Wapley Woods survey for Ash Dieback - public event - Wednesday 14 August

Ash Dieback Disease is geeting closer to our area. Although we're already planting large numbers of replacement trees in Wapley Woods, we want to know whether we already have any traces of the disease in the woods, and to learn how to recognise it.

Please come along on our Ash Dieback Tree Survey walk with Chris Wright of Silverback Arboricultural Consultancy. Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the Nature Reserve, south Yate, BS37 8US at 10.00am.

Very good Wapley work morning on 14th July

Twelve volunteers came along to our work morning, and we really got a lot done in the fine weather. The greenery has been growing at a rate of knots, so we needed to clear the brambles from round the young pear trees in the hedge at the bottom of the Lower meadow. We also trimmed back the edges of some of the main paths and did a "deep clean" litter pick in some of the less obvious places.

Our seasonal task was pruning the stoned fruit trees to ensure that they grow strong and straight. We also had to prop up an apple tree on the Common that had so much fruit on it that it was leaning over. It didn't help that the ground is cracking and so the original tree stake had become loose.

Despite all the hard work, we had time to admire the early stages of this season's apple crop.

Heritage variety apples in
the Orchard for the Future

We also paused to admire the many, many butterflies and flowers in the grasslands.

Meadow Brown butterfly
on Black Knapweed

Our next work morning will be on Sunday 8th September, meeting at 10 am at the Shire Way gate to the Nature Reserve. There will be something practical for everyone - please come along and meet our friendly group.

Wapley Bushes gains eighth Green Flag Community Award in a row

Members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group showing off their eighth Green Flag Community Award at one of the Bug Hotels during their July work morning at the Local Nature Reserve.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve and the Orchard for the Future have been recognised as one of the UK’s very best green spaces. Today, a record number of parks and green spaces collect a Green Flag Award. 

This international award, now into its third decade, is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.

Wapley Bushes has won the Green Flag Community Award, a category for green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups. There are only eleven Community Awards in the whole of the South West. In fact there are only two Green Flag Awards of any kind in South Gloucestershire, the other one being Page Park in Staple Hill.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve is an area of meadows and woodlands which is very popular with local people of all ages. It is managed by the volunteers of the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group on behalf of site owners Dodington Parish Council.

Committee member Paul Hulbert said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a Green Flag Community Award for the eighth time”

“Our local green spaces really matter to residents and visitors. They make a major contribution to health and wellbeing”

“This award celebrates the dedication that goes into maintaining Wapley Bushes to such a high standard - the real credit goes to our hard-working volunteers, and to Dodington Parish Council for their unfailing practical and financial help”

"Our reserve is a mixture of flower-rich meadows, ancient woodland and younger plantations. We work closely with South Gloucestershire Council and the Southwold Group of the Wildlife Trust, who provide us with very valuable advice"

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


Photo

Members of Wapley Bushes Conservation Group showing off their eighth Green Flag Community Award at one of the Bug Hotels during their July work morning at the Local Nature Reserve.

Wapley Bushes Summer Fruit Tree Pruning - Sunday 14 July

Please help us look after the historic varieties of trees in the Orchard for the Future. As well as pruning stoned fruit trees such as plums and gages, we shall also be attending to odd jobs on the reserve such as litter picking, cutting back paths and other general maintenance. As usual there will be something for everybody!

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

Free Wildflower Walk on Yate Common - Tuesday 28 May

This guided wildflower walk will cover various grassland areas on Yate Common. Our guide for the evening will be local naturalist Pauline Wilson. The walk will start at 6.30pm and run to 8.30pm.

The meeting point will be the southern Road to Nowhere entrance to the Common where
there is some limited parking (please see https://goo.gl/maps/w96ncixAbXuXEqmi7

Free First Aid Course for environmental volunteers - Wednesday 29 May

Dodington Parish Council has arranged a First Aid course on Wednesday 29th May (next week) at Dodington Parish Hall, Finch Road, Chipping Sodbury, BS37 6JZ.

It is intended for allotment holders and people who volunteer of local open spaces.


The course will start at 7.00pm and finish at 9.00pm and it will cover:

Safety
Bleeding (types and how to stop)
Bandaging (compression, ambulance dressings, slings)
Choking
Fainting and seizures
Burns and sunburn
Recovery position
Calling 999
Heart attack & Defibrilation
Record keeping

Beating the Bounds of Yate Common, Sunday 26 May

Beating the Bounds is an ancient custom that is practised on The Common in Yate. The Reverend, Town Mayor, Friends of the Common and local residents will walk the boundaries of The Common.
Traditionally, children are turned upside down at the corners to teach them the boundaries of their Common, which they should protect (nowadays sweets may be used as an incentive)
 
Beating the Bounds of Yate Common starts at 3pm from the St Briavels Drive entrance of Yate Common. The walk is suitable for pushchairs and takes about 60 - 90 minutes. 

