Day of Judgement (Part 2)

Today was the second judging session for this year's South West in Bloom awards. This time judge Grenville Johnson visited Yate and Dodington In Bloom to carry out the judging for the Neighbourhoods Award. Grenville prefers the word "assessor" rather  than judge, as like all In Bloom judges he gives groups lots of helpful hints and tips. Here Tim Fairhead and Malcolm Stephen are showing him part of the woodland at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve.

Successful fruit tree pruning workshop at Wapley

The pruning workshop at Wapley today, which was led by local fruit tree expert Mr Fruit (Graham White) was very interesting.

Members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group were joined by colleagues from Friends of Yate Common, Bradley Stoke in Bloom (Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group) and and Downend and Bromley Heath (Friends of Leap Valley).

Please click the links for details of these other excellent local reserves.

Day of Judgement (part 1)

Today was the first judging session for this year's South West in Bloom awards. Judge Michael Foy visited Yate and Dodington In Bloom to carry out the judging for the Pennant Award. He is seen here with Tim Fairhead and Paul Hulbert at the Orchard for the Future.

Less mud at Wapley next winter!

One of the muddy stretches of path earlier this year

Dodington Parish Council and Wapley Bushes Conservation Group are undertaking a major path upgrading project at Wapley Bushes this summer. The aim is to get rid of the very muddy stretches due to the last couple of very wet winters. The section of path shown in the photo is still very muddy even in the current warm weather.

Ring Paul Hulbert on 01454 315851 or email paul.hulbert@gmail.com for more information or if you would be interested in helping at conservation mornings in the Nature Reserve.

Let's pull together to rid the River Frome of Himalayan Balsam

Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant which spreads along riverbanks, smothering native plants and causing flooding. The easiest way to control it is to pull it up.

Join us for free Big Pull mornings this summer. Everyone is welcome. 10am – 1pm on Saturdays 28 June and 12 July, meeting at the far end of Celestine Road, Yate BS37 5HB.

Wellies, trousers and long sleeves recommended. Gloves, equipment, guidance and free refreshments will be provided.

For more information or if you have access needs, please contact communityspaces@southglos.gov.uk,  call 01454 863556 or visit www.southglos.gov.uk/bigpull

Fruit tree pruning workshop 13 July - come and join in!

Orchards are a South Gloucestershire priority biodiversity habitat because many orchards have been neglected or grubbed up in recent decades.

In order to help stem this decline, Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, Dodington Parish Council and South Gloucestershire Council are now all working together to preserve the traditional horticultural skills that are needed to maintain existing and newly-planted orchards.

A free fruit tree pruning workshop is being held at the Wapley Rank cottages opposite the southern Besom Lane entrance to Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve, Besom Lane, Westerleigh, South Gloucestershire, BS37 8RW, starting at 10am on Sunday, 13 July 2014. The workshop tutor will be local fruit tree expert Mr Graham White. No advance booking needed - just turn up on the day.

Summer Commons Walk Sunday 29 June

South Gloucestershire is fortunate to have some very picturesque countryside and our local walk leaders,
Richard and Pauline Wilson, will be taking us to the Orange End, Assley Common and Inglestone Common
areas in the north of the county where we shall see wild summer flora in full bloom.

Please wear walking boots or other stout footwear. Ample free car parking is available at the Wickwar Road car park - meet for a car share at the Clock Tower, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, 2.00pm.

Guided nature walk at Ridge Wood Sunday 15 June

Exjoy a relaxed Wild Flower Walk through Ridge Wood with local naturalist Rupert Higgins. Learn more about the wildflowers in this beautiful nature reserve and about how the reserve is managed.

Meet at Quarry Road entrance 9.50 am for a 10 am start. The walk should finish around 12 noon.

Chipping Sodbury, Lilliput & Kingrove Common Walk, Friday 23 May

This particular spring walk forms part of South Gloucestershire’s Walking for Health programme so it is relatively gentle and different walk options are available such as walking in the Ridge Wood nature reserve or heading out into the green, open countryside.
Meet at the Rugby Club car park, The Ridings, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6PQ, 10.30am.

