Just logging in...

Ok, so it's been a while since our last post, a combination of well earned holiday followed by a few weeks of catching up with things!

We've been doing more work for the Garganey Trust at Denby Delph and Thunder Bridge Meadows which has involved a significant amount of scrub cutting followed by stump treatment. It's quite physical work but once Maria gets going with the chainsaw there's no stopping her....

This coppiced Alder was no match for Maria's chainsaw skills! 

We've also done another workshop at Chirpy in Chapel Allerton, this time our wooden figure painting took on a festive theme with snowmen, Santas and even Christmas trees all being decorated by our talented participants!

All turned out and ready to go - painting these is lots of fun, for the young and not-so-young!

We also took the opportunity to deliver the first of our firewood bags from our coppice restoration work at YWT Sprotbrough. Seasoned for 1 year and cut into handy stove sized lengths in a ventilated mesh bag ONLY £6 PER BAG or £15 FOR 3 BAGS! Available at Chirpy now!

Perfect for your festive log fire - and sustainably sourced too!

We're looking to supply firewood through some other outlets and will post these on our website as and when they come up. If you live in or near Sprotbrough we are able to sell and deliver direct to you from the woodland, just give us a call!

Saving the bats til last!

We spend most of our summers undertaking bat surveys - standing outside a building or next to a tree with our bat detectors, patiently waiting for these furry flying mammals to make an appearance. Sometimes we get to witness the emergence of hundreds of bats from a maternity roost although more often a single Pipistrelle will reveal its lonely bachelor pad to us. Other times we get through an entire survey without hearing a single bat pass by (although thankfully this isn't very often).

Despite our regular work with bats we very seldom get to meet them "up close and personal", so when we were deciding on a project we could do with our local volunteer group; the Friends of Seckar Wood, we suggested that some bat boxes could be put up in the nature reserve and that from time to time we would check them with the rest of group to see if our work was making a difference to Seckar's bat population.

This time last year 8 volunteer made bat boxes were erected on trees near to the ponds in the wood. A preliminary check in spring 2013 found no signs of bats. Today we checked them again, almost 1 year to the day since the boxes were erected and a real treat was in store for us; 4 of the boxes contained bats (a total of 5 pipistrelle) and 2 boxes had bat droppings in or on the box. 6 out of 8 aint bad! A great end to the 2013 bat survey season.

One of the 5 Pipistrelle which now call the Seckar Wood bat boxes home

 Thanks to everyone who came and helped with the bat box checking.

Maria introducing the group to a bat box resident!

Seckar Wood offers lots of great foraging habitat for bats, but many of the trees are relatively young and lack the natural features which bats would use for roosting (such as cracks, crevices and holes). Plans are afoot to make and erect lots more boxes for Seckar Wood, which should provide even more homes for these amazing creatures.

Don't rain on our (bat) parade!

Thanks to everyone who came along to our bat walk last Friday night at The Runtlings, Ossett near Wakefield.

Despite the rain we encountered several common pipistrelle in and around the estate which everyone managed to see and hear on the bat detector. There were several budding conservationists in the group, hopefully this will inspire them to carry on with the great work they've done to help wildlife and engage with the environment where they live. So far they've put up bird boxes and bird feeders as well as growing home grown vegetables and produce in planters around the estate.

There are also plans to put up some bat boxes in the area. The findings of our bat walk should help in selecting suitable locations for these to be put up.

The event was organised for local residents by Groundwork Wakefield on behalf of Places for People.

If you are involved in a local community group or organisation and would like us to guide a bat walk in your local area then please get in touch!

Work on your figure and get Chirpy!

For those in the know, the place to go for unique, locally crafted gifts in Yorkshire is Chirpy in Chapel Allerton, Leeds!

Not only can you buy all of your unique gifts there but now you can also take part in some fantastic workshops, run by the very people who make the fab things for the shop!

We'll be running two wooden figure painting workshops at Chirpy over the coming months, see the Chirpy workshop flyer for details and these and lots of other crafty activities. Our first workshop will be Halloween themed, the second will have a festive air with lots of Santas and snowmen (you can even make your figure into a tree decoration!). All the figures are turned by us on our pole lathe using wood from our coppice restoration work at Sprotbrough.


Fun for all ages - come and paint one of our hand crafted wooden figures to take home!

If you'd like us to run a wooden figure painting workshop in your shop, village hall or even at your house (maybe for a birthday party?) then please get in touch.



The crop circles of Thunder Bridge!

No we've not taken to extra-terrestrial species surveying (although it would make a change from the usual chiropteran subjects!). We've been busy making more hay, this time at Thunder Bridge Meadows, a Garganey Trust reserve near Kirkburton, Huddersfield.

