Diary Reports - 2001
1 December 2001
Unfortunately this work party had to be cancelled because of bad weather.
4 November 2001
Jill Oakley led the work party, and we continued clearing willows from the edge of the wet meadow and stacking the wood in piles.
6 October 2001
This work party was lead by Jill Oakley. We cut down some small oak and willow trees at the edge of the wet meadow and stacked the wood in piles. The work party was forced to finish early because of heavy rain.
17 September 2001
A tractor mounted mowing machine (and its two operators) was hired from Queen Elizabeth Country Park for several days. The machine mowed the wet and dry meadows, collecting the mowings which were dumped in piles around the edges of the meadows to encourage reptiles such as grass snakes.
2 September 2001
A walk lead by Dr June Chatfield to identify snails and slugs on the Rotherlands site. Nineteen species were found - see the surveys section.
4 August 2001
A start was made on removing Himalayan Balsam that is threatening to take over the area. It is a vigorous garden escape, and has no value for the wildlife. The volunteer numbers were few, but much was achieved. It will be quite sometime before we can get this invader under control.
1 July 2001
A walk lead by Matthew Shaft to spot birds and butterflies. A hot day, and unfortunately not many butterflies were seen. The results can be found in the surveys section.
2 June 2001
We enjoyed a wild flower walk led by Clare Bishop and John Durnell of the Hampshire Wildlife Trust. It included a survey of the flowering plants at this time. We managed to dodge the occasional shower and found the morning very informative.
6 May 2001
On Saturday 5 May a few volunteers used a Power Scythe to cut brambles and nettles on part of the site. On the Sunday the main work party raked up all the material and piled it along the edge of the Tilmore Brook and in bramble and nettle patches. Some cut timber was piled into habitat piles. The work party qualified for a grant of £50 from Whitbread!
March/April 2001
Unfortunately, work groups over this period had to be cancelled, due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease affecting livestock.
3 February 2001
This work party was led by Sue Bellamy of Hampshire Wildlife Trust. We cut down small oak trees encroaching on the meadow area. The small branches were burnt, the larger branches were stacked to provide habitat piles.
7 January 2001
This work party was led by Sue Bellamy of Hampshire Wildlife Trust. Scrub in the central Meadow was cut with a brush-cutter. The cut material was then raked up and burnt.