Goose Green Spring Clean, Saturday 12 April

Help preserve this local grassland and wetland nature reserve! We shall be undertaking reserve maintenance such as path clearance and a general reserve tidy up.  Please wear walking or wellington boots and bring some gloves.

Please meet at the bridge on the reserve, west of Oak Close, North Yate, 10.00am.

Spring Countryside Walk, Sunday 6 April

This will be a guided tour of the scenic River Bybrook area near Slaughterford, Wiltshire and our walk leaders will be the experienced guides Richard and Pauline Wilson. Please wear walking boots or other stout footwear and please note that ample free car parking is available at the Wickwar Road car park.
Meet for a car share at the Clock Tower, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, 2.00pm.

Spring has sprung, and we've cleaned it!

It was a lovely spring morning today, and we made the most of it. Half a dozen volunteers scoured the Nature Reserve and the Common picking up litter and giving the Reserve a "deep clean". Fortunately there wasn't too much rubbish except in the couple of usual litter "hot spots".

Meanwhile Tim went round the young trees in the Orchard for the Future applying deer repellant and administering minor "first aid" where necessary. The trees are looking good.

Thanks to everyone who took part today!

Quiz Night Live! Friday 21 March

This is your chance to have some fun and pick a team of Eggheads and bring them along to our general knowledge quiz in aid of Avon Wildlife Trust. You are most welcome make up a team name and bring your own snacks and beverages. We will also be serving tea and coffee for you in the break. Quiz teams are usually made up of four players at a cost of £2.50 per individual team member. Please contact Malcolm on 01454 310328 to book your team's place.

Venue: The Old Grammar School, High Street, Chipping Sodbury.

Dry Stone Walling Course at Dyrham Park, Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 May

This is an opportunity to learn the traditional countryside craft of dry stone walling under the tuition of experienced practitioners. The two day course costs £60 and for more information and to book a place please contact the National Trust at Dyrham Park on 01225 892374.
Please meet at the visitor centre at 9.30am on both days and Dyrham Park is 2 miles south of the M4 Junction 18 on the A46 (satnav postcode: SN14 8HY).

Wapley Local Nature Reserve Workday, Saturday 15 March

We shall be undertaking general management tasks, including a spring clean, that will help to enhance the biodiversity of this precious nature reserve. Please wear stout footwear.

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

Temporary footbridge for Wapley

It looks like Network Rail have listened to councillors and users of the path over the footbridge to Wapley Bushes. They have put in an application to divert the path via a temporary footbridge while they raise the bridge to get clearance for the overhead cables for electrifying the line.

Clearance work has recently started on site and we are now waiting for Network Rail to sort out the details of the paths to make sure that the slope isn’t too steep.

Report from Wapley Work Morning, Sunday 16 February

A very busy work morning, as nine of us tackled some major jobs. Tree planting, fruit tree pruning, litter picking, cutting up fallen trees, and hydrological engineering!

We cleared some fallen trees and then tackled the blocked outlet from the Top Pond. To find the blockage we first had to hack our way up through the middle of a hedge:

I think we've found the source of the Nile
- Dr Livingstone I presume?

The blockage which was making the Top Pond too deep turned out to be fallen tree branches under the water. Some of them were so rotten they looked like been spare parts for the Mary Rose. Eventually we were rewarded with success as the stream started to flow rapidly - we calculated the flow rate as about at around a tonne of water a minute. The pond was already several inches lower when we left - objective achieved.

The stream is now flowing healthily again

Meanwhile our other work parties were pruning back the small fruit trees in the Orchard for the Future and generally tidying up the Nature Reserve. A good morning's work!

Worst mud patches being repaired

Dodington Parish Council has generously agreed to finance repairing the worst parts of the weather damage on the Nature Reserve. Stone will be put on the mud patches on either side of the bridge between the two meadows, and the worn steps at the bottom of the Lower Path in the main woods are being rebuilt.

Meanwhile the Conservation Group is looking for finance to restore the more extensive lengths of paths within the woods.

