Timber! A successful January workday

Many hands make light work, as they say. We had 14 volunteers at today's Wapley Bushes workday. Our plan was to create a range of micro-habitats in the Western Wood. The Western Wood was planted some 20 years ago and had never been thinned, so we concentrated on three areas to increase the biodiversity as recommended in the Management Plan.

Following Forestry Commission guidelines we carried out some selective felling to open up a glade just off the Ride, allowing light through and encouraging ground flora.

Along the diagonal path we cleared a number of semicircular areas that will provide warm, still air conditions for our many species of butterfly.

Finally we cut back a lot of intrusive brambles and overgrowth at the entrance from the Ride to the Western Wood to improve public access and let more light through to ground level.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who came today - all your hard work will pay dividends later in the year!

Wapley Bushes Work Morning - Sunday 23 January

This workday will involve practical woodland management work such as tree and shrub planting. This 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, 10.00am.

Treat yourself to a remote view of Slimbridge

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge is a fascinating place, especially in this cold weather. Here is a video of the birds being fed on the Rushy this morning:



What's more they also have live webcam feeds of Swan Lake and the Rushy - you can watch the daily wild bird feed at 4pm, or watch the wild birds anytime of the day or night! (Note - the webcam page needs Flash, and takes a few seconds for the video feeds to load - please be patient)

Wapley Bushes in the snow

A few photos from today's walk in the woods and meadows.

Season's Greetings from Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve!

Report from work morning 20 November

A well-attended work morning saw us tackling planting on the woodland edge alongside the Lower Meadow. We planted 150 trees, and as usual they were all traditional species for the habitat: Wayfaring tree, spindle, hazel, hawthorn, purging buckthorn, dogwood, and guelder rose.

Malcolm sorts out the trees

Our volunteers get stuck in

Pat's picked out a tree

And Isabel has planted hers

Major path works complete

 

The new surface of the Ride should be much
less slippery in winter and safer for walkers

The reconstruction of the Ride – the path between the two woodlands – has now been completed.

This is thanks to a £10,495 grant from SITA Trust to fund the ‘Track to the Top’ project. The scheme was also supported by a community contribution of £1,200 from Wapley Bushes Conservation Group.

Some 40 metres of muddy path within the woodland was dealt with at the same time. A big thank you to our colleagues from South Gloucestershire Council, who provided invaluable design and technical advice.

News update

Apologies for the upper path in the wood being blocked by a fallen ash tree – tree surgeons are very busy at this time of year, and it took a while to get them on site. Our periodic tree survey is being carried out to identify any dangerous trees.

Meanwhile, the recent Fungus Foray was very well attended. Many thanks to our expert Justin Smith!

And please don't forget our work morning next Saturday (20 Nov) - see you there? As usual we're meeting at 10 am at the Shire Way gate.

Westonbirt Arboretum Spectacular Enchanted Christmas 2010 - 26 Nov onwards

Take a walk along the famous Illuminated Trail and see the National Arboretum lit up at night. There’s also the opportunity to visit Father Christmas plus lots of other festive excitement - carols from local choirs and bands, roast chestnuts, mulled wine and great gift ideas from the Christmas Market and Forest Shop, which will stay open until 8.30pm selling fantastic presents and decorations.

The tickets costs are: adults £8, concessions £7, children £4, and the tickets can be bought online from October onwards (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt) or through the box office on 01842 814612.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 26 November to 19 December 2010
5.00 to 8.30pm (last entry at 7.15pm), Westonbirt Arboretum, A433, 3 miles south west of Tetbury,  Gloucestershire.

Wapley Bushes Work Morning - Saturday 20 November - update

This workday will be a morning of tree planting, plus general maintenance work and tidying up the reserve prior to the winter season. Please wear walking or wellington boots and bring some gloves, and preferably a spade if you're intending planting.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, South Yate, 10.00am.

Excellent Wapley owl prowl - but don't forget Foray for Fungi tomorrow Mon 1 Dec)

There was an excellent turnout for last week's Wapley Owl Prowl - more than 40 people! Many thanks to Ian McGuire.

Tomorrow - Mon 1st December - we have a Fungus Foray led by Justin Smith. Last year's event was fascinating, and we saw many species we'd never even noticed before.

Come and join us, meeting at the Shire Way entrance to the reserve, Shire Way, Yate at 2.00 pm. The event will last until about 4.00 pm.

Coppicing and Shelter Building, Lower Woods - Sunday 7 November

Enjoy a fun day out in Lower Woods learning about the traditional art of coppicing, the use of coppice products and help with the care of this 700 acre nature reserve. You can also have a go at building your own shelter.

There will be baked potatoes in the bonfire to enjoy at lunchtime, but please bring drinks and other food.  This event is suitable for adults and children over 14 (if accompanied by an adult). All tools, training and equipment provided. Please wear waterproof footwear as this reserve can be damp.

This event is free but donations are welcome. For more information, and to book your place on this event quoting event code COPP10 01, please contact Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust on 01452 383333.
Meet at  Meet at Lower Woods Lodge, Inglestone Common, east of Wickwar, South Gloucestershire (OS Grid Reference ST 746881), 10.00am to 15.00pm (booking in advance required).

Wildflower planting, Yate Common on Saturday - all welcome!

Please come and help the volunteers of the Friends of Yate Common doing some wildflower planting this Saturday (23 Oct) and help make this popular area ever better.

Meet at 10.30 am at the Reed Pond.

Kingsgate Park Ponds Workday - Sunday 31st October

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

Meet at the Scott Way entrance to Kingsgate Park, Scott Way, Yate 10.00am.

It's Your World - a successful event!

 

Thanks to all involved in the It's Your World environmental event at Yate Sports Centre today.

It was good to see just how many local and regional environmental organisations there are. Quite a lot of the people attending are involved in several of the local groups - we have quite a "Green Network" in our area!

Lots of people stopped at the Wapley Bushes display and asked us about the Reserve - some had visited before, and some didn't even know the Reserve existed. Hopefully we will get a few extra visitors in the coming months!

Wapley Bushes Foray for Fungi - Monday 1st November

Get to know the difference between mushrooms and toadstools on a mycological adventure with Justin Smith.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the reserve, Shire Way, Yate, 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Ridge Woods Twilight Owl Walk - Wednesday 27th October

Come and join Ian McGuire for a twilight owl prowl through Ridge Woods Nature Reserve  and hear him call for the resident tawny owls.

Meet at the Quarry Road entrance to Ridge Wood, Chipping Sodbury,7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Wapley Bushes Owl Prowl Monday 25th October

Take a twilight walk with Ian McGuire and hear him call for tawny owls. You won’t go home disappointed. Please wear warm clothing and stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the reserve, Shire Way, Yate, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

It's Our World - big local environment event Oct 16th, Yate Leisure Centre, 10am - 1pm

Come and join about 30 local environment organisations at this major event. There will be all sorts of stalls, children's activities and a talk by BBC Weatherman Richard Angwin!

Come and find out how you can get involved in looking after our local environment and help safeguard our world for future generations.

10 am - 1 pm Exhibition (Sports Hall)

10 am - 1 pm Produce market and outside events (West Walk)

10 am - 1 pm Children's trail and activities (Sports Hall)

11 am            Schools Poster Prize Presentation (Sports Hall)
by Richard Angwin (The BBC Points West Weather Man!)

11.15 - 11.45 am  Talk by Richard Angwin on the weather and climate change.

Check out the It's Our World website here

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.