Diary Reports - 2010
23 January 2010
This workparty was originally scheduled for 16th January but had to be postponed due to the exceptional very heavy snowfall. Considering this postponement, the turnout was again amazing.
We place six refugia ‘tins’ and two felts around reserve to encourage small mammals and reptiles noting their position with GPS.
This was followed by finishing off the dead hedge we started last month to block off a dog access route into the Rother behind one of oak trees in the Central meadow. We continued a new dead hedge the other side of this oak for the same purpose.
20 February 2010
Good turn out again for a new activity for the group, making bug houses out of bamboo harvested from the site, drain pipe and recycled wood. Peter Battersby kindly delivered some already prepared boxes and pipes. All in all 23 bug houses were completed ready for installation next month. Tins in EHDC were surveyed but no mammals were spotted, but there is evidence under one, while the other one had been moved as a bridge over the ditch!
20 March 2010
A great turnout on a very wet and drizzly day. We installed around 20 bug houses along the tree line next to the rugby pitches both on PTC and EHDC land.
A litter pick around the reserve mainly next to rugby pitches resulted in 8 bags of rubbish plus a large car battery!
Brash from the tree cut down near the rugby 1st team pitch was moved back into the tree line.
17 April 2010
A beautiful, warm & sunny day. A litter pick around EHDC resulted in 5 bags of rubbish plus a large traffic cone, and plastic garden chair. All ‘tins’ were checked resulting in 2 field voles. Rubbish, debris and large logs were removed from lower stretches of Tilmore Brook including a sleeping slow-worm in debris above the water!
Orange-tip and peacock butterflies were on the wing plus lots of spawn in the central meadow scrapes.
15 May 2010
Another great turnout on a lovely warm spring day. 6 tonne of path gravel were barrowed, laid and wackered covering about 70m of path, alongside Tilmore Brook near the Western Meadow end.
19 June 2010
Another good turnout on a lovely breezy summer’s day.
The start of the Balsam pulling season started on the River Rother banks behind the Western meadow. A large amount of balsam was pulled and piled high ready for coverage with black plastic sheeting for composting and possible home for reptiles and small mammals!
