Wapley Bushes path works about to start!

The works on site will start next Tuesday, 5th October.

They should last approximately 10 days, weather permitting.

During that time the Ride will be closed and walkers will be asked to use the path through the Woods instead.

£10k funding boost for Wapley Bushes project from SITA Trust

Dodington Parish Council has received a £10,495 funding boost from SITA Trust to fund a project called ‘Track to the Top’. The money will be used to rebuild a well-used public path in the Local Nature Reserve. Until now the path to the upper meadow has had no drainage, resulting in water flowing across the path and, in the winter, making walking extremely slippery and dangerous.

Wapley Common is a beautiful area of open and wooded land which lies between the Shire Way estate in Yate and the hamlet of Wapley in the rural southern edge of Dodington Parish.

"The Ride is an important route for walkers and for vehicles used to maintain the Reserve" explained Cllr Paul Hulbert. "Without it we would have to take heavy machinery across flower-rich meadows, which would damage them".

For several winters the Ride has been closed for safety because of mud

SITA Trust provides funding through the Landfill Communities Fund. Funding is available for community and environmental groups to carry out a range of improvement projects.

The scheme is also being supported by a community contribution of £1,200 from Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, who manage the Local Nature Reserve on behalf of the Parish Council.

"We are very grateful for SITA Trust’s support – this is one of our largest projects, and we couldn’t do it without them" said Tim Fairhead of the Conservation Group. "As well as improving access, upgrading the Ride will preserve the vegetation of the woodland edge and maintain it as one of our best areas for butterflies and other insects"

Technical support and advice is being provided by South Gloucestershire Council, the other partner in managing the Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve.

Rained off...

Unfortunately today's work morning (5 September) was rained off. There was some heavy rain early this morning, and as we were intending to do stream clearing it would have been dangerously slipperly.

Please watch this space for details of other forthcoming events.

Wapley work morning tomorrow - 5 September

There will be a Wapley Bushes conservation work morning on Sunday 5 September. We'll be meeting at the Shire Way gate at 10.00 am, and aiming to finish by about 12.30 pm.

We will be doing some general conservation work such as tidying up a small stream that is the habitat of a very rare plant.

Please come along and help! Tools are provided, but you'll need to wear wellies or stout footwear and appropriate clothing.

Our autumn/winter programme will be published here shortly - watch this space!

"Little and large" mammal sightings at Wapley

I had two striking mammal sightings at Wapley today. I was driving along Besom Lane, and two roe deer - hind and fawn - crossed the road 20 yards ahead of me. They paused and looked at me and then dived into the Picnic Area hedge.

They obviously knew where they were going - I later saw that there are several established tracks through the thicket and out onto the clearing.

About 10 minutes later, on the Common, I saw a shrew running across the grass. So, sightings of the Reserve's largest and smallest mammals in just a few minutes.

A great walk at Wapley Bushes - species galore

We had a fascinating walk this afternoon exploring the meadows and woods at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve. We were pleased to welcome guests from Cabot Group of the Wildlife Trust.

Among the many butterflies we spotted was this magnificent marbled white.

We also encountered a range of other insects such as these burnet moths.

Last chance to see - before the Wapley meadows are cut

The meadows are looking magnificent now, but we have to cut them in a few days for the optimum crop of wild flowers and grasses next year.

So either check the meadows out during the course of this week, or come along on our Sunday afternoon guided walk - 18 July 2 pm at the Shire Way gate.

Biodiversity Walk at Wapley - Sunday 18 July 2pm

Explore Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve in the company of experts who can tell you about our local flora and fauna.

Everyone welcome - meeting at the Shire Way gate. Please wear suitable footwear.

Flowers and insects galore - report from evening walk 22 June

We had an excellent walk last week with Rupert Higgins of Wessex Ecological Consultants - he really made us look at the meadows in particular with new eyes.

Left is a bee orchid that we found in the Lower Meadow.

Our next event will be an afternoon Biodiversity Walk on Sunday 18 July, starting at 2pm from the Shire Way gate.

Experts in all sorts of flora and fauna will help us learn more about this fascinating area.

Please come and join us - no need to book, just turn up!

Wapley Bushes Nature Reserve - evening walk, Tuesday 22 June, 7pm

Please come and join our evening walk round Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve with Rupert Higgins of Wessex Ecological Consultants, the expert who has just revised the Reserve Management Plan. This will be an opportunity to find out about how the Reserve is looked after and our plans for the next five years. Everyone welcome - meeting at the Shire Way gate. Please wear suitable footwear.

