Sunday 30 September 2018

Rhodybash at Hayfield on Sunday 30th September 2018

Seven of us met up with Myles and Ian plus Elsa and Lottie (Myles's two dogs) at the Sett Valley car park before driving in convoy to Park Hall.


We started the morning clearing regrowth of rhody from below the road.  Unfortunately, it was whilst working in this area that Matt, today's leader, got stung several times on his face/temple and was forced to leave us as he was suffering a lot of pain and discomfort.  He did however, in true leadership form, leave us cake for brew time!  We did hear that he made it home safe and sound and was okay.

So due, in part, to the wasps, after break we moved up the slope to above the Hall to where there were vast swathes of rhody that we could get stuck into.   As we were still not allowed to burn it we had to just cut it down and leave it in piles.


The award for the hardest worker today goes to Elsa, who ensured that if you weren't busy cutting then you were gainfully employed throwing sticks for her.


Christine 



Monday 24 September 2018

Fencing at Styal on Sunday 23rd September 2018

After a forecast earlier in the week of torrential rain our workday at Styal turned out to be a beautiful day - so much so that at midday Stuart, Styal Ranger, had to open the overflow car park.

Once we had all assembled Stuart showed us our task for the day.  In the car park area are two ponds that had both been surrounded by linked chestnut fencing.  They had previously had two corporate groups in who had started on both ponds removing the old fencing and replacing with the more rustic cleft fencing.  As time ran out on them our job was to, if possible, complete the circle around one of the ponds.  We set to work, eventually splitting from two groups to three groups.  Two groups worked on the pond we wanted to complete and the third group moved to the other pond so we wouldn't be getting in each other's way.

New and old fence
By lunchtime we had just two more holes to dig and uprights to put in to complete the circle, the last hole being the most difficult as we had to fit both sets of crossbars tightly into the post so there was no movement in them.

Stuart was extremely happy with what had been achieved as we had not only completed one pond but had put in a good section of the other pond.  We would have done more but we ran out of fencing material, hence a slightly early finish.

The completed fence.  Doesn't it look good!

Thanks to Stuart for providing a rewarding workday and thanks to my colleagues for all the hard work.

Christine


Sunday 16 September 2018

Bracken bashing & track repair at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 16th September

A select group of 3 MNTVer's met Area Ranger James in the car park of the Hollin Hall estate office, along with Hamish, his border terrier/poodle cross.
We put our rucksacs in his van and loaded it with the tools before driving to a field where there was bracken to be bashed in an area that has been highlighted by Natural England as a site for internationally important Waxcap fungi!


Bracken bashing - the 'before' photo......
We had to climb over a wooden gate to get to the bracken and then, using sythes and weed slashers, we chopped it all down.


Jean, Andy and James......'after' the bracken bashing!
We were so close to finishing that we worked through our breaktime (a first for me!!) then, because it was raining, we decided to go back to the Ranger room at Gibson Mill so we'd be in the dry to have an early lunch.
While eating lunch, James enthusiastically told us that Gibson Mill was 'off the grid' - it had solar thermal panels and solar photovoltaic panels to provide hot water & electricity, a log-burning stove and boiler for cooking, hot water and heating,  and dry composting toilets!
After having a quick look inside the Mill at the turbines and the batteries used for storing the electricity, we returned to Hollin Hall, Hamish as well, where we spent the afternoon filling pot-holes in the track with stones and then tarmac, tamping it down with a whacker plate - another first for me!
Jean with the Whacker plate

Andy was a tad enthusiastic while starting the whacker plate on one occasion, and the starter cord came off in his hand! Fortunately this was quickly mended by James.
Woops - Andy with the broken starter cord!!

We all had a great time, using equipment that we'd not tried before and getting the job done:-)
Evidence of me 'Whacking' for the first time:-)


Sunday 9 September 2018

Pond Clearing at Hare Hill on Sunday 9th September 2018

This week eight of us enjoyed a muddy day in the sun (during lunch at least) at Hare Hill near Alderley Edge with ranger John Mann.  At the start of the day, John showed us a path opposite the ticket office where you can walk through North park all the way to the Wizard pub/cafe in Alderley Edge.  To the right of us were a couple of Jacob sheep, a British breed that commonly have four horns, neither of which paid us any attention.
Once we were all waterproofed, wellied and wadered-up, we started clearing the garden pond of 100s of years worth of built-up leaf debris and mud.
Other finds in the murky water included a broom head, animal bones, a piece of pot and a lot of broken glass.
First, we held open the ton builder's bags using metal sticks (technical term, anyone?!) in all four corners and, from wooden planks projected into the pond, started scraping out the leaves using drag forks.
Once the bags were full, the ranger threw us a chain connected to his RTV to hook the bags up one at a time and drag them out of the pond.  By the end of the day we'd managed to fill up about 16 bags- that's a lot of forking!
 The purpose of clearing the pond is so that, in the future, it can become a living habitat as at the moment it is ecologically dead.  Once the bottom is fully cleared and vegetation is planted around the edges- hazel trees will be used to support the banks and prevent erosion-  pond plants will be introduced and hopefully insects, newts and other wildlife will be attracted.
Thanks to John for having us and to everyone for their hard work! 
 Hazel.

Monday 3 September 2018

Footpath work at Thurstaston Common on 2nd September 2018

Today we started where other teams had left off laying a path through the woods.  The locals told us it is very muddy in the winter and they were really pleased that we were laying a path.  The local wildlife will also be pleased, when the dogs and humans stop tramping over the rest of the wood looking to stay out of the mud.

Phil, the NT Ranger, bought the tractor to carry all the wood, sand and stone to the site.  All the digging was done by hand so we were thankful that it was a nice sandy soil.


After a full day’s work we were only one set of boards away from the tree we had been working towards.  The group will be back again in October and it will be interesting to see how far other groups get in the meantime.

The team send thanks to Phil and all the locals who cheered us on and helped tramp down the gravel.

Jenny

Proud path builders