EIGHT volunteers gave up their morning last Thursday to assist Countryside Ranger Gareth Cann in coppicing on?Bude marshes.

The Bude Valley Volunteers helped select an area near the marshes bird hide, and have been gradually clearing it of invasive willow saplings over the last three years.

Building on this previous work, a wide area to the west of the hides was cut back to allow the rare reed bed habitat to spread and consolidate and for the choked drainage channels to do their work.

Without this essential, but labour-intensive maintenance, Bude marshes would gradually become wet woodland and flooding would increase.

Willows were cut and trimmed before being bound into bundles ready to be transported to Widemouth Bay where they will be used to stabilise another uncommon habitat, the dune system.

The volunteer day was the last in 2015 — the first in 2016 will be on Saturday, January 9, a ‘bring and bury’ event, in conjunction with Widemouth Task Force.

Everyone is invited to bring any redundant real Christmas trees and bury them in the sand to help stabilise the dune system.