Lilliput Park Big Spring Clean this Tuesday

Please come and join members of Lilliput Conservation Group this Tuesday (4 April) from 10.00 am until 12.00. Litter pickers and bags will be provided - everyone welcome. Meet at the Kingfisher Road gate -  please wear suitable footwear.

Bluebells and bracket fungi at Wapley!

The ground is very wet underfoot - wellies or walking boots advised - but there's plenty to see at Wapley as the Nature Reserve wakes up for the spring.

The bluebells have started to appear around the woodland paths:

And do you know where at Wapley you can find these strange bracket fungi?

Report from Wapley Bushes work morning - Saturday 19 March

The cold weather, and several of the regulars being away, meant a reduced turnout - only five - but two teams went round clearing the public paths of obstructions and picking up litter at the same time. Meanwhile, the fruit trees on the common area were given a "full service" - they were pruned back hard to encourage future growth and the right shape of branches in the future, as well as loosening the tree straps to provide growing room as appropriate.

Goose Green Workday - Saturday 9 April

As part of our commitment to 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.

Lilliput Park work morning - Tuesday 4 April

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear and bring gloves if you have them.

You can check out the Lilliput Conservation Group on Facebook for more information.

The Orchard for the Future is five years old today!

It's hard to believe, but it's exactly five years ago today that we got together to plant the Orchard for the Future at Wapley. It was very much a joint effort - funded by South Glos, sited mostly on Dodington Parish Council land, planted by local volunteers, and looked after ever since by Wapley Bushes Conservation Group. 

Virtually all the trees have survived, and we're gradually getting a modest crop each year. All the fruit varieties are traditional and local to the area - there used to be lots of small orchards around here, but almost all have disappeared over the years. This is our small effort to roll back the trend.

Quiz Night Live! - Friday 1st April

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.

Wapley Bushes work morning - Saturday 19 March

We shall be undertaking general management tasks, including a spring clean, that will help to enhance the biodiversity of this precious nature reserve. We anticipate doing some work on the top pond and a general spring clean.

Please wear stout footwear. Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland (opposite the road entrance to Cherington), south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.

Ridge Wood work morning - Sunday 13 March

10.00 am - 12.00
Meeting at Melrose Close entrance
More details about Ridge Wood available here

Happy 10th birthday to the Wapley blog

It's hard to credit it, but we started this blog exactly ten years ago, on February 24th 2006. Our first blog post was about the Top Pond - you can check it out here

We've been advertising our work mornings and events, and reporting what's happened on the Reserve - you can explore our archive by clicking the links on the right hand side.

More recently we have been putting up details of work days on other local Reserves, so watch out for opportunities to get out in the fresh air and do your bit for the environment. Everyone is welcome!

Damp but a good work morning at Wapley

Despite some light drizzle, on Sunday 21 February eight of us - including two new volunteers - tackled the winter fruit tree pruning in the Orchard for the Future. We were dealing with apples, pears etc (stoned fruit like plums needs to be pruned in the summer)

We also planted a strawberry tree in memory of Wendy Mayo, the Clerk to Dodington Parish Council who died last summer. Wendy and her family were frequent volunteers on the Wapley Bushes Local Natire Reserve. Arbutus unedo is a bushy evergreen shrub with red strawberry-like fruits. It's not related to real strawberries, and it's not a citrus species - strangely it's a member of the Ericaceae, in other words the heaths and heathers. Bilberries (European "blueberries") are also members of this unusual family.

In addition we planted some dog roses in the fence alongside the road, and litter-picked around the Common and the picnic area. Our next Wapley work morning will be on Saturday 19 March.

Lilliput Park work morning - Tuesday 1 March

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear and bring gloves if you have them.

Friends of Yate Common - AGM and General Meeting Tuesday 23 February

Come and meet the group - 7 pm at the Pop Inn Cafe, Yate Shopping Centre

Ridge Wood work morning - Sunday 21 February

10.00 am - 12.00
Meeting at Melrose Close entrance
More details about Ridge Wood available here

Wapley Bushes work morning - Sunday 21 February

We shall be undertaking general management tasks at the reserve including the pruning of the assorted historic variety fruit trees. Please wear walking or wellington boots, bring some gloves and a pair of secateurs if you have them.

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

Yate Common workday Thursday 4 February

The Friends of Yate Common are having a work morning on Thursday 4 February from 10 am. Please wear suitable footwear and bring gloves. More details will appear on the Yate Common Facebook Page

Lilliput Park work morning - Tuesday 2 February

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear and bring gloves if you have them.

Ridge Wood work morning - Sunday 24 January

10.00 am - 12.00
Meeting at Melrose Close entrance
More details about Ridge Wood available here

Lilliput Park work morning - Tuesday 5 January

A small band of enthusiasts - the Lilliput Conservation Group - is spending a couple of hours on the first Tuesday of each month tidying up the hedgerows and plantings in Lilliput Park.

Please come along and help us improve this historic park. We shall be meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear suitable footwear and bring gloves if you have them.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve

Season's greetings to all our visitors and supporters!