Pond clearing at Dunham Massey on Sunday 25th September 2022

Six of us meet up with rangers Nat and Abbey at Dunham on a lovely autumn morning.  We processed down the new path to island pool.  Abbey, a former MNTV member, then gave us the team talk.  The task was to make a clear channel through the reeds for the drainage water from the park to flow through the pond and round the island.  If the water can’t flow freely it backs up and makes the rest of the deer park muddy.  The vegetation was to be laid out on the grassy bank to dry and be used as fertiliser.  This also allows the animals in the vegetation to return to the pond.

Some of the group waded through the bag of MNTV waders to find the right size.  Neil had repaired one pair and was so sure of his repair that he opted to wear them.

Another group had started the work earlier in the week, clearing around the entry pipe to the pond.  The reeds formed a good mat to walk on and we were warned not to go into the mud in the centre which was more like quicksand.  We took spades and willow sticks just in case.  We raked/dug out the reeds working from the centre out and placing the wet vegetation on the bank.  It looks mucky, but as it was flowing water there wasn’t an unpleasant smell.

Before we had our morning break Nat was called off to deal with an incident with a deer.  Some people had ignored all the signs saying do not get too close to the deer and the deer objected.  No lasting harm was done to people or deer but Nat not only missed morning break but lunch as well as she dealt with the incident and filled in lots of paperwork.  Luckily we had Abbey to guide and entertain us.

We first met Abbey as a volunteer with MNTV.  She told us about all the great experience she had gained working at Dunham and how she hoped to be staying on for another six months.  We had plenty of cake for morning break and lunch.  Thanks to  Abbey for the extra goodies.

We found evidence of wildlife in the pond:

We could also hear the calls of parakeets around the park.  At one point they dive bombed a heron.  The parakeets are quite territorial and eat bats so not so good for the native wildlife.  The passing humans were quite interested in what we were doing as well.

After we finished Nat returned just in time to take a group photo ... and eat some flapjacks.

You can see the progress we had made, the water level had gone down because we had improved the flow of the water.  We walked back to the cars and washed off the mud at the tap in the stable yard.

Jenny

Cleft fencing at Styal on Sunday 18th September 2022

Today nine of us met Styal ranger Stuart for a rearranged workday.  We should have been at Marsden Moor so thanks to Styal for accommodating us at short notice.

We didn't have far to walk as we were replacing some cleft fencing on the path leading from the car park down to the mill plus we were continuing a section of fencing along the path further down to discourage children from climbing the banking up towards the pond.

The first job was to take down the old fencing which didn't take long - it was just digging down to get out the old posts that had broken off at ground level.  We then split into two groups and worked at both jobs - Anna even cut the hedges back using the hedge cutter.

We had all weathers in one day - it was cold, it rained then the sun came out and coats came off then it rained again.  Saying that, we had a good day and everyone worked really hard to complete as much of the job as we could until we ran out of time as well as material.

Thanks again to everyone.

Christine

Footpath work at Formby on Sunday 11th September 2022

Eight of us made the journey to Formby on Sunday 11th September 2022 to clear a footpath near Victoria Road Beach Car Park.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we were joined by some rangers and their dog.  

Once we reached the work site we split up into groups with some volunteers clearing and cutting back vegetation and others sweeping sand from paths.

Overgrown footpath (before clearance)

Sweeping sand from paths

A ranger helped to clear paths with small machinery (below).

Some paths were covered with a large amount of sand, the photo below shows how deep the sand was before clearance.

Same footpath (after clearance)

One one section of the footpath the sand was so deep the heavy machinery needed to come out, photos below...

Footpath before clearance

Same footpath during clearance

Footpath after clearance

Rangers dog

It was back breaking work and the worksite was a good 15 minute walk from the Blundell Road car park so plenty of steps made during the day!  We had lunch back at the Blundell Road Rangers office and we were all grateful for a nice place to sit.

