March Work Session
There were 20 volunteers at the March work morning so lots was achieved. The main job was coppicing the willows on the banks of the brook to prevent them becoming too big to control. Willows are native trees and are of great benefit to wildlife. The catkins provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects; caterpillars and many insects eat the leaves so providing food for birds; the branches make good nesting and roosting sites for birds.
Other smaller jobs included, removing elders and bramble from around/under some of the flowering shrubs in the park, removing saplings from around the Arboretum entrance and pruning the walnut trees in the orchard to improve path access.
Lastly, chippings were loaded into barrows from the pile by the corral and layed in front of the pond fence to make a viewing area. All of the "must do in winter" jobs are complete so we are set up now for the year.
February was busy!
Contrary to what one might expect, February is a busy month for jobs in the Park and Arboretum and there have been two work sessions this month. Nature is only just beginning to wake up from the winter but we need to get on with things before our presence interferes with this process. Whilst traditional gardeners are busy in the summer months, our activities stop then and we leave nature to flourish undisturbed.
As a result of the hard work carried out by the Friends this February, the bramble removal in the Arboretum is now complete for this year. The areas that have been worked on will show a definite improvement in the Spring and Summer when more wild flowers will be evident now that the bramble has been taken away. Another task was the planting of some Ox Eye daisies
and some Red Campion in the area to the right, at the top of the main path in the Arboretum. We are constantly trying to increase the numbers of wildflowers growing in the grassy areas for the benefit of the bees and other pollinating insects that are so vital to the well being of a nature reserve.
