Masham Moor: 20-02-2018

Hairy green, brown eyed alien on Masham Moor?
No - something far less worrying. Read on.....

This week the NCVs had no excuse to retreat to the cosy barn for a spot of tidying. The temperature had risen to a tropical 6-7 degrees (though feeling lower in the wind) so things were just about bearable to allow them to get up onto Masham Moor. Here they helped carry out the task they were meant to do last week when it snowed. The aim was to help the Yorkshire Peat Partnership with an innovative experiment to plant Sphagnum moss as part of their efforts to restore the area's upland peat bogs.

NCV Osian explains....

As part of a peatland restoration and management programme a scientific study is looking into which of the Sphagnum reintroduction methods work best, evaluating how quickly the moss grows, the impact on greenhouse gases, water quality and downstream flood risk.

The study site was reached after an off-road journey by car and then a trek on foot carrying tubs of moss over the heather moorland during which a flock of 30 golden plovers were spotted.

The walk to the planting site.

Everyone gathered at the weather station - 
the only point of reference for miles around.

NCVs then got to grips with the highly technical task of, errr, chucking moss on the floor. There was a bit more to it than that, but essentially this is one of the four methods of moss reintroduction being studied. So, several builder’s bags of finest grade North Pennines sphagnum moss that had been helicoptered onto the moor the previous day were carefully scattered on predetermined plots of moorland. For more information on the project and an idea of what the helicopter brought in see this video https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/environment/video-helicopters-fly-in-to-improve-north-yorkshire-moor-1-8442669.

Special delivery from Amazon Prime drones.

Some of the 60 plots on the moor where the study is being run.

At first moss was simply spread on some plots.

After a brief drinks interlude, the team turned to planting greenhouse grown plugs of moss at 1 metre intervals. As several team members remarked, “this greenhouse moss is in for a hell of shock”, a reference to the rather cold conditions on top o’ t’moor.

 

Volunteers were undertaking extreme moss planting. 

 

Were these rarely observed lesser spotted blue NCVs, 
lunching amongst the heather?

A shot from the front confirmed the sighting.

It was clear that, during lunchtime, volunteer task leader Osian 
took his supervisory duties very seriously indeed. 

After a prolonged lunch under the North Yorks sun and largely out of the bitter wind the volunteers got stuck into the third method of moss introduction in the form of planting fistfuls of moss in varying densities while other YPP team members sprayed moss fragments in a gel vehicle onto other plots for the 4^th method of ‘seeding’.

Floristry skills were honed making bouquets of moss 

to insert at 1 metre intervals..

Example of a planting plot mapped 
for low and high density planting

Nearby were some recently constructed dams - 
another technique to retain water on the moor.

All in all a good day's work. It was an unusual and worthwhile task and it will be interesting to see the results of the study.

NCV news from elsewhere....

Firstly -whilst everyone else was planting moss, Jan was in the barn continuing with the shelving project. This week he was making shelves to go between the wider ones to give even more storage space.

Some nice 'mezzanine shelves' added.Thanks Jan!!

Also - a couple of weeks ago three volunteers gave fellow NCV Tony a helping hand, laying the hedge in the field of his new home. An excellent job was done which will benefit wildlife, as well as keeping the field stock-proof. Many thanks have to go to the AONB for providing us with the training to be able to do this and for the loan of some of the extra tools we needed. (Thanks also to Tony's wife Alwin, who fed us like royalty on both days!)

The hedge before starting.

A problem to solve.

A fine pleach achieved!

The final result.

The NCV Barn: 13-02-2018

Question:
What connects the two pictures below?

Answer:

The planned task for the NCVs this week.

They were supposed to be out working on Pancake Tuesday planting Sphagnum moss. 

HOWEVER...... the best laid plans of mice and men often have to change and, due to the weather conditions encountered at the meeting place near Ramsgill, they were!!

Snow was falling heavily and the road was getting covered over.

The prospect of ascending onto Masham Moor to spend the day on our knees in the snow and mud was NOT looked on favourably.

The alternative idea? Back to the barn to sort out everything that had been shifted to allow the shelving work to be done over the last two weeks.

First important tasks on arrival  - have a cup of coffee to warm up 

and get the wood burner going!

 The nature of the problem.
(NB Note the A frame welly hanger - more later!)

Stuff heaped in the middle of the floor and in front of the shelves.

Let's clear out everything from this corner 
and pull the new table down here.

Now it's clear let's fill it up again - only tidier this time.

This coat and welly hanger just needs to be moved into the end room.
Shouldn't take long.

Yes - good idea - it should fit through here OK.

No - it won't...

...whichever way around you try it.

OK. Well let's saw a bit off the legs.

No - still no use.