Lunch stop at the Blundell Road office

Whilst we were at Blundell Road we had a sneak peek at the task for our next visit in October, can't wait!

Denise, Worksite Leader

Famous four still smiling at the end of the day!

Birch thinning at Lyme Park on Sunday 4th September 2022

Ten of us met ranger Flo on a pleasant Sunday morning to work in West Park Lane. The job was thinning birch saplings then using them to make ‘dead hedging’.

Fortunately just new growth was needed as the branches had to be ‘whippy’ enough to be used in hedging. So the only tools we had to carry up the steep slope were loppers.

We formed a production line so a group did the cutting then others pushed/pulled/threw the debris down to the path. We produced two trailer loads before lunchtime, much more than the rangers expected!

Lunch was very relaxed as we knew the afternoon task, laying the hedge, wouldn’t be quite so strenuous.

After lunch ranger Izzie came with us to Crow Wood where the hedge is being laid near the existing playground.

Did I say the afternoon wouldn’t be so strenuous?

Branches were then piled up between two rows of posts, some woven round the posts to keep it in place.

The work we did is part of a project to make more structured play areas for children. We started the day cutting stuff down then used the stuff to build something new. Very satisfying but also a cheap, fast way for the NT to do the job.

Jean

Hedge trimming at Speke Hall on Sunday 21st August 2022

Five of us made the trip to Merseyside today to spend the day at Speke Hall.  It was Daniel's first visit since April 2019!  He and David carshared from Styal (crossing the Mersey Gateway bridge both ways) whereas Andy, Christine and Chris went direct.  Ranger Ian met us at 10:30 and set us off on the task which was to cut back a hedge on one side of the car park.  We used our loppers and Speke's shears (very sharp and a joy to use) and formed brash piles at intervals along the hedge for Ian and his colleagues to fetch up next week.

It was a bright sunny day and we were glad of the shade from the trees that we worked under.  All day long aircraft, particularly Easyjet, took off from Liverpool airport next door.  The later than usual start meant we didn't have our morning coffee break until 11:30 and then took lunch at 1.

The car park got very full after lunch.  Ian spent the morning repainting white bay markings in the car park so that in anticipation of a busy August bank holiday weekend more cars will be able to squeeze in.

Before we left some of us took up Ian's offer of a look round the Hall.  We finished the task at 3:30 and as a thank you Ian gave us 20 Easter eggs to share between us!!  They were surplus stock from April's Easter activities with a best before date of the end of September.  Thank you Ian!

Daniel

Scrub bashing at Hayfield on 14th August 2022

Six volunteers braved the gorgeous weather to spend the morning at Hayfield on Sunday 14^th August.  As it was so hot plans were changed so we did not go up onto the open hillside but stayed in the shade of the wooded area around Park Hall.  We used the slashers to cut back vegetation - bramble and bracken mostly - around paths and in a long, neglected garden area that the rangers are planning to open up again to use as a small tree nursery.

Lovely lemon drizzle cake was provided by Pip who had baked it in the microwave to avoid adding the heat of the oven to a very hot kitchen:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/microwave_lemon_drizzle_76127

The work was done by lunchtime so a couple of people headed off for a walk whilst others simply headed home for an unexpected free afternoon.

Pip

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 7th August 2022

Just three MNTVers met ranger James at 10:00 for the third balsam bashing session of the year at Hardcastle Crags. It was a hot day but not too uncomfortable - except for the flies!

We spent the morning on the steep hillside working in the same area as the last two sessions then after lunch continued further down the hill to the car parks. It can be difficult to see progress when tackling balsam so it was encouraging to see all the hard work we’d done here a few years ago had paid off and we just needed to concentrate on clearing a couple of pockets of ‘infestation’.

It was a bit late in the season for balsam bashing and some of the flowers were ‘popping’ their seeds as we pulled them so it will be interesting to return next year and see, or rather not see, the result of our hard work.

Jean