BCGS

Geoconservation Day, Rowley Quarry

Saturday 6th September 2014

The Portway Hill Nature Reserve, part of the former Rowley Quarry (Rowley Regis), is one of the newest sites belonging to the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. Here the dolerite exposures show examples of spheroidal weathering and what appear to be two intrusive episodes. During spring and summer months the site is awash with colour from the variety of wildflowers and grasses that provide an important habitat for numerous butterfly and insect species. In February a dolerite cairn with associated seating was constructed in front of the former quarry exposures. A metal plaque sits on top of the cairn, which has already fallen victim to the vandals.

We met our leader Paul Stephenson and members of the nature reserves volunteer group at 10:30 on a breezy cloudy and grey September morning, off St Brades Close. The dolerite exposures cleared the previous February were once again heavily overgrown with bramble and low lying vegetation. We were tasked with clearing as much of this as possible not only to uncover the dolerite exposures, but also to open the area up and allow the rare wildflower and grass species to re-establish themselves.

Once the former quarry ceased operation it was back filled with waste, which included colliery spoil and blast furnace slag. According to Paul, there appears to no clear correlation between the wildflower and grass species and the underlying fill material present. The rich variety of plant species encountered across the site does beg the question as to whether this is so. One thing is certain, fast growing plants such as bramble love the site and will soon return. So will the nature reserve’s volunteers, who with the help of the BCGS will keep them in check.