Educational events at Wapley

Sure Start is the Government’s programme to deliver the best start in life for every child by bringing together early education, childcare, health and family support. Wapley has recently hosted two Sure Start forest skills training events and a Dad's Group event.

As part of the Healthy Schools Initiative Abbotswood School is now joining in work with the Reserve's Nature Journal, like the schools that took part last year.  As well as regular class visits to the reserve there will be a Parents Group session in June.


The Wapley Bushes Conservation Group and Dodington Parish Council are glad to see these community education programmes making use of the Reserve, the Common and the Picnic Site, which are managed to provide opportunities for conservation, education and recreation.

Dates for your diary - Nature Reserve events

Tuesday 22 June 7pm – Evening walk round the Reserve with Rupert Higgins of Wessex Ecological Consultants, who has just revised the five-year Management Plan

Sunday 18 July 2pm – Biodiversity Walk with experts on various types of flora and fauna

Sunday 5 September 10am – Conservation Group Work Morning (ditch clearing etc)

It has been decided that future work mornings will alternate between Saturday and Sunday mornings to suit people who can't make one or the other. Further work mornings will be held on Sat 20 November, Sunday 23 January and Saturday 5 March.

All events start from the Shire Way gate. More details will follow on all these events.

New edition of the Reserve Management Plan on the way

Rupert Higgins of Wessex Ecological Consultants has been busy revising the five year Management Plan for Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve.

You can find out more by joining us on a evening walk with Rupert on Tuesday 22 June. We'll be meeting at 7pm at the Shire Way gate.

Report from 8 May work morning - good news and bad news

Our keen volunteers spent their Saturday morning clearing up litter on the meadows and in the woods. The good news is that there wasn't a lot of it - half a dozen bin bags.

The bad news is that there were half a dozen or more fire sites with smashed glass, melted bottles and cans - all dangerous for children and wildlife. We're talking to the Police and the Fire Brigade about the problem.

Wapley Bushes Work Morning this Saturday, 8 May - come and join us!

We're having a Saturday work morning this week, especially for people who can't make our usual Sunday morning sessions.

We will be doing a general spring clean of the Nature Reserve and cutting back some excess growth from the paths.

Please come and join us - we'll be meeting at the Shire Way gate at 10.00 am. please wear suitable footwear, but we'll provide the tools etc.

Bluebells galore

There are masses of bluebells at Wapley at the moment, particularly in the woods and hedgerows. The best place to see them is along the lower path in the main wood. Spring has really sprung!

Evening birdsong at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve

It's surprising what you can record with an ordinary mobile phone. This recording has just been slightly cleaned up and amplified using Audacity.

We came, we saw, we planted

We had a big problem to deal with - an ugly corrugated fence at the bottom end of the Western Wood, put up by the adjoining landowner.

The morning of Sunday, 14 March saw an enthusiastic work party gather at Wapley Bushes for a coordinated planting operation on a bright, sunny day. Our task was to plant 60 shrubs and climbers. This is a particularly difficult area to plant in so the plants were specially selected to be both shade tolerant and good for wildlife.

Fortunately, we had a very good volunteer turnout and the task was completed well before midday ; congratulations to all involved in this very successful workday. Here are just a few parts of the stretch that was planted - we'll keep an eye on its progress and report back in due course:

The next work morning will be on Saturday 8 May, specially for people who can't make Sundays. We'll meet at 10.00 am at the Shire Way gate as usual - please check back here for more details in due course.

Work morning - Sunday 14 March

Come and join us for a morning of hedgerow and boundary planting. Tools will be provided, but please wear suitable footwear. We will be meeting at 10.00 am at the Shire Way gate.

For more details please ring Paul Hulbert on 07771 562505 - or you can just turn up on the day!

Grow Your Own Fence!

24/1/2010
Photo: Some of the Conservation Group regulars building up the dead hedge
Originally uploaded by paulhulbert

We had a very successful workday today. A dozen of us coppiced a lot of the excess trees in the Centenary Wood, and dragged the material down to the lower end of the main wood.

There we constructed some fifty metres of dead hedging to protect vulnerable areas of the wood. Not bad for a morning's work!