure full time employment. I
knew that an internship, awarded by
Santander bank through Bournemouth
University, would be a great opportunity to
learnthese skills, and therefore once I was
informed that I had a place, I couldn’t wait to
start. I had already completed a 2 week work
placement at the farm in2013 as part of my
degree and therefore I knew what to expect.
The skills I have gained from being part of
the HEDGE project have been varied,
including fencing, livestock management,
learning about cattle diseases plus
involvement in assistedcalvings and the
management of downer cows. All of the
large grazing animals that we look after
serve a vital purpose in heathland SSSI
conservation management. Every one of our
Ruby Red Devon’s have a different
personality (witha tag number of course!)
and the 14 wildponies are just as engaging in
a different way as I have come to know their
habits well, both good and bad.
I have spent approx. 2 hours most mornings
cycling over the various heath sites to check
the ponies and cows health, which has been a
privilege and not really like work at all.
However, believe it or not my, my highlight
so far has been my involvement inthe
building of the new muck store. Yes
concreting and lots of it!! But also many,
many new transferrable skills tomatch.
Knowing that our work on the muck store
was makinga better environment for the
cows and the SNCI wildflower fields at the
home farm made me plough on through
some very challenging work, (often with
lunch on the go). We saw clear progress
every week and, of course, regular Donuts
withTea helped the whole process. Thank
you to Davidour Head Donut supplier. My
days spent learning to concrete were really
hard work and there were some long days on
task but it was all sorewarding.

HEDGE PROJECT NEWSLETTER.AUTUMN 2015 Issue 100
Hi, I’m Kayleigh, the new team leader at The
HEDGE Project. I’ve recently completed a
three month paidinternship through
Bournemouth University andSantander
Bank at the HEDGE Project, having just
finished a degree in Ecology and Wildlife
Conservation. I have volunteered at The
HEDGE Project intermittently over the past
two years andI am excited tobe completing
an entire season as part of the permanent
staff team and looking forward to see what
new challenges and successes this year will
bring!
I grew up in an urban part of Essex,
completely different to the rural farming
environment found in East Dorset and
initially wantedto work in education, having
completed a placement withEssex Wildlife
Trust as the assistant Education Officer.
However, after my first summer here at the
HEDGE Project I fell inlove with the cattle
and working outside; I’m constantly learning
new things. Everythingfrom cattle behaviour
to fixing fences; it’s great to still be
challenging myself havingfinished
university. On advice givenby Dale during
my first placement, I gained my chainsaw,
pesticide and brushcutter certificates during
my time at University and I have alsojust
passed my tractor course. Although I have
the necessary degree to work in
conservation, it is these technical licences
and certificates which have gained me my
job; they are essential to anyone looking to
work as a ranger.
In my relatively short time with the HEDGE
Project I have been involvedina rich variety
of tasks; TB tests, cattle round ups, ear
tagging, injections and fence building,
initially always under supervision, but
increasingly, as my confidence and
competence grows, doing things on my own
or leading my own tasks. It has been a big
change, going from being a part time
volunteer to standing up to head tasks as the
Leading Ranger. I have already learnt so
much during the last four months as a
permanent staff team member. My highlight
was when I helped directly withan
unplanned fully assistedcalvingfor the first
time in August; it was incredible.
Givenmy own experiences over the last 2
years, I would highly
recommend volunteering at
The HEDGE Project– it’s a
great way toearn about local
wildlife, stay fit, and get real
hands on experience ina
conservation project. You can
alsodiscover which areas you excel in
and which need more work if you are
looking to be a Park Ranger or Reserve
Manager one day. You can get involved in
the more practical side of the Project as
there are always fences that need fixing and
construction projects to complete. Or you
can help us out by completing cattle checks
which is a great way tolearn about cow
behaviour and illnesses while enjoying the
countryside. Or you can carry out wildlife
surveys covering birds, reptiles and
vegetation (a great way tohelp us monitor
the effectiveness of our management
techniques, or perhaps do it as an
independent researchproject for university
purposes). We have roles available for a
variety of ages and abilities – just contact me
for any advice that you might want. As a
recent graduate, I know what you need to do
and I know how best to achieve it.
Introducing our new Team Leader –
Kayleigh Winch…

