Litter picking and tree guard removal at Styal on Sunday 30th May 2021

Firstly thanks to Ally for organising this workday and Vicki for accommodating us as we don't usually get to work on a Bank Holiday weekend.

We had a slightly earlier start today as we were joining Styal Village residents on their litter pick.  After parking up we walked to meet Vicki at The Ship public house (unfortunately not open at 9:30!) where we picked up plastic refuse bags and litter pickers.  We were allocated three areas to work: within and around the village, up by Bank House Farm and on the outer edges of the park by the airport.

By midday we had finished the first two areas and planned a slightly earlier lunch before moving to the airport side.  It was at this point Vicki advised that the airport site was pretty clear and gave us the option of an early finish or if we wanted we could go back to Bank House Farm and remove cardboard tree guards from two fields that had been planted last year.  So, being hardy volunteers we had lunch and pushed on with the tree guard removal and completed both fields which Vicki was pleased about.

It was a beautiful day and rather hot at times but it was a good day.  Thanks to my fellow volunteers for their hard work and I hope that Simon, who was out with us for the first time today, hasn't been put off joining us again.

Christine 

Staking the Dahlia Walk at Biddulph on Sunday 23rd May 2021

Nine of us ventured out to Biddulph Grange Garden on Sunday 23rd May.

The gardens are nationally famous and were created by James Bateman (1811-1897) for his collection of plants from around the world.  One of the main attractions in the summer is the Dahlia Walk.  Staking the Dahlia Walk has been an annual task which is meticulously done by working to a plan.  Each bed has three rows with stakes marked out evenly, the stakes increase in height from front to back.  

We worked in teams of 2/3 and by lunchtime had positioned all the stakes in the beds.

Despite the forecast looking like rain, it held off and we managed to eat our lunch outside and enjoyed some lovely biscuits provided by Leslie the gardener.

After lunch we were given a tour around the Pinetum, we saw the amazing coastal redwoods which are currently around 170 years old  and will live for many thousands of years, the trees are currently approx 70ft tall but will grow to around 300ft.  We also saw the Hemlock tree from North America, the Abies cephalonica from Greece and the Japanese umbrella pine which is very rate and only usually found in Japan.  Leslie then showed us the next part of the task which was footpath edging.

After the tour we split into two teams and team one 'tickled' over the soil by the Dhalia beds and team two started the footpath edging.

A good day was had by all, what a treat it will be to see the Dhalia's in full bloom in the summer months.

Various tasks at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 16th May 2021

Hardcastle Crags defied the weather predictions to give us a warm and sunny day with little rain. As there were only four of us, we were able to park at the work site next door to Gibson Mill, saving a 30 mins. walk from our usual parking place at the estate office.

Gibson Mill is a 19th century cotton mill that now houses a cafe. It is completely off grid and hot water and heating is provided by a wood-burning boiler using wood from the estate.

We met rangers Alice and Nick at 10 o’clock and started on the first task of the day. This was moving wood cut in 2018 and left to dry to the wood store next to the mill.

In the afternoon we split into two groups. David and Andy worked with the rangers, installing display posts for information boards. These will explain to visitors the ‘stop the flow’ project to slow surface runoff on the hillside and reduce flooding.

Sue and Jean spent an hour working on the hillside behind the mill, cutting back beech ‘whips’ or new growth. This allows more light to reach the ground and encourages the growth of plants such as bluebells and wild garlic.

Clearing drainage gullies and doing a litter pick took us to 15:30 and the end of a satisfying day. We accomplished all the tasks scheduled for the day and our low numbers made it easy to stick to social distancing rules.

 

This was the first time we had met Nick and Alice and look forward to working with them again in the future.

Photo's and text by Jean.

Cutting a holly hedge and making habitat piles on the Styal Estate on Sun 9th May 2021

Twelve MNTVer's (including two newbies), volunteered to help Ranger Ceara cut a holly hedge, which was at the back of Styal Forest school, down to waist height. As there were a variety of waist heights amongst us!, and we were all working on different parts of the hedge to ensure social-distancing, four staffs were cut to the same length giving us a common 'waist height' whichever part of the hedge we were at.

Before......

.....during......

....and after! The cut hedge lets a lot more light in.

Once cut, the holly was dragged to a different part of the compound, where the side shoots were removed, larger trunks were kept to one side and the rest was cut down further to make compact and neat(ish) habitat piles

Cutting the holly branches to make the habitat pile compact.

We were lucky because there were tree trunk 'seats' we could sit on at break time, and again at lunchtime.

Lunchtime 

It was great to be able to get most of the job done(just a few larger trunks of holly left for a chainsaw to cut), and create lots of habitat piles. 

Also great to meet Ceara the Ranger, 2 new volunteers Kadie and Diane, and to catch up with other volunteering buddies that we might not have seen for a while:-)

Additional photo's by Adrian.