12 members turned out for the work session held on 6 October. As per usual there were plenty of tasks to be undertaken across the two reserves.
We have two county rarites on the site, and wherever possible we focus on helping these survive and prosper.
Firstly, Ivy was cleared from the trunk of the mature Black Poplar (Populus nigra) pollard, which will help reduce the infestion of Ivy which is adding weight to the stems higher up.
Secondly, seed was collected from the small patch of Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea). The seed will be kept in a cool, dry, dark place over the winter months. After being sown into pots in spring, the young plants will be transplanted back on the ridge later in 2014.
Elsewhere on the site members tackled the accumulation of mud and leaf litter which collects on the Sandy Lane bridleway. Two other well used path were also widened by having encroaching vegetaion cut back.
Inbetween this and the previous session (held in September), some members of the local scout group assisted with making bat boxes which will be installed over the winter to increase the number of roosting and hibernating sites on the two reserves.
The Friends are always looking for extra pairs of hands to help out or to simply support their work, so...
- to find out when the next work session will take place, click here, or
- to find out about becoming a member please contact us here, or
- to discover what goes into managing the sites click here.