The site is essentially a series of fields (some very small and one very large) along a 1km section of valley floor. A small stream (Thunder Bridge Dike) runs northward marking the eastern boundary of the site which for the most part is surrounded by woodland.

Garganey Trust are aiming to bring the site back into regular management for the benefit of wildlife, in particular restoring the wildflower meadows on site. Some of the meadows (or parts of them) do contain a diverse range of wildflower species, but the absence of any cutting or grazing over several years has led to many parts becoming dominated by coarse grasses or colonised by bramble, shrubs and trees.

So far we have undertaken several days of grass cutting in the two most northerly fields. To make the best use of our time on site we spread our efforts across these fields by cutting a series of patches. Several passers by pointed out to us that they do look a bit like crop circles! 

Can you spot the mysterious being making these strange features?..........

In each "crop circle" the arisings were raked off to reduce the amount of nutrients entering the soil (which would otherwise favour a small number of vigorous plant species). Over the coming years the aim would be to repeat the cutting of these areas and make them larger, joining them up, until the whole meadow can be cut on an annual basis. This should result in an increase in wildflower abundance and diversity, which in turn should benefit invertebrates and other wildlife.

The late spring we had this year is still having knock on effects, one of which we have used to our advantage! Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) has colonised parts of the site, having spread from Thunder Bridge Dike. Usually at this time of year the flowers have turned to seed pods which explode on contact springing their seed up to 5 metres in all directions, enabling the plant to rapidly colonise large areas, particularly on damp ground. This year the seed pods are only just starting to develop in mid August, so we took the opportunity to cut several areas of the site where the plant has taken hold, preventing it from setting seed. Himalayan balsam seed is viable for up to 18 months and so if the cutting of these areas is repeated next year, in theory, they should become free of this invasive 'alien' species.

We'll be back at Thunder Bridge Meadows in the winter to cut and stump treat some of the trees which have self seeded (or suckered in some cases) in the meadows. Maybe we'll see you there one frosty morning!

Saturday night is bat night!

We'll be guiding a "bat walk" at Elsecar Park near Barnsley on the evening of Saturday 10th August 2013. All are welcome!

Click HERE for details.

Making hay while the sun shines?

To most people this is just a ye olde expression but this past week we've literally been making hay, although unfortunately not always in the sunshine!

Denby Delf (or Mosley Roughs as it's sometimes referred to locally) is a Site of Scientific Interest designated for its botanical and butterfly interest. Located near the village of Upper Denby, it's well used by local dog walkers and ramblers following several public footpaths around and through the site.

On behalf of the Garganey Trust, we have been undertaking grass cutting on the lower meadow area, which hasn't been in active management for many years. Our task is to cut and remove the course grasses and scrub which left unchecked would dominate and outcompete wildflower species, and eventually succeed to woodland.

We've  spent the last 5 days cutting areas of the meadow with our brushcutter followed by copious amounts of raking and barrowing.

Our trusty "Rudd's Rake" - don't make hay without one!

Our new traditional hay rake, made by the last commercial hay rake makers John and Graeme Rudd of Cumbria, is worthy of an entire blog post on its own! Suffice to say it lived up to all expectations, performing brilliantly at the task it was designed to do!

Raked into rows and left to dry

Leaving some of the meadow uncut breaks up the task of bringing the whole meadow back into regular management, allows any wildflower species the opportunity to set seed as well as giving other species the chance to adjust to the new management regime.

The intention is to return to Denby Delf in the winter to remove most of the scattered scrub in this field leaving a more open meadow area, sheltered in places by adjacent scrub and woodland. Lots of nice niches for the various plant and insect species to hopefully exploit!

If you've got land that you're looking to manage for wildlife then we may be able to help, please do get in touch.

Good turn out down at the mill

We had a great day yesterday at the Worsbrough Mill Country Fair, the first to be held for nearly 20 years. We were invited to demonstrate our traditional woodland craft skills by Barnsley Council (who own and run the 16th century watermill and surrounding country park) alongside other attractions which included a craft fair, food stalls, entertainment acts and even free funfair rides for the children.

Many thanks to everyone who visited and chatted with us on the day. Special thanks to those who bought some of our woodland wares which included woven willow hearts, bug apartments, hazel plant labels and our new range of "paint it yourself" turned wooden figures. Don't forget, if you bought a figure to paint at home; send us a picture when you've done it and we'll put all the photos in a special online gallery, coming soon!

Our stall and demonstration area at the 2013 Worsbrough Country Fair

Our demonstration focused on pole-lathe turning where we showed people the process of turning a sycamore log from the woodland into our new wooden figures. We even got some helping hands (well feet actually) from some of the younger members of the audience who had a go at powering the lathe, which gave Gareth's leg a welcome rest!!

