In 1961 Redgrave and Lopham Fen was the first nature reserve to be managed by the Suffolk Trust for Nature Conservation, today known as Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

In the early days of fen management the work was carried out by volunteers, and eventually by a few full-time staff. The task of keeping 12 hectares of fen open was a daunting one. Scrub was encroaching almost as fast as it was being cleared. Large areas of reed and, particularly, sedge had to be cut and removed to keep the water filled peat pits clear for the fen raft spider, which had been found on the reserve as recently as 1956.

Mechanisation...

The mammoth scale of the restoration work provided the catalyst for mechanisation.

The right equipment was essential. It had to be versatile to carry out many different tasks and yet be able to work in soft, wet conditions. To make matters worse, the peat digging which continued until the early part of the 20th century, had left a very irregular surface. The water-filled pits (up to 4 metres across) and banks of waste earth, covered with tussocks of purple-moor grass, made the work both difficult and dangerous. After much discussion and research, it was decided to use both wheeled and tracked machines as the principal workhorses.

Tractors

The first new purchase for the project was another tractor. We purchased a new compact 39 horsepower Kubota L3250 complete with fore-end loader, bucket and manure grab, low ground pressure types and a single drum Fransgard winch. This tractor has proved invaluable for all aspects of the restoration and still carries out a huge amount of work. It combines manoeuvrability and power while still being lightweight.

With the low-pressure tyres it can go much further into the wet areas than the old tractor. The fore-end grab can carry large volumes of cut brushwood and timber back to the chipper or load them onto a trailer for disposal elsewhere. The winch has proved invaluable in skidding out large volumes of scrub and harvested sedge from awkward locations.

Tracked Machinery

We needed a tracked machine to carry timber, tree roots, sedge and litter throughout the project. Two ex-military Sno-cats were bought and converted quite cheaply, with the addition of a lightweight forestry crane mounted on the roof of one unit. During the restoration project, both machines have removed hundreds of tonnes of timber, roots, sedge and peat, and have worked in the wettest of conditions, though have now reached the end of their useful working lives.

A modern wetland tractor has now replaced these vehicles and will be used for a multitude of jobs all over the reserve for many years to come. It is a Softrak, manufactured by Loglogic, and is a tracked machine developed specifically for use on wetlands, and features numerous adaptations for the harsh wetland environment.

Excavator

The largest machinery outlay for the project was the purchase of a specially designed 360° excavator. Built by Sandhurst Manufacturing Company, it weighs 12 tonnes and is based on their forestry unit, but with the addition of a long carriage and extra wide tracks. These wide tracks can support its weight on the deepest peat, with a pressure of less than 3lbs per square inch. (This is much less than the pressure of a human foot - even a child's foot.) The machine can therefore work in areas which are too wet for a person to stand on. The extending jib gives it extra reach and a special root hook has been built to enable whole root plates to be plucked out.

It has been possible to work very sensitively with the machine. This has meant that we have been able to clear large areas of scrub without disturbing the archaeology of the reserve. Old peat diggers' paths have been revealed and can now be seen and followed through the sedge beds. The plant growth on newly cleared areas has been spectacular and the decision to buy the machine has been vindicated many times over.

The chipper

It was obvious from the start, that the task of removing scrub would prove to be the most difficult and time-consuming of all the operations. Two thirds of the fen were covered by scrubby trees and the plan was to clear nearly 80 hectares; much of that on deep peat. Felling the trees was not a problem, but the removal and disposal of them, once they were felled, presented major difficulties. Burning was not possible because of the risk of peat fires. Removal to a sandy margin would have been too time-consuming and inefficient. The only sensible option was to turn the trees into chips, as close as possible to the felling site. For this we bought a roller-fed Jensen chipper, which can cope with material up to 20cm in diameter. It is mounted on the rear of a 100hp tractor. Bought second-hand, larger tractors are much cheaper. The vehicle has four-wheel drive with dual wheels fitted to the rear to enable it to get to numerous locations on the fen whilst causing minimal ground damage.

After chipping, we are left with the wood that is too big for the chipper. Hundreds of tonnes were sold to make charcoal, and more sold locally for firewood.

Stump grinder

Once the trees have been removed, the excavator (fitted with the stump hook) followed on - taking out the stumps. The stumps were loaded onto tracked dumpers and carried to the dry sandy margin to be burned. Stumps on the fragile wet heath, or in inaccessible areas, were ground out using a self-propelled stump grinder . This process takes out the bulk of the stump to about 20 cm below ground level. It also ensures that the stump does not start to grow again.