Thistle thrashing at Lyme Park on Sunday 16th July 2017

A Magnificent Seven contingent turned out on a distinctly unpromising morning for a task described as back-breaking, where visible progress is not always obvious. It's always good to start a workday in hopeful mode!

As it was, the drizzle stopped just as we reached the worksite, and Chris the ranger explained the importance of controlling the thistles that popped up all over the field we were working in. Having allowed the bees and other pollinators to gain some benefit from the flowers, it was time to remove them before they went to seed.

Lisa takes down the enemy

Armed with slashers, we set about taking off the thistles close to ground level. Some were small and were easily sliced, while the bigger thicker ones required a concerted whacking. But down they came, one by one.

We let Lisa take this small patch ...

We covered a large area quickly, trying (and failing) not to get our feet too wet in the long damp grass. By the time we were ready to stop for lunch, we'd moved so far across the field we had to pack up from our first camp, and set up Camp 2, where we found a little froglet hiding in the grass.

Froglet at Camp 2

After lunch we continued to spread out, and the sun came out to make it a much more pleasant afternoon. To prevent repetitive strain, we kept switching between forehand and backhand (the 'Federer backhand' technique was particularly useful for removing bigger specimens!).

A panoramic of the full field - see if you can spot 5 MNTVers!

It was quite warm, and by 3pm we'd covered a good deal of ground, so shortly afterwards it was time to pack up, gather for a quick slasher-related group photo (meant strictly in the equipment sense - we're not rampaging killers - except of thistles!) and negotiate the A6 traffic home.

Footpath work at Lyme Park on 9 July 2017

This week six stalwart volunteers met Gary the Lyme Park ranger in the car park to make the short walk around the pond to the children’s adventure play area.  Built on a steep slope, the area has been damaged by the recent torrential water runoff and was currently closed to the public for repair.

The main task this week was next to the aerial runway, a complex of nets and towers for children to scramble through.  Unfortunately, parents had been using the adjacent hill as an impromptu footpath while following their children down the course and the resulting muddy mess necessitated the installation of a permanent path.

The rangers had already placed the edging boards up the steep slope and our job was to fit cross members to stop the infill slipping and to wheelbarrow the coarse stone up the path and lay it.  After compacting the first layer a top covering of finer sand-like aggregate was laid, giving the whole path a pleasing golden colour.  After completing the main task there was still time to repair some of the main path and dig some holes to plant some logs to make stepping stones for the kids to jump on.

Lunch was taken in an adjoining tree house and some people decided to search for their inner child, finding them on the slide and the fireman’s pole.

Thanks to Gary for providing us with an interesting task and staying with us all day.

Tim

Before, during and after (photos: Adrian)

Hare Hill workday on 2 July 2017

Today we visited Hare Hill near Alderley Edge for the first time this year.  The NT are investing in the property and we arrived to the sight of a half-built permanent visitors building opposite the wooden kiosk.  The worktask had been billed as pondwork or culvert work but changed to ‘clearing out a silted up Victorian cattle trough’.

In the morning five of us worked on the cattle trough, using spades and shovels to clear the silt from the trough and wheelbarrowing the silt/mud to a nearby oak tree where it was dumped, while Hazel, Madeleine and Geraldine balsam bashed near the Cascades.  It became clear we had cleared this same cattle trough in March 2015 and it was striking how much the grass and mud had encroached across the cobblestones since.  We all gathered for lemon traybake at elevenses and lunch.  After lunch Hazel departed, Madeleine and Geraldine resumed balsam bashing and the five of us cut away the grassy sods covering the cobbles and cleaned the cobbles using handforks and trowels.

During the day several groups of people walked on the footpath near the cattle trough and came over to ask us what we were doing and why.

It was a beautiful summer day to be outdoors and we were pleased with the refurb we achieved.  We finished at 3 o'clock and returned the wheelbarrows and hand tools to the rangers' shed and gave them a good clean.  We strolled back to the car park through the walled garden which was full of flowers in bloom and families sunbathing and playing games on the lawn.

Daniel Black

Photos: Daniel Black and Karin Frood

Brash burning at Styal on Sunday 25th June 2017: 'As Nice as Mice'

Seven of us were out on a slightly cloudy and occasionally drizzly morning to do the brash burning that the group had spurned last week in favour of balsam bashing. As we found out, a bit of moisture from above was actually quite welcome today!