After a good deal of time, 
and many attempts at carrying this vital bit of kit in various directions, 
Jan solved the problem by taking more off each leg with an axe.

Whilst all these shennanigins were going on 
another group of NCVs were sharpening tools and 
setting saws at the other end of the barn.

Yvonne was wondering about helping out with 
the recalcitrant A frame but decided a bill hook was probably 
not the best tool for the job.

The last of many sweep ups and .....

TA DA! Clear floor space!

All reasonably tidy and accessible.
For now anyway.

Unfortunately it was James's last day out with the volunteers before he moves on to his new position with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It was a sad time for everyone. We will miss him greatly. We sent him off with a photo book as a memento of his time with us and Tony, our very own poet, penned the "pome" below in his honour. Farewell James and good luck in your new role. We will miss your delicious cakes!!

Our James

Our James, a Searle, is never surly

Totes a beard that’s black and curly;

Even-tempered, never shirty

(Someone guessed his age at thirty!)

Knows about the flowers and bees

The birds and butterflies and trees.

The tasks that he selects for us

He organises without fuss,

Reminds us all the day before

Of time and place for Tuesday’s chore.

Is never known to curse or shout,

And thanks us all for turning out.

He’s the one who’ll never shirk

The toughest task, the muddiest work;

He never minds the hardest slog

In Fishponds Wood or Cow Mires bog.

He’ll swing a scythe and rake the swath

Or build a footpath up at Wath.

At Longside Farm he’ll lay a hedge.

In Hackfall Wood he’ll help us dredge

The Alum Pond, or swing an axe

To clear the fallen trees from tracks.

In bracken or in balsam he

Will set to work with wicked glee.

And when it rains, or sleets, or hails,

Or threatens equinoctial gales

He keeps on smiling, hands round cake.

How does he find the time to bake?

But now we hear he’s moving on;

A week or two and he’ll be gone.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will gain

The benefit of James’s brain.

We’ll miss his cheerful laugh and chat

The bearded grin below his hat;

But wish him all the very best,

In every future wildllife quest.

By Tony Knowles – official NCV bard    

Hackfall Woods - 06-02-2018

It is exactly 100 years ago today that women over 30 in the UK were given the right to vote. And look where it got the female NCVs - working side by side with our male colleagues, wearing the same uniforms, up to our eyes in mud on a cold, snowy winter's day in Hackfall Woods, wielding tools other than embroidery needles and generally being equal. Yes - women's suffrage has brought with it a lot of suffering as far as the female NCVs are concerned!!

But enough of politics. Let's move instead to what these brave women (and men) were doing in this challenging, though beautiful environment. The time for the NCVs' monthly visit to Hackfall had come round again, bringing with it the normal round of landscape maintenance tasks, 

 Snow showers kept turn out lower than usual - 

11 at Hackfall with two more at the barn (see later).

Temperatures for the workers were low and 

finger tips went numb whilst waiting for work to start.

However, everywhere looked lovely in the snow.

The photos below show equality in action.

 Tom did some lopping....

...and so did Sally.

Will wielded a spade...

...and so did Sally.

 David used a bow saw...

...so Sally did too.

Conor carried brash to the pile...

...and so did Maggie.

When large logs needed team work Ros E. lent a hand.

Please note here that it is a woman 
who is at the heavy end of the log!

Let's put the issue of equality to one side and make it clear exactly what was achieved today. 

The overhanging holly by the Grewelthorpe pond 

was cut back to the fence line.

This will allow walkers to use the whole path .

Invasive scrub and brambles were 

cut down alongside the pond.

Litter picking was done as the NCVs walked from one job to another.
This particular bit of extreme litter picking shows just how determined David is.

The biggest task of the day was cutting down and brash piling scrub 
that was encroaching the view from Mowbray Castle.

James demonstrated the Looney Tunes method of tree pruning.
You have to dangle from the branch that you are cutting off.

Sharp eyed Maggie spotted these tiny little orange fungi.
Ros's fungi ID app on her phone keyed it out as Velvet Shank.

Additional News:

On Monday and Thursday last week a group of 6 NCVs and Nidderdale Birdwatchers visited both the Y1/2 class in Summerbridge and the Y5/6 class in Dacre Braithwaite schools to support them when doing the RSPB's Big School Birdwatch. Good times were had by all and the children managed to work with the adults to identify and record many species of birds. Not a single penguin or ostrich was recorded, so that's promising.The children of Dacre Braithwaite were so keen they've since asked the head teacher if they can start up a bird watching club. Result!!

Also - Apologies to Jan and Andy - last week they toiled away in the barn making another great set of new shelves and didn't get a mention in the blog. The 'Newt Quarterly' ignored them totally. So - just to put the record straight - here are the shelves they constructed. Nice one lads!!

This week Jan and Phil continued with the shelving project....