Our Amazing Volunteers!
On Friday, 30th October, we held our monthly Habitat Management session on The Heath, once again led by Tom from Cheshire Wildlife Trust. It was a session of two halves: thinning heather in the morning and cutting holly in the woodland in the afternoon.
It was a cool, dry autumn day. The morning began under light cloud, and in the afternoon the sun broke through, filling the woodland with golden light and dappled shade as the session came to an end. We had an excellent turnout of 16 people, including Tom and me.
We were pleased to welcome back two corporate volunteers, James and Dave, from RSK, an ecological consultancy, who also joined us in January. They gave us plenty of useful advice, particularly on heather-spreading techniques, and we are grateful to RSK for giving them the time to join us.
Thinning the Heather
Tom arrived an hour before the volunteers and began trimming old heather plants with a brush cutter. When the rest of us arrived at 10 a.m., we raked patches of ground to expose bare soil, then scattered the heather cuttings over them. The aim is for the heather seed to germinate on fresh ground and so expand the extent of the heather area.
Cutting Back the Holly
In the afternoon we moved into the woodland and began cutting the dense, over-dominant holly. The aim is to create space for the other tree species and woodland plants. Everyone enjoyed this job, and it is easy to see why: the results are dramatic. Within a short time, we had converted a dense stand of holly into a woodland glade full of autumn sunlight.
We laid the holly cuttings into a dead hedge along the edge of the path. It will provide a refuge for wildlife and discourage people from walking in the cleared area. There is still a lot of holly to clear, so we will return to this task over the next few sessions.
Wildlife We Met
The wildlife highlight of the day was the abundance of fungi in the woodland. I haven’t been able to identify them to species, so if you can put a name to any of them, please do get in touch.
Thank You — and Come and Join Us!
Many thanks to Tom from Cheshire Wildlife Trust for leading the day, to James and Dave from RSK for joining us again, and to all the fantastic people who turned out. Everyone contributed, and we achieved a great deal. As usual, there was plenty of good banter, and it was enjoyable to meet both new and returning volunteers.
Our next session is on Friday, 27th November, when we will be cutting more holly. Click the link below to book your place.
Photographs by Kevin Griffiths and James from RSK (session briefing and selfie).
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