Wapley Local Nature Reserve Workday, Sunday 16 February

This is your chance to burn off some of those Christmas and New Year calories by joining us for our first workday of the new year. We shall be undertaking general management tasks that will help to enhance the
biodiversity of this precious nature reserve. Please wear walking or wellington boots and bring some gloves.

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

Happy New Year from Wapley Bushes!

Here's a local resident (Chipping Sodbury actually) to go with our recent sound recording (repeated below) of one of his Shire Way cousins, a short distance from Wapley. The sound recording was made at 11.30 pm. Apparently robins can see well enough to catch insects by street lighting, so they stay up late and only shut up when the street lamps go off. A local friend reports that her neighbourhood robin starts singing at 3.00 am, so either they don't need much sleep, or they operate a shift system...

Merry Xmas from Wapley Bushes!

And here's a seasonal sound bonus - our local insomniac robin singing his heart out at 11.30 pm recently:

listen to ‘Insomniac robin’ on Audioboo

In case you're interested, here's an RSPB web page on night singing birds, especially robins.

Wapley Local Nature Reserve Workday, Saturday 16 November

This workday will be a morning of general maintenance work and tidying up in the reserve prior to the winter season. Please wear walking or wellington boots and bring some gloves.

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

Excellent Owl Prowl at Wapley Bushes! (Monday 28 October)

We had a great owl prowl at Wapley Bushes this evening with Ian McGuire. We saw three tawny owls near the Lower Path, one on its own and a pair. One sat on a branch 20 feet up calling to us, and we also saw them in flight. Thanks for a great event, Ian!

Rather soggy but happy nevertheless
- Ian McGuire, his tame owl and the owl prowlers.

The owl prowl was part of South Gloucestershire Council's Discover Festival. If you missed the Wapley prowl, there's another one tomorrow (Tuesday 29 October) at Ridge Woods. Meet 7 pm at the Quarry Road entrance. Please wear warm clothes and boots, and bring a torch.

Ian is also running owl prowls on Wednesday at Willsbridge Mill, and on Friday at Coniston Community Centre, Patchway, with a 7 pm start in each case.

Kingsgate Park Nature Reserve Ponds Workday, Sunday 20 October

We shall undertaking maintenance of this important amphibian site including the cutting back of vegetatio n. Please wear gloves and wellington boots.

Meet at the Scott Way entrance to Kingsgate Park, Scott Way, Yate, BS37 4NW, 10.00am (parking is available at the entrance of Shackleton Avenue).

Kennedy Way Pond Workday, Saturday 12 October

We shall be carrying out general management works on the reserve including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven.

Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre, 10.00am (parking is available at the Yate overflow car park also on the eastern side of Link Road, BS37 4AY).

Orchard Harvest Day, Sunday 6 October

Celebrate the richness and variety of English fruit at this 14th century historic barn with a 200 year old working cider press. Activities and fun for all ages. Organised by South Gloucestershire Council.

11am -4pm, Winterbourne Barn, Church Lane, Winterbourne, BS36 1SE.

Munching and meddling at Wapley - first crop and work morning 15 September

Ten of us met at Wapley today for the first autumn work morning of the year. We started as usual with a safety briefing:

Then most of our volunteers worked on clearing the stream in the wood and cutting vegetation back from the paths, while a couple of us did some maintenance on the young fruit trees.

• Good news - we've had our first crop from the Orchard for the Future.
• Bad news - we've eaten it. Two apples, one each. But they tasted lovely!

Here's another part of our mini-crop - a medlar, very much a rarity nowadays.

 And here are our volunteers at the end of a productive morning.

Our next work morning at Wapley will be on Saturday 16 November, but there will be a Wapley Owl Prowl on Monday 28 October, meeting at 7.00 pm at the Shire Way gate. See you there?.

Wild Owls Chat, Saturday 21 September

Learn more about the UK's owls in this chat with Ian McGuire of Wild Owl. Organised by South Gloucestershire Council.

2:30 -3:30pm, Winterbourne Library, Flaxpits Lane, Winterbourne, BS36 1LA.

