TOPHOG: Brush Cutting

Happy New Year! The first blog we are kicking off with in 2023 is about brush cutting. You may have seen recently on our social media about us going out and ‘cutting back’ or ‘brush cutting’ areas of the riverbanks. So just in case you were wondering what it involves or why we do it, this blog is for you!

What is brush cutting?

'Brush cutting', 'cutting back' and 'clearing access routes', for us at the trust, involves walking down a stretches of the riverbank, trimming the branches of low trees and clearing areas that are blocking pathways along the riverbanks.

This usually involves using hand tools like loppers, bow saws and hand saws to cut twigs and branches. Such as the photos below.

Area of riverbank before and after being cleared.

Why do we do this?

The main reason we brush cut is so that we can create access routes which helps with our TOPHOG giant hogweed project. As mentioned in other posts, invasive species such as giant hogweed does not just grow in easy to reach places, it also grows in areas which are difficult to get to on foot. During the winter we go through and clear routes with volunteers, so it is easier to walk through with knapsacks on. This means it is easier to reach giant hogweed plants to remove them than if we get caught on branches or can’t get to certain areas due to access. Brush cutting is also beneficial to people who use the rivers and make them more accessible such as dog walkers and angling clubs.

It is important to only brush cut at certain times of year such as the winter, as this minimises disturbance of animals, such as nesting birds in the Spring and Summer months.

What do we do with them?

The main thing to remember is that we are not doing this to cause any harm to the trees, only removing smaller and lower branches. The larger trees are only cut if they have already fallen due to storms and moved away from pathways. One main thing that we do when brush cutting is pile up the branches and twigs into piles to create mini habitats for other animals such as hedgehogs. Dead wood is also an important habitat for invertebrate species.