The other star attraction was the swallow's nest in the cartshed behind our stall, which we did our best to show to everyone who passed. Hopefully seeing these fantastic birds at such close quarters, and talking about their amazing annual journey to and from their wintering grounds in Africa, will inspire a new generation of nature lovers!

All in all a very enjoyable day and a successful revival of this local event. Long may it continue.

If you're organising a country fair, village fete or other public event and would like more information about what we can do for you then please get in touch.

Busy keeping trim

Earlier this week we were both pleased to pass our Lantra Trimmer and Brushcutter training course at TKF near Holmfirth.

We'll soon be putting our newfound skills to good use, undertaking some habitat management on two local wildlife sites on behalf of the Garganey Trust. Both sites are predominantly grassland/wildflower meadows which haven't been actively managed or in cultivation for many years. We'll be posting more about this work in the next few weeks when we get started.



Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae). One of hundreds enjoying the sunshine at Denby Delf.

 

On the ecology front we've been undertaking a lot of water vole surveys recently which are yielding some very positive results;



These water voles made good use of a piece of polystyrene which had blown into their ditch!

The surveys are part of a monitoring program following ditch management works and the results of our surveys will be used to assess whether the works have benefitted water vole in these previously unmanaged ditches.

What a treat(ment)!

Somewhere between the hectic newt survey season and the onset of bat surveys, Gareth has managed to fit in pesticide training and pass his pesticide ticket. 

As ecologists we're generally against chemical interference with the natural world. However, we only intend to use our newfound skills for ecological good; treating cut sycamore stumps in the coppice at Sprotbrough, as well as at some of our habitat management sites.

We'll also be exploring how we can put these skills to use in the fight against invasive non-native species such as Himalayan balsam & Japanese knotweed, which may be of use to our habitat management clients.  

Friday night is Palmate night!

Taking a night off from professional newt surveys, we hosted an event for the Friends of Seckar Wood and North, East and West Yorkshire Amphibian and Reptile Group, surveying ponds at Seckar Wood for the locally scarce palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus).

Slightly smaller than the much more common smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris), they only a occur in a handful of ponds in the Wakefield district, having a generally more westerly distribution across the UK. They favour ponds with neutral to very slightly acidic pH, often associated with heathland, moorland and open woodland (all habitats present in Seckar Wood!).

The male has webbed hind feet as well as a small filament at the end of the tail. The female looks superficially like a smooth newt but lacks spots under the chin and has a pale mark above each of the hind legs.

Our efforts on Friday evening were rewarded with views of several palmate newts by torchlight. Bottle traps were left overnight but only produced a single male who was quite cooperative in posing for a photograph.



Male palmate newt from Seckar Wood LNR SSSI

Weekend in the Woods 2013

We've spent the last couple of days attending the annual "Weekend in the Woods", organised by the Coppice Association North West, where we were able to learn new woodland craft skills in a beautiful (if slightly damp!) South Lakes woodland near Newby Bridge. This was our second year here, having learnt so much at least years' event. It's a great place to go if you're new to green woodwork and want to learn from experienced woodland crafts people.


The fruits of our labour!

This year Gareth was on the cleft gate hurdle course run by Mike Carswell of Urban Coppice, a Manchester based coppice worker and graduate of the Bill Hogarth MBE Memorial Apprenticeship Trust. Like woven hurdles, gate hurdles were traditionally used to create temporary pens for livestock, with different designs and dimensions depending on the type of livestock as well as regional variations. Having been replaced in their traditional agricultural use by tubular steel gates they are now more commonly used in the garden as gates and fencing, giving a truly rustic look to your cottage garden!

They are usually made from ash, oak or in this case sweet chestnut, which Mike had harvested from one of his woodlands. The aim is to make a strong hurdle which is as light as possible. Much of the strength comes from the cleft wood, split using a froe, which maintains the fibres of the wood along its length. Gareth made two (and a half!) hurdles over the weekend, a third being partially complete pending some tweaking at home!

Maria learnt how to turn bowls on the pole lathe with Peter Wood, a green wood worker based in County Durham. Starting with a sycamore log which is then cleft in two, the basic outer shape of the bowl is roughed out using a carving axe. The piece is then attached to a mandrel (a turned shaft with spikes in the end) and put on the pole lathe, the drive cord being wound around the mandrel. The turning then commences!


The mandrel - used to hold the bowl on the lathe and to drive the piece.

The bowl carving tool is longer than most of our other pole lathe tools which allows you to hollow out the inside of the bowl. After two days of axing and turning (and lots or treadling!) Maria made two bowls which are now slowly seasoning at home. 

In time we hope to add these products to our range, made from wood from our coppicing here in South Yorkshire!

