Tuesday 18 December 2018

The Christmas Walk: 18-12-2018

It's official - 
No work necessary today!!
😃

There were smiles all round this week as the NCVs gathered in the car park at Fewston Reservoir. Hardly surprising really when what lay in prospect was NOT a long haul up hill or down dale, carrying tools, ready to work hard in the mud. No! 

Instead the NCVs could look forward to a brisk 7 mile walk around Fewston and Swinsty  reservoirs before partaking of lunch at the Hopper's Lane Hotel nearby (all provided by the Nidderdale AONB office - thanks for that!!)

See the pictures below for a flavour of this year's Christmas walk. Unfortunately there aren't many as the weather was WET, WET, WET so the camera didn't get much of an outing.

Extra festive cheer from four of the group.


But the Xmas hats soon disappeared under the waterproof hoods. 
At least the rain didn't wash away the smiles.


The party got a bit strung out now and again but luckily 
someone left a twiggy sign to show the way.
Excellent bushcraft skills chaps!


Every so often the front runners stopped to let the laggy lasts catch up.


Everyone huddled under the shelter of some trees for a coffee break.
Of course - there was no shelter to speak of as the trees were mainly deciduous.


Anita kindly baked two boxes of the best mince pies ever tasted.
THANKS ANITA!!


Graham sat in style and ate about 14 courses.


 All the young and vivacious NCVs sat here.


 Spot the 4 walling group volunteers who joined in the fun.
Nice to have you along guys!


This was the 'Patriarch's' table.
Apart from Osian,who is an aspiring patriarch but has a long way to go yet.


There was a lot of table ornament envy in other parts of the room when Osian flicked the switch of their table lamp. It was a definite cut above the rest!
See it in video action mode by clicking HERE.

The NCVs wish all their readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.


Tuesday 11 December 2018

Hedge Laying training: 11-12-2018

 
HEDGE LAYING TRAINING (HLT):- ASSESSMENT RESULTS

Date: December 10th and 11th 2018
Venue: Whitcliffe Hall, Near Ripon
Trainer: Professional award winning hedge layer Jasper Prachek

Trainees: NCVs (and others)

Please see photographic evidence below for the skills assessed and marks awarded. 
  • Anyone meeting the necessary standards for this year's HLT will be allowed to attend the NCV Christmas walk on the 18th Dec. 
  • Any trainee not meeting the minimum standards will need to spend the 18th Dec on further training.
  • The assessor's decision is final.
Scoring:
9-10 = Excellent                                        7-8 = Good enough   
5-6 = Just about passable                       Below 5 = Beyond the pale.

Skill 1: Removal of the twiddly tree guards before laying. Nicely executed Mark.
Score: 10/10

Skill 2: Thinning out the hedge stems before laying. Consistent use of the loppers Paul, but one mark deducted due to an inability to keep your pants clean.
Score: 9/10

Skill 3: Ability to ensure hat remains free of vegetation in spite over-large hat decoration handicap. Very skilful Anita.
Score: 10/10

Skill 4: Judicious use of a billhook to prevent the complete removal of a stem.
Ably demonstrated here by Liz. Some NCVs failed to achieve this standard on occasion, however the majority of stems remained attached.
Score: 7/10

Skill 5: Use of two hands to complete the act of pleaching whilst -
at the same time - keeping your hat above eyebrow level. (Double weighted standard.)
Score: 10/10

Additional points were awarded for any trainee achieving skill 5 without the aid of a partner.

Skill 6: Use of heavy mallet to knock in hedge posts whilst avoiding your partner's head.
Score: 10/10 
(As no NCV appeared to be knocked to the ground - or into the ground - throughout the session it must be assumed that this standard was reached by all NCVs.)

Skill 7: An ability to think 'outside the box' when vertically challenged.
An ingenious use of a milk crate Ken - well done! 
Score: 10/10

Skill 8: Successful insertion of a post into a post knocker.
Score: 10/10

Skill 9: Maintaining upward motion of the arms whilst supporting a great weight. 
Score: 10/10

 
Skill 10: Remembering to stand back and look at progress to ensure the hedge line does not become wonky.
Score: 10/10

Skill 11: Ability to secure a rail to the hedge posts with nails without hitting your thumb.
Score: 10/10 (It can only be assumed that this standard was met as no NCV cried out in agony during the course of the afternoon.)
Skill 12: Achieving a consistent angle of 'Pleach lay' along a 50m stretch of laid hedge.
Score: 10/10

Assessor’s comments: The standards of hedge laying in this particular group appears to be extremely high. It is clear that the trainer, Mr Pratchek, has done an excellent job of teaching his students. I have no doubt that they will be able to function well , without further guidance, when out in the field .

Tuesday 4 December 2018

Hackfall Woods: 03-12-2018

3200 hours and counting.....

