Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve, near Yate and Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire.


The Nature Reserve is run by the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, a small group of volunteers.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Wapley Bushes given 7th Green Flag Community Award




It's now official - Wapley Bushes has achieved the Green Flag Community Award for the 7th year in a row. Ours is one of only 8 Community Awards in the South West, and in fact we've got the only Green Flag award of any sort in South Gloucestershire. Well done to all our volunteers and to Dodington Parish Council staff!
 
The Green Flag Community Award, a category for green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups.

The next work morning on the Reserve will be Sunday 9 September, meeting at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, BS37 8US, 10.00am. Extra volunteers would be very welcome – please contact Paul Hulbert on 01454 315851 for more details, or just turn up.
 

Busy bees and the cricket season - report from work morning 15 July 2018

We had a productive work morning this weekend - it was so hot that we had to keep it slightly shorter than usual. Six of us cleared the bramble and other growth round the young fruit trees in the bottom hedge of the lower meadow to give them room for growth. We also cut back overgrowth on the top path and behind the seats on the Common.

While we were there we watched the leaf cutter bees hard at work at our new Bug Hotels on Wapley Common. They lay their eggs in a hole, seal off the cell with leaf fragments, lay eggs in another cell, cap it with more leaves and so on.


We also saw quite a few crickets - here's one resting on one of our tools.


Sunday, July 01, 2018

Bugs get posh new accommodation at Wapley Common




Young people from the 4th Chipping Sodbury Guides and Brownies have helped enthusiastically to furnish a new bug hotel for the orchard at Wapley Common. The event was organised after Dodington Parish Councillor Paul Hulbert, a member of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, ran an Environment Evening for them at Abbotswood School.



"The girls were so enthusiastic and knowledgeable that I invited them to do some practical work at Wapley" said Cllr Hulbert. "We've put a total of three new bug hotels on Wapley Common, and this one is very impressive"

"The Brownies and Guides worked really hard under the direction of our contractor Chris Belcher, who had already constructed the framework"


The bug hotels are part of the Orchard for the Future project organised by Wapley Bushes Conservation Group. There are three groups of young orchard trees on Wapley Common, and each group of trees now has its own bug hotel or "pollinator palace". The intention is to encourage pollinating insects, so increasing the apple crops in future years so that local people can come and pick their own apples, all of which are local historic varieties that are not available in the shops.

There were ten Guides and Brownies plus four Leaders, plus the three of us that are involved with Wapley Bushes.


Wapley Bushes Summer Fruit Tree Pruning - Sunday 15 July

As well as pruning stoned fruit trees such as plums and gages, we shall also be attending to odd jobs on the reserve.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.