Welcome to Central Counties Region Web Site
Countryside Care Action Page
Listed below are actions and Projects carried out by members from Central Counties Region
Report By Tony Powell
This time of year is the busy period for Countryside Care and the forthcoming months are no exception.
South Lines. D.A. has continued with their projects at Woodhall Spa with weekends on the reserve next to the Club site and on the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. The work they carry out is varied and ranges through coppicing, pollarding, general clearance and pond work, a cold wet job but still carried out with humor. During the week 24-29 March 07 they will assist in preparing the Club site in readiness for it’s opening. Anyone interested in helping please contact Dave Wilkinson on 01526 352847 for further information.
Notts. D.A. will carry out their project at the Walesby Scout Camp on March 30-April 1-2 07. This is a camping weekend. The work will be varied and include forestry work, scrub clearance and footpath maintenance. For further information please contact Norman Hemsley on 0115 9176138.
Leicestershire and Northants D.A.’s will be at Rutland Water to continue their project on Barnsdale Woods over the weekend of 9-11 February 07. The project will consist of coppicing, pollarding, cutting back brush and scrub, building a dry brash hedge and tidy up areas. On their last visit they had a surprise on arrival to find that a logging company had been brought in to clear out all the Western Red Hemlock in preparation for the replanting of natural British trees and to encourage further growth of the Bluebells in the area. As the usual area for camping was unusable they moved to the next car park and found it to be a better position. Two new couples joined the group and said they had enjoyed the experience and felt they had been welcomed in a friendly manner by everyone.
I previously spoke of the possibility of working on Club sites to use the skills of Countryside Care volunteers and this has now come to fruition. The first project was carried out at Woodhall Spa.
The Region saw 19 volunteers undertake training in dry stonewalling and all completed the course. Well done everyone. Volunteers are also due to undertake a hedge-laying course in the coming weeks, thus expanding the skills of Countryside Care members.
Information for any of the projects can be obtained from Norman Hemsley or myself and if any other D.A. would like to start up a project I will be only too willing to help if required.
Please use the website contact form.
Report By Tony Powell
Countryside Care commenced their season at the beginning of this month.
South Lines. D.A. started their program at the nature reserve alongside the Club
site at Woodhall Spa. I was able to visit them on site on Saturday, 4th November.They had a good turnout and volunteers camped on the Club site. The work
was to coppice trees around a small lake on the reserve. The aim was to open
the approach around the water for Kingfishers and other bird life. In the middle of
the lake there is a small island with a lot of overgrown Alder, which required coppicing.
To reach the Alder it was necessary for someone to don waist high waders. A
volunteer was subsequently found. The water was extremely cold, however, this did
not deter Kevin, the Reserve manager, stripping down to his underpants (he didn’t
have any waders) and wade out to assist with the coppicing. All in all a good result
was obtained. Well done, South Lincs. Whilst I was at the Club site I was able to
carry out a survey of the trees and shrubs to enable a decision to be made on the
work required and when it will be carried out.
Central Counties, with Leics. D.A. and Northants. D.A., started their season on the
10-11-12 of this month at Rutland Water. This was a continuation of last season’s
work of clearance and thinning out of Barnsdale Woods. The work included dry
brash hedging, brush cutting and chain saw felling along with the necessary
clearance work. Units camped on the car park adjacent to the work site and with
the added day visitors a good turn out was achieved, despite the mix up with keys
and being unable to gain entry to the site. The work was achieved to a high standard
as usual and to the delight of the wardens. It is not all work, and everyone retired to
a local hostelry for a meal and a touch of refreshment. I can report a good start to
the season with further dates to come.Rutland Water January 12-13-14 2007
February 9-10-11 2007
Walesby Scout Camp 30 Mar-1-2 April 2007
Woodhall Spa January 19-20-21 2007
February 16-17-18 2007
Volunteers from all areas of the Region and Yorkshire have undertaken training
courses on dry stone walling at Rutland Water over the past few weeks. All enjoyed
the experience. Well done to them all.Countryside Care is a worthwhile cause and anyone interested should speak to
Norman Hemsley or myself. We are always looking for new faces to join in.March 10th – 21st a group of volunteers from the region will visit Rhandirmwyn Club Site to help prepare for the new season.
