Sunday 26 March 2017

Rhododendron clearance at Lyme Park on Sunday 26th March 2017

Nine of us met Jamie, one of the Lyme Rangers at 9:30(we remembered the hour change!!), in the lovely sunshine.
He let us use the path at the back of the House to get to the site we were working on. The path was closed throughout the winter for regeneration purposes.
He set us up in Hampers Wood to cut and burn rhododendron. This would be the last time we will be clearing Rhody this season, as the birds will soon be nesting.
A fire was started and, after a spluttering start, we soon had a fine blaze going.
Unfortunately the MNTV work-site leader had a severe case of 'man-flu' and had to leave the site after only an hour, however he did provide mini chocolate rolls so, although everyone was sorry to see him leave, they were kept busy eating! 
Jamie then had to collect 18 youth rangers who were working alongside us. This meant we had two fires going, which, once the youth rangers left at 2:00, we could use both fires to burn the massive amount of Rhody that we had cut down.
We finished the day with Dan replacing Jamie and still loads of Rhody to cut back but a very large area cleared by 9 MNTV vols including a newbie and Tim plus the youth rangers.
Thanks to the Rangers for organising an interesting workday.



Combination of text from Andy, Christine and Tim. Photo's by Adrian.

Sunday 19 March 2017

Planting 3 Alders in memory of Susan Tarr and gully clearance at Hayfield on Sunday 19th March 2017

The weather forecast for the High Peak wasn't good today but we still got a decent turnout of seven MNTV members, despite the wind and the rain forecasted. We met the High Peak Rangers, Shane, Miles and Mark, and their dogs, in the Sett Valley Trail car park at 9.30am.
We then all moved our cars (to avoid car park charges!) and, once re-parked, hopped into the National Trust Land Rovers to get to Coldwell Clough.
When we arrived, we saw where the 3 new tree guards had been started by Shane and his team.
The tree guards had almost been constructed for when we arrived:-)
This had previously been arranged with Shane, who is a great supporter of our Volunteer Group, as a memorial to Susan Tarr, one of our very enthusiastic volunteers who had been with us for 6 years, but who had sadly lost her battle with cancer last October. We had taken a plaque with us to discreetly attach to one of the tree guards, as a permanent reminder.
Before we started, Shane explained the reasoning behind the choice of planting Alders in this particular spot, as they grew well in wet conditions and by streams. The nodules in their roots supported microbes and were therefore important to the ecosystem because they enriched the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients. Alders are monoecious and produce male and female catkins on the same tree. This occurs between February and April. The female catkins, once pollinated by the wind, gradually become woody and appear as tiny, cone-like fruits in winter. These cones then open up to release seeds, which are dispersed by the wind and the water. Alders are great for wildlife, particularly as many birds, including Blue Tits and Long Tailed Tits, enjoy feeding on the cones, which stay on the tree all year round.
One of the Alders in its protective sleeve
The tree guard was completed
When we got down the little hill to where the tree guards were, we started splitting the turf so the small trees' roots could be pushed and heeled in, ensuring there was no air left around their roots. Although the trees planted are small, by doing this, they stand a better chance of settling in and growing into strong trees in years to come. Each tree was then wrapped by a sleeve, which will stay on for the first 2-3years, to protect it from being nibbled by hares. Once done, each tree guard was finished off.
We gathered together while Daniel, our Chairman, then said a few words about Sue, how we appreciated all her hard work and enthusiasm and how much she will be missed. The plaque was discreetly attached inside one of the tree guards, and we paused to reflect for a few moments.
Afterwards, most of the volunteers departed, as the weather was getting miserable and some had already said that they couldn't stay for long, and Tim was full of a cold! Only Adrian and I stayed and did some gully clearance with Shane, Miles and Mark. We had the luxury of sitting in the Rangers 'office' for lunch, where it was dry and there was a kettle!
As always, it was nice being outside in the fresh air and not even the weather could dampen our spirits:-)
Photo's by Adrian and Daniel

Thursday 16 March 2017

Yew hedge removal and scrub bashing at Biddulph Grange Garden on 12th March 2017

Seven of us spent today at Biddulph Grange Garden.  We don't visit often and it was our first trip there since 22 May 2016.  We all passed the initiative test of navigating country lanes to skirt the centre of Congleton (closed due to road resurfacing) (!!) and assembled at 10:05 to meet Paul Walton, Garden Manager.

A ten-minute walk took us past the house and up Wellingtonia Avenue to the worksite at the top end.  Today's job was to dig out a section of (diseased) yew hedge (planted by Paul in 1997!) and clear scrub from the adjacent border.

Neil got the bonfire going and during the day we discovered that yew burns as well if not better than rhody!  We had beautiful spring weather and rather than take our breaks in the mess room below the house got our chairs, kneelers and bin bags out and sat on the grass.  By the time we finished at 3pm we had dug up 25 metres of hedge, a lot of scrub and burned all the cuttings... plus the broken new handle that Adrian had fitted to one of our spades.  That had lasted one workday - I guess you shouldn't expect much for £3.50!

Daniel


Wednesday 8 March 2017

Woodland work at Styal on Sunday 5th March 2017

Five of us braved the rain on Sunday to carry out some woodland clearance in the northern woods at Styal.  The aim of the project is to give the woods a more open aspect which they would have had when the Gregs had the mill.  As it was a very wet day we left the trimmings to be chipped later in the week.  We also just worked till lunch as the forecast for the afternoon was pretty dismal and we were already wet enough.
Adrian