Although December 4th's 'Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day' is not recognised in the UK I think that it should be. There is absolutely no reason why only extraordinary work teams in the USA should be recognised. So this week's blog is going to do just that - recognise the great work that the NCVs do for the environment, on a weekly basis, whatever the weather. They probably don't want to be recognised - instead preferring to hide their light under a nearby bit of encroaching scrub - but it has to be acknowledged that they do work very hard and make a big difference wherever they visit. 

As one of their task leaders I am charged with keeping a log of all the hours they spend on NCV duties. This year they have clocked up no fewer than 3260 with one more task day to go until the end of 2018. Amazing! And that doesn't include all the hours they have spent travelling to and from the task venues. So - hats off to the NCVs!!

Now - back to business. 
This week the NCVs were in Hackfall Woods for their last visit of the year doing a number of jobs. So - let's see how they got on:

Work started as soon as we arrived. A generous dog owner had 
kindly left us a dog poo bag to collect on their behalf - 
bang in the middle of the car park!

A team of 5 were dispatched with a variety of tools 
to clear the cascades of leaves, twigs and logs.

 
Dave and Paul raked the rocks and pulled the debris to the side.


David used his spade to help clear under 
this fallen log that had blocked the flow.

 Osian used the tool-less option and 
kicked debris free with his size 10s..

Ros E. preferred the latest in debris clearing technology - 
lightweight, cheap and excellent for scraping out the most clogged of places.
 A stick. Every stream clearer should have one.

At one point Osian drank the contents of a tiny bottle he found, 
shrank to a tenth of his size and promptly disappeared down a 
rabbit hole shouting that he was late for some tea party or other.

Meanwhile a team of three were doing a grand job clearing
 the autumn leaves from the culverts.

The remaining 5 set off with a roving brief, trouble shooting 
wherever something needed removing.

Some of the wood that needed removing was 
simply too big for a pair of loppers.

At least this particular vista needed no clearing. 


 Interesting things were seen throughout the day.
Can you spot the robin?

The low temperatures over night gave the dead leaves a crispy feel.

There was lots of candle snuff fungus everywhere.


A new species of snake was spotted on the woodland floor.
Vipera stickus 

One group met an artist doing some sketching. 
She was happy for us to put pictures of her lovely work on the blog.

Tuesday 27 November 2018

Ellington Banks: 27-11-2018

ELLINGTON TUESDAY!

If last week was the week of Black Friday then this week was the week of Ellington Tuesday - the day in the NCV calendar which marks the start of the annual visits to the MOD property, Ellington Banks. 

Now, readers who are new to this blog may well wonder why the NCVs would want to visit an MOD training area. Well - I can assure you that they were not going there to find out how to shoot rifles or drive tanks. No, no, no! That wouldn't do at all. Their aim was much more peaceful. They were simply going to remove the encroaching alder and willow scrub that threatens to overwhelm this very special SINC site. Great crested newts live in the ponds here and the magnesium limestone grassland is home to many unusual wildflowers.

Here are the NCVs in action.....

There was a big turn out this week, in spite of the fog.
Everyone likes coming to Ellington Banks.

"Not much to prune out here.
Why did we need to come?"

"Just turn your head this way and you'll see why!"

"Right - see what you mean. Let's get busy folks!"

All the cutting down generated HUGE quantities of brash.

But that's OK because someone built a bonfire.
(Although it was more of a smoke generating machine to start with.)
"Just who is responsible for all this air pollution?"

"Why - Graham of course."
Anyone tending the fire went home smelling like kippers.

They weren't the only ones dealing with work related issues.
Anyone with a pair of loppers was liable to get pronged in the eye with saplings.

Those walking to the bonfire with armfuls of brash were coping with a very undulating landscape and hidden trip hazards like this one.

MOD Ecologist, John Black, followed the loppers 
around with herbicide for the stumps. 
He had to don marigolds and a face mask to keep himself protected.
And of course - everyone had to keep their eyes peeled for abandoned munitions.

Coffee and lunch times were taken in small groups - 
or in Andy's case - alone.
He had been sent to coventry  for some misdeed or other.

 After coffee the fire was less of an inferno ....

...but Graham soon had it up and going again.

Good job, because it wasn't long before Liz got the chain saw out 
and took down a couple of unwanted large trees.


Then Osian obligingly carried them to be burnt.


Meanwhile the plague of locusts that was the NCV team
 carried on pruning and pruning.

 By 2pm the field was a very different place to what it had been at 9:30am.

 A few logs were left as a habitat pile for the newts to hibernate in.
David M heard a passing newt comment on how useful
 it would be during the winter months.
Unfortunately a pile of thin brash had to be left until another visit. 
We couldn't carry on burning after 2pm as we 
needed to ensure the fire was out before the gate was locked.