On Thursday morning we tackled two jobs to selectively control plants in the nature reserve.
Our first job was reducing the Rosebay Willowherb. Although this tall purple-flowering plant provides a colourful backdrop to the woodland edge and serves as a vital food source for bees and butterflies, it threatens the heather by spreading uncontrollably.
So our leader from Cheshire Wildlife Trust strimmed a swathe of it while the volunteers raked it up and then carefully hand-pulled more from between the heather plants.
Our second job was removing shoots of False Acacia that have become prolific behind the Paws for Thought bench. This tree is alien to the UK, invasive and dangerously thorny, so it must be eliminated. Although we successfully removed the shoots this time, we anticipate they will resurface as new shoots, requiring us to repeat the job in the future.
Thank you to Cheshire Wildlife Trust and all our wonderful volunteers for their invaluable assistance. Together, we are making a difference.
