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.