Report By Tony Powell
South Lincs. D.A. is going well with the usual members, plus a few new faces that have joined them this season.
Two projects took place in January and February with the teams working on nature reserves in the Woodhall Spa area
Their work included clearing fence lines in a wooded reserve and the clearing a dyke hoping to encourage a rare newt species, which had been found in the area. The latter involving the use of an unusual - a grappling iron!!
The team has also been involved with immature birch removal and the making of bonfires.
Whilst working they were been watched by 44 Hebridean sheep which were waiting to move in as soon as the volunteers had departed.
A muntjak deer was also seen within 50 yards of the group whilst they were taking their meal break.
The group work under the leadership of Dave Wilkinson.
Our next countryside Care will be 24 - 26th November, again in the Woodhall Spa area.
Rutland Water is now designated a Central Counties project and includes Leicestershire and Northants. D.A.’s.
It has seen two weekends of work this season with an increase in new members joining the ever faithful regular ones.
In November the team carried on with the project at Barnsdale Woods and completed another section, which involved the thinning out of mature trees, clearing the scrub and extending the brash dry hedge.
The weekend, which had been arranged for the 12-13-14 January, was postponed until the weekend of 19-20-2 1 January. This was to enable members to attend the funeral at Skegness of former Countryside Care volunteer, Bill Skinner.
Bill and his wife, Sheila, had carried out work with Leicestershire D.A. at Rutland Water for many years before their move to Skegness.
There will be a further weekend this season at Barnsdale Woods and it will be on 17-18-19 February.
Anyone wishing to attend is requested to telephone Norman Hemsley or myself prior to the weekend to enable access to the site as it is locked to the general public at this time of the year.
Notts. D.A. has a weekend arranged at Walesby Scout Camp on the 31 Mar- 1-2 Apr, which will be under the guidance of Norman Hemsley.
Norman and I attended another meeting on 16th January with regards to St. Luke’s Church project at Bramcote Notts and it appears to be a high profile project which will go ahead.
I attended a further meeting on 2nd February at St. Luke’s Church.
Along with Members from Notts. County Council, Bramcote Council and a member of the Church Trust, this was to discuss how the trees are to be crowned and cut back to a shape along with those trees and shrubs requiring felling and removal.
All this work will be carried out following certification from the council tree officer.
November 12th ~ 13th 2005
Country side care project
Barnstable Reserve
Rutland Water
Report By Richard Fell
After 25 years work on the Southern side of the water we started this new project on the Northern side
There were around 20 members ready and waiting on Saturday morning at a start time of 09.30 Tim Appleton the nature reserve manager had laid out the work that required doing and he outlined it to us. Tony Powell then gave a brief safety talk and to work we went.The team consisted of 5 members who are trained and experienced in using chainsaws who would cut any large trees that needed to be removed.
The main project was to clear a stretch of woodland approximately 75 yards long and 15yards deep at the waters edge which had become overgrown with self setting sycamores, a large amount of fallen trees and a tangle of undergrowth.
We were all allocated jobs and the serious work started .The chain saw soon made short work of the sycamores which were cut into 5ft lengths they could then be used as stakes .Larger logs were stacked in piles for later use as homes for a host of animals, insects and fungi.
All the off cuts and fallen branches were stacked and made ready for a small team who were in charge of a nice warm bonfire
Work carried on throughout the day with lots of fun and banter. A whistle was used by, yes you've guest it the Immediate Past Chairman Richard Fell, it must be his authority and experience why he was chosen to warn the chainsaw gang of approaching public or could it be he had to be based near the tea and coffee table.
Notices were put up at either end of where we were working and many an enquiry was made about who we were and what were we doing.
Throughout the morning we were served tea and coffee and at lunch time we were treated to the now famous home made Rutland stew, I can assure you the contents are a very well kept, long term secret
A big thanks go to all the ladies concernedAfter lunch work started on forming a barrier at the side of the path by forming a series of interwoven young saplings with stakes and branches from the fallen and cut down trees, general clearance continued and by the time work was finished the difference was very impressive.
Ha well with only about another 200 ~ 300 yds left to go I think we should save that for another camping week end..........
The Regions thanks go to all the members concerned.