Eight members attended:
Adrian Potts, Ally Hardy, Daniel Black, Denise Clark, Emma Summerhayes, Hazel Pryor, Jenny Pitcock and Sue Bonner.
Issy joined Alderley Edge from Lyme Park one year ago and has been getting to grips with what’s happening and what’s not quite right. It’s been a difficult first year impacted by funding cuts post-covid (recruitment freezes, spending freezes) and to mitigate enforced cost increases (National Minimum Wage, employer National Insurance). Alderley Edge has had to make cutbacks, for example plans to give visitors a better welcome (car park project) have been paused.
She talked about current and future projects at Alderley Edge in the context of the Trust’s recently announced new strategy for the next decade and beyond:
To restore nature – not just on National Trust land, but everywhere
To end unequal access to nature, beauty and history
To inspire millions more people to care and take action
To restore nature:
Examples at Alderley include insect surveys (to get a baseline for the insects Alderley has today) and “veteranising” trees (deliberately damaging their bark) to make them more hospitable to bugs.
Nine volunteers have been trained in baiting and trapping badgers so the badgers can be vaccinated against TB.
New groups are volunteering at Alderley: five schools have made bug hotels and some companies have done footpath work.
To end unequal access
Alderley have removed some gates and widened others. They are doing lots of footpath work so that people can get around the woods. The new Holy Well bridge went in to today.
To inspire people:
Trust staff are getting older and it is very important to get young people involved with the Trust and its work. Alderley have an apprentice ranger for another year (who can work with us on Sundays) and Hare Hill is getting its own apprentice ranger. Meanwhile, Tim Ryan (also ex-MNTV) continues to work two days per week.
See above re other volunteer groups getting involved at Alderley.
Bosley Cloud is a property covered by Issy and her team. We talked about the access difficulties (uphill slog with tools to worksites) that we know deter members from going and wondered if anyone in MNTV has a 4x4 to drive tools up Gosberryhole Lane to the boundary with the open land. The Congleton Harriers no longer do workdays there with Tim.
All in all, Issy’s first year at Alderley has been busy and next year is likely to be busier still with the requirement to do more for less. We have several Alderley workdays in the programme and look forward to helping her out.
MNTV Chairman
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