Keeping the grasses down 12 May 2017

Now that the grass has been topped, Maggie, Ian and I went up and spent a morning strimming (electric and petrol cutters) and scything by hand.

Maggie enjoyed the scything, while Ian and I had ear-defenders on due to the noise.

This will help to keep down the coarser grasses and creeping thistle and allow the trees some space.

Keeping the grass down - May 2017

We are very grateful to Chris and Gail who brought their tractor and topper to top the grass paths of the spiral maze today.  Without this help, it was difficult to see where the trees were growing. 

Grass Path - First Lap

Grass Paths - Lap One and Two

Grass Path - Lap Two

Top of the Mound - 2012 Trees - Lap Three

We will also use some brush-cutters to trim around the trees within their hedgerows later this week.  The ground is still rough, but at least we can walk round the spiral maze now.

Spring 2017

2012 Rowan in bloom

On Friday 28th April a group of us went to check on the trees and pull out some of the grasses from their base.  They have grown well already this Spring.  Some of the older trees from 2012 and 2014 are well above head-height.  I think the tallest Rowan is now 8 feet high.  One Rowan has its first flower-head.  Similarly the Red Dogwood has flowers.  These will provide pollen and nectar for insects and later on, berries for the birds.

2014 Red Dogwood with flower buds

We still have two Alder Buckthorn bushes, planted in 2013, which is the food-plant for the bright yellow Brimstone butterfly caterpillar.  This Spring there is no sign yet of any eggs or caterpillars on them.

Alder Buckthorn 2013

In a Biodiversity Area, plants considered as weeds in gardens, have a value.  The dandelions provide early nectar for bees, whereas the dandelion clocks provide seeds for goldfinches, which I have seen in our patch.

Dandelion clock

There are lots of Red Admiral butterfly caterpillars on the nettles, enclosed in their nettle 'tents' and I found an interesting brown spider asleep on a holly leaf - possibly an Orb spider.

Nearly there! Over 90 trees planted so far.

Another productive morning planting 30cm whips along the line of the Spiral Maze, filling in the gaps left last year.  These trees are part of the Centenary Woods in memory of the First World War.

 

Seven volunteers with me behind the camera!

 

To help the seven volunteers, I drew out a map of the design, so that we could see more clearly where we needed to plant.

 

Andrew also had the idea of tying tape to each cane, so that Roger will be able to see the line of trees, when he tops the grassy paths.  This has made it a lot clearer for us all to see where the hedgerow is.

 

Each cane now has a red and white flag

 As well as the 30cm whips, supplied by The Woodland Trust, we also planted Goat Willow and Red Dogwood cuttings.  If these survive they will help to fill out the rows, while the smaller ones are catching up.  

 

We found several caterpillars low down in the grass, showing just how mild a winter we are having, with hardly a frost yet.  One was the caterpillar of the Ringlet butterfly which breeds on this site.

More trees planted today

First Tree Planting - another planned for next Sunday (13th December)

Well. the weather forecast was for mild, dry weather - but it started drizzly and then got heavier!

Nevertheless, three hardy volunteers stuck with it and we have planted 16 new trees in the wildlife area - hawthorn, silver birch, oak, rowan and blackthorn.

Graham from Winkleigh Parish Council watches Phil and Penny at work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
As these trees were given by The Woodland Trust to plant as a Centenary Wood in memory of those who served and died in the First World War, we were glad that 'Major Ron' of the Winkleigh branch of the British Legion, was also able to visit us.  He was very encouraging and fully supports what we are doing for our community, for future generations and in remembrance of our grandfather's generation.

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/support-an-appeal/centenary-woods/


I also took the opportunity to do some maintenance of a dozen or more trees which were planted in previous years.  Here is one of the first Oak trees which were planted on top of The Mound exactly three years ago in December 2012.  This one is about 4 feet high (1.2 metres).  They were planted to celebrate the Queens Jubilee.

Jubilee Oak 2012

Tree-planting

Tree-planting

in the

Wildlife Area behind the Sports Centre

Sunday 6^th and 13^th 

 

^{December 2015}

10.00 onwards until midday

No previous experience necessary – all ages welcome!

Bring gloves, wellies, and spades if possible.

For further information:via Facebook

Trees donated by the Woodland Trust to commemorate the First World War

Next Tree Planting - December 6th and 13th

We have 100 or so trees, 30cm tall to plant out in the wildlife area.  They consist of oak, hawthorn, silver birch, blackthorn, and rowan.  Hawthorn and Rowan have already grown well in our soil so far.  The silver birches we planted got mown over by the lawnmower, so it will be good to replant some of these beautiful trees.

Join us on Sunday 6th or 13th December from 10.00am. until lunch-time in the Sports Centre Car Park.  The area is just behind the building.  Bring wellies, gloves and a spade if you have one.  Everyone welcome!