If you would like to find out more about the custom, please follow this link

Meadow species planting on Wapley Common - 4 May and 17 May

We had 13 volunteers at our work morning on Saturday 4 May, when we put in several species of plug plants to enhance the diversity in the Orchard for the Future section of Wapley Common. As well as planting we did a "deep clean" of some of the harder to reach areas of the Reserve and cut back some overgrowth.

Unfortunately one of our chosen species hadn't arrived, so we had another session on Friday 17 May. Six of us started at Dodington Parish hall, and planted all three species on the "Mini Meadow" next to the Hall - our present to the Parish Council.

Then four of us went on to Wapley Common and planted the remaining plug plants. The result is that we now have yellow rattle, oxeye daisy and knapweed (see photo above) in the third of the Orchard nearest to Shire Way - you won't see them until they've grown a bit. These plants will help encourage pollinators and discourage more invasive species. In future years we plan to do the same sort of planting on the other two thirds of the Orchard.

We finished off the session with a walk round the Reserve doing a site inspection. The icing on the cake was that we saw a Red Kite flying over the Common, with its distinctive forked tail.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve Workday - Saturday 4 May

This workday will be a combination of working with Dodington Parish Council on a deep spring clean of the reserve and planting out native plants in a grassland area. Please wear stout footwear.

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

Goose Green Workday - Saturday 13 April

We shall be undertaking reserve maintenance on this local grassland and wetland nature reserve such as path clearance plus litter picking. Please wear walking or wellington boots and bring some gloves.

Please meet at the bridge on the reserve, west of Oak Close, north Yate, BS37 5TN, 10.00am.

Trees and woodland planting - report from work morning 16 March 2019

Despite the threat of poor weather, the rain and wind held off. Eight of us put in 33 new woodland trees of various native species and 56 lesser celandine plug plants.

One of the plug plants

This session completes our winter 2108/2019 tree planting programme at Wapley - since early 2017 we've planted 230 saplings that will grow up into substantial woodland trees. We're planning to put in another 100 trees next winter.

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve Workday - Saturday 16 March

We shall be undertaking more tree planting that will help to enhance the biodiversity of this precious nature reserve and doing a spring clean too. Please wear stout footwear.

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

River Frome Spring Clean work morning - Saturday 16 March

This is the annual spring clean around the River Frome Walkway area by Yate Shopping Centre. Everyone is welcome to help out to clear up our local environment and please wear sturdy footwear and bring stout gloves. Bin bags and litter pickers will be provided and this event is organised by Chipping Sodbury's Baptist Church environmental action group.

Meet at 10am at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre (parking is available at the two car parks on either side of Link Road, BS37 4AY).

Ridge Wood woodland work morning, Sunday 10 March

10am -12noon, meet at the Melrose Close entrance of Ridge Wood local nature reserve, situated between Yate and Chipping Sodbury.

Work days are a fantastic way to make a practical contribution to the future of this important local nature reserve and are great fun. A range of activities will be undertaken, suitable for all abilities.

New volunteers are always welcome - no need to book, just turn up. Gloves and tools provided.

Further details and a map can be found on the Ridge Wood website: www.ridge-wood.org.uk
Email: info.forw@gmail.com

Very productive work morning at Wapley on Sunday 17 Feb

We had an excellent tree planting session at Wapley on Sunday. Fifteen volunteers planted 33 trees and did a litter-pick as well. We were pleased to welcome four new volunteers including a family group.

In the core of the Ancient Woodland we put in 24 trees, a mixture of English oak, black poplar, linden, black alder and rowan (mountain ash). All of these will grow into substantial trees to replace anticipated losses of the high canopy due to Ash Dieback Disease, which is now only a few miles away. By using a wide mix of native species we are future-proofing the woodland against as yet unknown diseases, while providing a good habitat replacement for birds, insects and lichen.

We also put in 9 smaller trees in a gap on the woodland edge nearest to the Common where a big tree fell a few months ago - wild cherry, goat willow, field maple and common hazel.

Our next work morning will be on Saturday 16 March. As well as another 30 plus significant trees we shall be putting in some plug plants of typical ancient woodland species such as yellow archangel on the woodland floor, and doing some litter picking as well.

Wapley Local Nature Reserve Workday - Sunday 17 February

We shall be doing a mixture of tree planting on the reserve using native British trees plus cutting back  excess vegetation. Please wear stout footwear and bring gloves.
Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.

A very merry Christmas from Wapley Bushes!

Many hands made light work at Wapley work morning on 2 December!

Eleven of us made short work of the woodland planting on 2 December. Despite the rain we planted 35 woodland trees of various species to help replace future losses from ash dieback disease. With such a good attendance we got the trees planted quickly.

Wapley Local Nature Reserve Workday - Sunday 2 December

This workday will be a morning of woodland planting to enhance biodiversity plus general maintenance and tidying up 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.

Ridge Wood work morning - Sunday 25 November

Meet at 10.00 am at the Melrose Close entrance to woods (see map here)
Jobs to suit all abilities, gloves and tools provided
Finish at 12:00 noon approx.

Find out more from the Ridge Wood website