Wapley Bushes wins major environmental award for fourth year running

Wapley Bushes has just won the Green Flag Community Award, the only such award in South Gloucestershire. Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve, Wapley Common and the Orchard for the Future form one of the very best green spaces in the UK – and that’s official. The green space is among a record-breaking 1,686 places that have received the prestigious Green Flag Award – the mark of a quality park or green space.

A Green Flag is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent facilities. The Community Award recognises sites that are largely managed by community groups, in this case the volunteers of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group.

The award, now celebrating its 20th year, recognises and rewards the best parks and green spaces across the country. Wapley's Green Flag was presented yesterday at the regional Green Flag Award event in Cheltenham. This is the fourth year running that Wapley has succeeded in gaining this award.

Report from work morning 10 July 2016

We actually spread this work session out over a few days, because not all of us were available at the same time. There were five of us in all. On the 10th we had a group of three, clearing vegetation around signs and entrances, litter picking, cutting back of invasive blackthorn shrubs (sloe bushes) and summer fruit tree pruning.

Before...

After!

The climbing rose (Rosa Wedding Day) by the cottages has really grown well on the dead plum tree. It has put on a good flowering display this year and it is serving its conservation purpose since a number of bees were visiting the flowers (the idea is that the the summer flowering rose take over from the spring flowering fruit trees to ensure a supply of nectar and pollen for insects over a longer period).
	One of the deer-damaged young plum trees was experiencing lop sided growth and a number of dead branches. That tree had to be severely pruned back to its most promising young shoots which were then cable-tied to ensure vertical growth.
Finally, here is a picture of the healthy plum-like gage tree which had a significant standard prune back.

Two more colleagues paid a double visit on other days, gathering hay rattle seeds for transplanting (there will be more on this in a later post) and doing a litter-pick.