Nidderdale Conservation Volunteers' Blog: Hackfall Wood:28-11-2017

As November came to an end so the NCVs came to Hackfall Wood for their last visit during 2017. Due to there being no fewer than 5 separate jobs to be done, everyone split into small groups and went their separate ways. Consequently today's blog is compiled from the material that was sent in from all corners of the wood.

Team 1 sent in the following...

The four strong environmental Dyno-Rod team went walkabout, clearing any culvert that happened to cross our path. By lunchtime, we had managed to lose the other pair and never saw Nick and Hilary again. These two pictures show the quality of Janet's culvert clearance work.

Before After

NB The editor has it on good authority that Nick and Hilary hadn't skived off. They had been sidetracked when they spotted a set of leaf covered steps near Mowbray castle that were well in need of a good clear.

Before After

Nice clean steps.Last saw the light of day in 1872!

Tony, in team 2, filed the following copy...

The bags used to carry the dirty spades home

shows that the AONB cares about us and

is willing to provide us with lunch once in a while.

Our two strong team were tasked with constructing a grip across the path to help drainage.

A muddy problem to be solved.

Andy sizing up what to do next

We built the framework using limited tools in an idiosyncratic way.

We couldn’t find flat stones to create a base so filled the

frame with stones which would allow water to percolate.

Not very pretty but it will hopefully do the job.

Team 3 were on the lookout for bench areas that needed sweeping clear of leaves and litter that needed picking up....

Yes - there's one or two leaves here.

Now that's what I call leafless!

Anita utilised a plastic bag she found lying around to
fashion a mobile shower unit, using water from the stream.

Angela was then able to follow up behind with
her super scrubbing brush to clean off Kent's seat.

Three little maids from school are we.

Coffee break on a bench in the sun.

And here's the litter that was collected - mainly in the car park.

Why don't people take their litter home with them?

Team 4 focused on the weeping rock...

First we needed to lop off all the scrub

that was blocking the view to the weeping rock.

Ash saplings and brambles were in plentiful supply.

Conor was very thorough.

Then we had to find the weeping rock's feeder pond and channel

and rake out any dead vegetation to
ensure the outlet pipe didn't get blocked.

And from team 5 Osian sent in the following about another feeder stream.....

Somewhere in there is a forty
foot falls feeder stream - honest!

David found the feeder stream at the cost of an over-topped welly or two.

C'mon David - stop mucking about

and get out of the bog of doom.

After much, much digging & dredging a

free flowing(ish) stream of mud was revealed.

Whilst clearing the lower part of the forty foot falls we discovered one of the other feeder streams. It was clearly a purpose built channel to encourage water in the right direction.

The channel measured more than one rake's length,

the ancient measuring unit of the NCVs.

And some other news from Tony....

Last Thursday a group of 3 NCVs and two Nidderdale Brdwatchers met to prepare the pre-cut sections for 40 nest boxes for the 6th Ripon Scout Group, who will assemble them in January. 40 planks were marked, cut, drilled and sanded and the rubber hinges and the wires to hold down the lids were cut to size and all the sections stored in boxes. Another very satisfactory day in the box making factory. We think the scouts will very much enjoy the work, and the information they get about birds will be useful. Each box will have instructions on siting, avoiding disturbance, and cleaning out at the end of the nesting season so that the boxes can be used as a des res for roosting in the winter months.