Roding on the railway

Last night we did our first woodcock survey at a local country park as part of a national voluntary survey being coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Woodcock are the only wading bird in Britain to be adapted to breed in woodland and their range is thought to have declined since the 1968-72 Breeding Atlas (Sharrock 1976). The first national survey was undertaken in 2003 and our survey site is one of the 805 high priority sites, being a repeat survey.

The survey involves spending 75 minutes around dusk at a fixed count point, the number of "roding" male woodcock are recorded during the survey in order to give an estimate of numbers.

Our count point is located on a disused railway viaduct over a small wooded valley connecting the country park to another nature reserve with woodland and heathland (excellent woodcock habitat!). We were treated to some fabulous views of woodcock roding; flying along at tree top height, calling and turning their heads looking for any interested females. Although our males seemed to only be versing the "swick" part of the call last night. Perhaps, like the weather, they've not properly warmed up yet?!

Amphibians: a class act

We spent yesterday evening at Potteric Carr, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's flagship reserve near Doncaster. We were there, as N,E & W Yorkshire ARG volunteers, to deliver amphibian survey training as part of the National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS) which started in 2007 with the aim of monitoring widespread amphibians and reptiles across the UK by training and coordinating hundreds of volunteer surveyors.

After working our way through the classroom session, we had a great evening of egg searching, netting and torching, on account of the fact that the ponds at Potteric are simply excellent habitats, particularly for great crested newt. There was even a tasty buffet laid on courtesy of Bev at the Potteric Carr café (highly recommended!).

Thanks to everyone who attended as well as Kat (YWT's Inspiring People Assistant) and of course Bev!

Feeling hot......well, warm(ish)

What a difference a few degrees makes!

At last some spring-like weather to tempt the plants and animals out of hibernation. At this time of year we're usually well into the amphibian survey season but the cold start to 2013 has pressed the pause button on our usually frisky herptiles..... until now.

With professional surveys on hold due to the weather, we've been monitoring a local great crested newt population for the past few weeks, in an effort to detect when activity picks up. After poor results as recently as last Thursday, we were pleasantly surprised last night (Monday) to find dozens of GCN going about the business of mating and egg laying. 

The temporary postponement of amphibian surveys has however made room for some woodland activities. A trip to the coppice coupe at Sprotbrough plantation to collect some sycamore logs allowed us the opportunity to examine the emerging ground flora. In the coupe itself there was plenty of dog's mercury and bluebells (although none yet in flower) and in the northern part of the coupe and the adjacent grazing land a flurry of primroses had made an appearance.


Dog's mercury adjacent to the recently coppiced hazel stool

Primroses brighten up the day

On our way out of the wood we also noticed plenty of lesser celandine enjoying the long awaited sunshine!


The sun is out and so is the celandine!

The sycamore logs we collected will primarily be used for pole-lathe turning. There's a range of products now available at Chirpy including garden products and unique wooden signs, why not drop in and have a look? We've got several other products in the design stages as well, so watch this space!

Turning out nice

We’ve had a busy and productive March so far; including a weekend spent green woodworking in Easingwold on a course run by York Wood Crafts.

Gareth made a very impressive pole lathe and Maria made a three-legged stool using the shave-horse and froe.  We’re hoping to put the pole lathe to good use by turning some lovely new green wood craft products for our good friend Chirpy.  Watch this space! 

We’ve also been busy weaving and made some miniature baskets especially for kiddie’s Easter egg hunts which will shortly be on sale at Chirpy.

The ecology season will soon be back in full swing and so we'll be fitting our wood crafting in between newt surveys.  We're looking forward to getting out and about herptile hunting again!

Thats a rack

It was our last day in the woods at Sprotbrough today, for this winter anyway. We again joined the Don Gorge Conservation Volunteers for a day of tidying up in the coupe. The chaps made an excellent job with the brash fence around the boundary as well as tending to the fire, whilst we concentrated on stacking logs and racking up the smaller roundwood:

We intend to return to the woods later in the summer with a small kiln to turn this rack into BBQ charcoal.

The coupe is looking great after everyone's hard work. Bluebells and dog's mercury are already poking through. Who knows what will spring up as the light reaches this part of the woodland floor after years in the shadow of the trees we've now coppiced? We look forward to visiting later in the spring to find out!

Sap rising!

The past week has seen us getting seriously stuck into some coppicing at Sprotbrough, a SSSI YWT nature reserve near Doncaster. We've certainly put our newly acquired chainsaw skills to work!





"Wildlife treat of the week" was the sight of 3 buzzard soaring on the thermal above our brash bonfire!

We've only got one more day coppicing this season, before the breeding birds get into full swing. The sight of sap pouring from the stumps of our cut sycamores reminding us that spring is just around the corner!

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