One hundred more trees to plant

More trees to fill the gaps in our spiral hedgerow

We have been given a further 100 small native trees to plant in the wildlife area by the Woodland Trust.  We will be planting them later this month or in early December.

These trees are given to commemorate the First World War, which claimed the lives of at least 27 men who served in the armed forces.

The wildlife area behind the Sports Centre now has a pedestrian gate beside the tennis courts. If you are visiting the area, please shut the gates after you. Sometimes stray sheep manage to find their way in, and then all our young trees get nibbled! 

This summer the area was again full of wild flowers and there were plenty of Ringlets, Skippers and Meadow Brown butterflies which breed on grasses.

In June a group of Beaver (Scouts) came to help put down shredded bark mulch to keep the weeds down round the trees.

If you would like to join in with our activities, we don't charge a membership fee, and everyone is welcome. You can send a message via this page.

Grassland butterfly season is starting

The butterflies which lay their eggs on grasses, such as the Meadow Browns and Ringlets and the Skippers are all on the wing now.

Our faithful supporters, Roger and Andrew, have topped the grass around the trees which makes the area accessible.  Unfortunately there are still plenty of thistles and this makes walking around without boots a prickly experience.  The trees are growing well, considering the nibbling that has taken place this year already.

Rowan or Mountain Ash - will have berries for birds

Wild Cherry

We now have a pedestrian gate at the corner of the Tennis courts, so people can easily walk in and out without climbing the fence.

First Work Party for the New Year

On a cold and drizzly morning, I went up to The Mound with Penny and Philippa, to see how the trees are doing.  Unfortunately, we were greeted by one of our allotment-holder supporters, who told us that sheep had been in again, and indeed there was a lot of evidence when we arrived, and the ancient hedgebank has been eroded along the top.  It looks like a new section of fencing has gone up recently though, so we are still hopeful that at last our trees will get the chance to thrive.

We re-planted the Rowan trees, which we had been asked to move from outside our fenced area.  They are dormant, so we hope that they quickly re-establish themselves in the Spring.

Saw a lovely brightly-coloured bullfinch in the hedgerow. Thanks to RSPB for this photo of this stunning bird.

Our next step is to have a pedestrian gate put in, so that people can walk into the area more easily. 

Another work-party at The Mound (behind the Sports Centre)

Wednesday 6th August 6.30-8.00pm

Why not come along and join us.  No experience necessary, just some enthusiasm for the project.

We are putting up larger tree-protectors and pulling out thistles and grass from around the base to give the trees more growing space.

We suggest wearing gloves, and strong shoes.

Hope to see you there!

We have been developing this area for two years now - this blog tells the story (with pictures) - so have a look at how it has already changed so much.

Summer work-party at The Mound

Yesterday evening we met up to put some taller tree-protecters around the young trees.  They are growing well now, slowly recovering from the shock of being nibbled by sheep.

The area is a riot of flowers, mostly lilac and purple, from the Creeping Thistle and Marsh Woundwort.  We disturbed a few roosting butterflies including Small Copper and Common Blue.

Here is a happy band of volunteers on their way home after a short, but productive session.

 

 

The tree-protectors will help our grass-cutter to see the trees

Thanks to Matt Edworthy from North Devon Biosphere for the gift of 40 secondhand tree protectors.

 

In flower during July

Meadow Vetchling
Chamomile
Yarrow
Ragwort
Selfheal
Silverweed
Water Mint
Yorkshire Fog (grass)
Red Fescue (grass)
Creeping Thistle
Buttercup
Lesser Knapweed
Hedge and Marsh Woundwort
White Clover

Work Party - Thursday 31st July  6.30pm - weeding around the trees

Summer is really here, with long hot days and the flowers and grasses in the conservation area on The Mound are growing well.

Skipper on Knapweed

The trees have survived the sheep damage of recent months and now need weeding around the base (up to 1 metre).  We also have some larger tree-protectors and canes which will give them more growing space and help those cutting the grass to see them more clearly.

We need volunteers to help clear the weeds - everyone welcome, just come along.

I visited the area on Sunday and today to carry out butterfly counts.  I have seen more than 100 butterflies on these two visits, with 10 different species on the wing - see the Wildlife page for a more detailed record.

Spiral Pathway was planted today on The Mound

The weather was showery, with a strong breeze, but at last we have been able to plant the 100 native trees and shrubs which were given to Winkleigh Biodiversity Group by Western Power.

We have planted them, well-spaced out, in a spiral walkway which follows the contours of the mound behind the Sports Centre.

Five volunteers - Andrew, Sue, Philippa, Sheila and Kim (supplemented also for a while by Peter) planted up all the trees, with bamboo stakes and tree-guards.  We now have a spiralling hedgerow which includes whitebeam, rowan, holly, dog rose, cherry, dogwood, hazel, crab apple and field maple.

We are now hoping for Spring showers to water them in, otherwise we will have to do so.