Previous tasks

Opening the charcoal kilns

Today we will returned to the charcoal making site. The rain started as we left the van and did not stop until we finished. This did not manage to put us off our task today. During the week the previously prepared kilns were fired, so we set about emptying them and bagging up the produce. This was tricky to keep dry in the rain. We also managed to prepare more wood for future burns.

Today we worked with 8 volunteers.

There are more pictures in the gallery

Cutting Japanese KnotweedToday we commence our annual programme to control both Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed on the site in order to encourage greater biodiversity. We found that Japanese Knotweed was particularly vigorous in a number of areas, as can been seen from the picture it was taller than we were. The difficulty of the work from stinging nettles and the terrain have been rewarded as the areas of Birch planted six years ago and the Rowan more recently are now growing well enough to compete with the Japanese Knotweed, but we will still knock it back. We mowed the edge of the path for the site which has a good effect on the meadow and opens up the width for the public. A group also cleared the path up to Bolton Road.  And I am pleased to report the amount of dog fouling has reduced in response to our efforts to talk to dog walkers and place signs at the entrances.

Today there was 13 volunteers.

See photos of the meadow and Birch trees taken on the day 

Reevy Mill Dam Fri 5th June 2009

Today the group split to carry out work at two sites. In the morning one group carried out the finishing touches to the path and steps at the BEES Urban Nature Reserve. This was in readiness for the Breathing Places Open weekend. The end result looked very nice.

The rest of the group returned to Reevy Mill Dam and carried out work to install a bench, we now have three on site, litter collection and repairs to the footpath. There was sad news that a number of the fish had died at the pond, which is being investigated by the Council's Drainage Team and we reported it to the Environment Agency who suggested that the cause may be from lack of oxygen. But good news is that a pair of Canadian Geese have raised a brood of chicks, and appear to be developing well. Which was not surprising given the number of people who came to feed them during the course of the day.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people taking an interest in the wildlife at the pond. This is rewarding news for the volunteers who look after the site and for thanks for our 7 volunteers today.

See more photos of the day here and here 

Today we made a return to the charcoal making kilns in preparation for our summer production. This involved several operations on the day. First we took two trailer loads of wood up the hill with the aid of Chris and the Land Rover of the Woodlands Team, then we found another trailer load wood at St Ives which was also taken up. This wood was then cut, using bow saws, to a suitable length and split into logs using axes. The kilns were loaded after first cleaning out the airways. Brash from nearby Larch trees was collected and placed inside. On top of this the logs of wood were stacked. At the end we had managed to load both kilns and prepare all the wood taken to site. Today we had 10 volunteers. We will arrange for a burn to take place as soon as possible and will let people know when this will take place so that they join us.