Due to the presence of the disease Phytophthora ramorum, almost 100 mature larch trees have been recently felled in the woods, and the job of burning the brash is a big one! We set up two fires which didn't take long to catch amid the dry wood we gathered from the floor.

Karin lobs a big 'un onto the flames

At morning break we spied the first two of three mice that we'd encounter during the day: the first briefly, but the second enjoyed a small amount of cake that was dropped on its 'front doorstep' in front of a sheltered hole under a tree stump.

The fires reached a scorching temperature, and we were glad of the odd rain shower that both cooled us down and helped to contain the heat of the fires. It certainly wouldn't have been much fun doing this in the searing sunshine of last weekend.

The third mouse comes out for a feed

After lunch another mouse came out to watch our work (or maybe it was to feast on some of the undergrowth) and the fires got even hotter. We had to keep a constant watch for embers popping out onto the surrounding leaf litter and trying to set fire to it.

Two hot fires, and less brash than at the start of the day

At 2pm we stopped feeding the fires to give them over an hour to burn down before Craig the ranger returned. We'd cleared a large area, although there's still quite a bit left.

Balsam bashing in the woods at Styal on 18th June 2017

Six of us joined Colin Gorner, Styal's Head Ranger, today to work at Oxbow, in a sunspot, to (we thought) do some woodland clearance where the larch trees had been cut down recently.  Thankfully, on account of the searing heat Colin offered us an alternative of balsam clearing in a nice shaded area.  Guess which we chose?

Before break we were clearing an area on steep banking which had previously been worked on, so it was very patchy.  Over break we were joined by several dogs and one in particular didn't want to leave even coming back after it had been carried away.  After break we moved across the footpath to work by the river in a patch of balsam that was never-ending plus plenty of nettles and lots of stings for everyone. By the end of a very hot day we had cleared a large area but there is plenty more still to do.  

Thanks to Colin for moving the work site and for supplying us with additional water (much appreciated) and also to my fellow volunteers for not getting themselves killed or injured whilst I was stand-in leader. 

Christine

Bracken bashing at Lyme Park on 11th June 2017

Ten eager volunteers met the ranger in the car park at Lyme Park this week.  The task was to clear the bracken threatening to swamp the recent planting undertaken after the clearance of rhododendron.  As we have spent many workdays removing the dreaded rodi we were well acquainted with the site and it was great to see the new oak, beech, cherry and ash that have been planted and to further aid in the area's return to native British woodland.

A previous group of volunteers had been out with the slashers but had made a lacklustre attempt, barely clearing six inches around the saplings and missing out many entirely.  We however ploughed in with gusto, wielding the three-foot long slashers with great aplomb and clearing a minimum of five feet around each tree giving them plenty of breathing space.  After we had completed the clearance around the planting we made the steep hike to a path that was being swamped by bracken and had a go at that, clearing an impressive length and only calling it a day when the rain set in.

The leader on the day forgot to provide cake much to the dismay of all concerned and after due ribbing promises never to do it again (!)

Tim

Thistle thrashing at South Head Farm on 4th June 2017

Three of us visited the High Peak today for a day's thistle thrashing with rangers Shane and Myles.  We were working near South Head Farm and on the way there fixed Marita's plaque to a tree guard protecting one of three oaks we planted in Coldwell Clough in April 2015 in her memory.

After we arrived at South Head Farm (the Chairman's first visit!) we loaded up a trailer with old fence posts.  Shane said these couldn't be burnt at the farm but had to be taken to Edale to be disposed of!

After elevenses in the farm's mess room (at which we all tucked into Daniel's Jaffa Drizzle Loaf) we began the day's main task - cutting down thistles in an adjacent field.  It was a very scenic worksite with Mount Famine, South Head and Brown Knoll framing the view.  Shane explained that the purpose of removing the thistles was for the safety of the sheep that will soon be grazing the meadow.  The plants' spikes can cut the sheep's mouth and lips and they can contract the orf virus through the lacerations.

One or two showers passed through before and after lunch but a prolonged heavy downpour at 3pm meant we stopped work shortly afterwards.

Daniel Black