Introduction to British Owls Talk, Thursday 19 September

Come face to face with a wild owl and learn more about them in this inspiring talk from Ian McGuire of Wild Owl. Organised by South Gloucestershire Council.

7:30 -9.00pm, The Old Grammar School, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6AH.

Ram Hill Colliery Heritage Open Day, Sunday 15 September

An opportunity to visit the remains of this 19th century coal mine with guided tours showing the steam engine and house, horse gin and dramway terminus remains. Organised by South Gloucestershire Council.

10:30am - 4:00pm, Ram Hill Colliery, Broad, Lane, Ram Hill, Coalpit Heath, BS36 2TY.

Wapley Bushes Workday, Sunday 15 September

This workday will be our annual stream clearance where we hope to clear the central watercourse through the main woodland. This work is required to preserve the habitat of the rare local thinspiked wood sedge. Everyone welcome - there are lots of lighter tasks too. Please wear walking or wellington boots, and bring some gloves if you have them.

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

Bat Walk at Kingsgate Park Nature Reserve, Friday 13 September

Nature lovers are invited to come along and find out more about the local resident bat population with a free guided bat walk through the nature reserve area of the park. This event has been organised in cooperation
with South Gloucestershire Council.

Meet at the Scott Way entrance to Kingsgate Park, Scott Way, Yate, BS37 4NW, 7.30pm through to 9.30pm (parking is available at the entrance of Shackleton Avenue).

Wapley in summer - spot the Green Lady!

Just a few photos of Wapley in the hot weather we've been having.

Can you see the face in the first one?

Friendly frog

We came across this friendly frog during our recent meadow survey.

A tale of two species

On our meadow walk we came across two species that complement each other nicely, the six-spot burnet moth and the bird's foot trefoil.

Bird's foot trefoil, with its attractive yellow flowers, is a favourite food source for the burnet moth caterpillar.

 The caterpillar becomes a pupa in preparation for its transformation into the adult moth.

 

A discarded pupa case after the moth has flown

 

The adult six-spot burnet moth

As the bird's foot trefoil ages it turns gradually from yellow to red,
hence the common name "eggs and bacon"

Finally its three leaves start to resemble the toes of a bird's foot,
hence the name "bird's foot trefoil"

(Photos by Isabel Ryan) 

Excellent meadow walk - orange tails, diamond backs and adder's tongues

Meadow surveyors at work!

We had an excellent meadow walk and survey on Sunday  23 June led by Rupert Higgins of Wessex Ecologicla Consultancy, who wrote the Five Year Plan we currently use to manage Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve. We saw everything from micro-moths and orange-tailed bumble bees, via hairy sedge to a diamondback moth, a migrant from North Africa or the Mediterranean. Unfortunately we saw very few butterflies, mainly meadow browns. Probably it was too cloudy for other species that were in evidence the following day, which was sunny.

Meadow brown butterfly

Our find of the day was the adder's tongue fern, which usually has only one leaf plus a single tall spike bearing the spores. This uncommon fern is said to be a good indicator species of ancient meadows.

Adder's-tongue fern

We have quite a few more interesting photos to show, so we'll post them here over the next few days.

(Photos by Isabel Ryan and Paul Hulbert)

New look for the Orchard for the Future

Deer damage to the bark
of one of our fruit trees

The new look - mulch mats
and wraparound guards.

Sharp-eyed visitors will have noticed some changes to the young fruit trees on the Common. Firstly we've put some mulch mats around the trees to stop competition from grass - we're letting the grass grow long to provide a habitat for small mammals such as voles, which will eventually become "owl takeaways" if we manage to attract some owls to the woods.

The mats are completely biodegradable. They're made from a mixture of recycled jute and cashmere hair, needled onto a hessian backing. As the mulching mat material degrades, nitrogen and other beneficial elements will be released to benefit the growing plants. The mats are held down by recycled plastic pegs, but these are fully biodegradable too.

We've also had to deal with a problem of deer nibbling the bark of some of our trees. We've fitted wraparound guards to the main stems of the trees and we've painted the upper stems with a deer browsing deterrent comprising clove and almond oils. Hopefully they won't be as attractive now as an overnight snack.