Disease of the
Month – Cattle
Scours
Severe diarrhoea or calf scours is one of the
most costly disease issues affectingbeef
enterprises. It is a major cause of calf
mortality and severe growth check in
recovering calves.
The following are the more common and
important variants of calf scours:
• Rotavirus infection (most common)
Infection can cause a complete range of
clinical signs, from no observed abnormality
to severe diarrhoea and dehydration with
high mortality.
• Coronavirus diarrhoea Infection can
progress rapidly to weakness, recumbency,
severe dehydration and death.
• Enterotoxigenic E. coli Incidence is low (1%
of scouring calves) but losses can be high.
Sudden onset of scour is accompanied by a
bloated appearance.
• Cryptosporidiosis Diarrhoea is caused by
the physical loss of absorptive area from the
small intestine and increases the severity of
other potential infections. Dehydration tends
to be mild, but calves lose condition over 2-5
days and have a dull tucked-up appearance.
• Coccidiosis Caused by single-celled
parasites, coccidia. Coccidial species that
cause disease damage the cell lining of the
large intestine, resulting in diarrhoea.
• Salmonella
Risk factors and susceptibility
All young calves are potentially at risk of
infection, but the followingwill increase the
likelihood of disease occurring: • history of
specific infection on the unit; • replacements
from another unit; • inadequate colostrum; •
poor standards of hygiene. •
R ot a v i r us most commonly affects calves
at 8–14 days.
• C or o na v i r u s causes diarrhoea incalves
up to 20 days old.
• E n t e r o t ox i g e ni cE. coli typically
affects calves aged 1-3 days.
• C r y p t os po r i d i o s i s is most common
in calves 10–21 days old.
• C oc ci di os i s is particularly common in
calves between 3weeks and 6 months old.
• S a l m on e l l a usually affects calves 2-6
weeks of age
.
Early identification
Early signs are as follows for the main
diseases:
• Rotavirus Reluctance to stand and suck,
milddepression, salivation;this is quickly
followed by acute onset of diarrhoea (watery
yellow/green faeces).
• Coronavirus Depression, reluctance to suck,
and faeces containing mucus and milk curds.
• Enterotoxigenic E. coli Profuse
yellow/white diarrhoea causing rapid and
severe dehydration; calves quickly become
recumbent and bloated.
• Cryptosporidiosis Profuse yellow/green
diarrhoea withmucus present.
• CoccidiosisA watery diarrhoea is often
accompanied by straining, mucus and blood,
withdepression, lack of appetite and weight
loss.
• Salmonella A pasty diarrhoea often with
blood and has an offensive odour. Calves can
rapidly become dehydrated, collapse and die.
Prevention and control
• Management The risk of all forms of calf
scours can be minimisedby ensuring calving
areas are clean and well-bedded, preferably
mucked-out between calvings. Calves must
ingest 7% of their body weight of colostrum
(2–3litres) withinthe first six hours, to
reduce risks.
In the case of cr y p t o s p o r i d i o s i s ,
where the parasite canremain inthe
environment for months, it is important to
avoidusing the same fields for calving, and
to move newborn animals immediately to
clean pasture.
• Vaccination Annual vaccination of pregnant
cows with a combined r o t a v i r us , c o r o n
a v i r us and E. coli K99 vaccine provides
valuable insurance. Protective antibodies are
passed on inthe colostrum.
Diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis from symptoms outlined above
and/or through laboratory analysis of faeces
Treatment of severely scouring calves:
• isolate ina well-bedded pen;
• feed1-2 litres of oral electrolyte 2–4 times a
day (stomach tube once and consult vet if
calves will not suck through a teat within 2-4
hours);
• if dehydrated calves cannot stand unaided,
intravenous fluids should be administered by
your vet;
• antibiotic injections should be usedfor
concurrent infections (e.g. navel ill);

• as calves recover, alternate milk and
electrolyte solution every 2–4 hours;
• offer fluids by teat as active sucking is an
indicator of improvement
.
Opportunities
We are always looking for students to undertake 3 month paid internships via the Bournemouth University /Santander Bank scheme. The scheme
aims to give students (at 3rd year undergraduate, recently graduated and postgraduate course level) whoare interested ina conservation-based
career, a range of workplace skills to support their academic qualification and increase greatly their future employability. Full eligibility criteria for the
scheme can be found on the Bournemouth University Careers Hub.
We alsoaccept university students from a range of courses across the Applied Science Faculty onto course-based placements and are fully familiar
withthe requirements of such placements.
We accept students from Kingston MaurwardCollege onto course placements from a wide range of NVQ Level2, Level 3 and Foundation Degree
courses.
Many of these professional volunteers from the above categories have alsobeen givenshort term paid contract work with us and some of the best
have gone on to become full members of our permanent staff team.
In most years, we take on 1 or 2 individuals as formal Apprentices inpartnership withKingston MaurwardCollege as our academic training provider.
Details of the Apprenticeship Schemes available change from year to year. Up to date details on the current government Apprenticeship schemes can
be found at www.kmc.ac.uk. Because of the rigour and quality of our training, many of our apprentices have moved into full time paid employment
during or at the end of their Apprenticeship year. In 2014, one of our Apprentices was awardedthe Kingston Maurward College Apprentice of the Year
and now manages her own herd of wildcattle in Northumberland.
Non-career volunteers are always welcome, whatever their skill set, age, ability, availability andaspirations. All youneed is the ability to get to one of
our sites in East Dorset and a willingness to learn - we can enable the rest. Our volunteer supporters enable us to carry out a number of tasks which are
important to the project but which receive no government funding. These include surveys across a wide range of species groups. We also have plenty
of activities suitable for those whosimply want to blow off some steam with some hard, challenging but satisfyingwork ina beautiful countryside
setting. Without that important group of people, we simply couldn’t do everything that is required to preserve our unique heathland SSSI
environments.
If you’re interested involunteering at The HEDGE Project in any form at all, just get in contact – you’ll get to experience life at a real workinggrazing
conservation project, as well as spending a day in the great outdoors! We have a wide range of activities taking place every day of the week, 50 weeks
of the year, withsomething suitable for any level of experience or ambition.
Contact us via:
The Hedge Project, Candlewick Cottage Farm, Uddens Drive, Wimborne,Dorset, BH21 7BJ
Tel 07810 328 157
Email. DaleGarwood@gmail.com

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