Summer South Gloucestershire Walk, Sunday 30 June

South Gloucestershire is fortunate to have some very picturesque countryside and our experienced guides, Richard and Pauline Wilson, will be taking us to the Golden Valley area near Wick in the south of the county. Please wear walking boots or other stout footwear and please note that ample free car parking is available
at the Wickwar Road car park.

Meet for a car share at the Clock Tower, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, 2.00pm.

Summer Meadow Flower Walk, Sunday 23 June Wapley

We shall be having a walk around the meadows and woodland to have a look at the different types of summer wildflowers that are on display. Do come along and learn more about our native flora and there will be plenty of interesting insects too. Please wear walking boots or other stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, 2.00pm.

Grand Duck Race, Sunday June 16

As part of our contribution to Chipping Sodbury Festival Week, we will be holding our annual duck race along the River Frome. Why not come along, have a flutter, and join us for an afternoon of races, a cup of tea and a doughnut? You are very welcome to come along and bring a picnic to enjoy in the park. The races start from 2.00pm.

Meet at Jubilee Park, Quarry Road, Chipping Sodbury, 2.00pm.

First blossoms of the year at The Orchard For The Future, Wapley

May blooms (and more) at Wapley Bushes

There are cowslips galore on the Lower Meadow

Wild Garlic in the Ancient Woodland

Bluebells throughout the woodland

Primrose among bluebells

Yellow archangel and bluebells

Ragged Robin

Hartstongue fern

And the traditional buttercups and daisies, of course!

Book Sale & Coffee Morning in aid of Wildlife, Saturday 18 May

You are most welcome to come and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, a slice of home made cake and have a browse through our varied selection of books that we shall be offering for sale. All monies raised will go to wildlife conservation projects in the Avon Valley area. If you can provide any books or cakes for this day, please contact Malcolm on 01454 310328.

The Baptist Church, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, 10.00am to midday.

Report from Work Morning, Saturday 16 March

A rather belated report from an excellent work morning. Around 18 volunteers, including a number of children, split up into three groups. One group tackled some very muddy planting, putting in 50 extra trees in the Jubilee Hedge.

Another team cut back some overhanging branches, while a very industrious group did a deep spring clean of the reserve, including some of the approach areas that hadn't been tackled for ages.

Well done everyone!

In the meantime, the buds on the horse chestnut tree we transplanted last year are showing nicely. Maybe Spring WILL come this year after all!

Wapley Work Morning, Saturday 16 March

We shall be undertaking a range management tasks that will help to enhance the biodiversity of this precious nature reserve. We'll be clearing back some vegetation on the main Ride between the woodlands and use any excess offcuts to build up the dead hedge at the edge of the Western Wood. We have about 50 small trees to be planted to infill gaps in the Centenary Wood hedge, and we'll be doing spring cleaning by litter picking around the reserve. Something for everyone!


Please wear stout footwear. Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, opposite the entrance to Cherington in South Yate, 10.00am.

Quiz Night Live, Friday 8 March

This is your chance to have some fun and pick a team of Eggheads and bring them along to our general knowledge quiz. We have found this to be a very popular event and you are most welcome make up a team name and bring your own snacks and beverages. We will also be serving tea and coffee for you in the break. Quiz teams are usually made up of four players at a cost of £2 each per person. Please contact Malcolm on 01454 310328 to book your team's place.

The Old Grammar School, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, 7.30pm.

Avon Wildlife Trust's Southwold Group is very active and would very much welcome more like-minded people to join them. They organise workdays, walks, surveys, fundraising events and it only takes a couple of hours every other month. If anyone wants to help out and try something new then please call Malcolm on 01454 310328 and you will be made very welcome.

We came, we sawed, we pruned...

Having lost two workdays in a row due to bad weather, we decided to hold a mini-workday today. People who had attended the pruning workshop last summer, plus a couple of others who had viewed the DVD we made of the event, gathered to do some light pruning of the young trees. We were happy to find that they were in good condition, and we're hoping for a vigorous year's growth ahead.

Our next Wapley Work Morning will be on Saturday 16 March - details will follow here.