Mayfield Farm: 24-04-2018

On to pastures new....

This week the NCVs were working at a brand new venue - that of Mayfield Farm in Wilsill, which has been recently bought by their very own NCV, Tony. They were carrying out a number of different woodland maintenance tasks to ensure that the beautiful stream-side woodland area was brought up to standard in terms of habitat condition for wild flowers and wildlife.

The photos below show the variety of jobs that were undertaken. 

At the very top of the stream, near the house, the students' group 

started by removing wire that was acting as a sieve and catching debris.

Is it a sack? Is it a sofa?
No - just a roll of hessian.
The mysteries of Nidderdale waterways.

Ming dynasty porcelain, Roman pottery and Ikea pots made 
good target practice for the litter pickers.

Further downstream, in the woodland proper, 
there were great swathes of fallen wood to be cleared.

Now THAT looks decidedly better.
Where did it all go Ros?

 Well - we took it over here....

...and put it all into a tidy habitat pile there.

 The same job had to be done half way through the wood...

...on both sides of the path.

 So Anita dragged....

...and David pulled, until every branch and twig was cleared.

Another brash pile was created.

Then there were the bramble patches to cut back....

....and brash pile.

There you go. Everything cleared.

Now the beautiful wildflowers can flourish.

The path through the woodland was VERY muddy in places.

Three channels would have to be dug.

 So they were.

You may need to clean your boots tonight Andy!

 As trenches were dug....

...so they were lined with wood...

 ... and filled with stones to aid drainage.

The outlet from the pond was all blocked up....

...so Julia and Anita cleared it.

A decrepit tree house was taken down and the 
resulting wood transported down to the stream...

 ...where it was floated across.

A little bridge was in need of some chicken wire...

...so Ros K and Ruth made a good start on that.

 Everything stopped at 11am for coffee and....

...buns!

Everyone was very cosy in the wood shed.

Throughout the day NCVs were kept busy digging out and collecting rubbish 
that had been dumped over the years by previous owners.
"What have you found there Tony?"

"Just another lawn mower - to add to the other two. 

And the big rubber dinghy."

Stuff got piled by the path side.

There's  a little bit more here.

 Then had to be carried up the hill.

It was relentless.

There were many wheel barrow loads.

 And it was a very long way up that hill!!

 Are we nearly there yet?

Rolling, rolling, rolling.

Keep those tyres a rolling.

Rolling, rolling, rolling Rawhide.

Spring was in the air.

The hard work of the NCVs was amply rewarded by the provision of a wonderful Alfresco lunch. Many thanks must go to Alwin Knowles for all her hard work in catering for a group of nineteen hungry people - well done Alwin!! ☺️

Chef extraordinaire takes a bow next to the fast developing junk pile.

First help yourselves to sausages and buns....

 ...then on to the salad bar.

Finish off with some fruit salad or trifle (or both!!)

Everyone was very full - 
bending over after lunch was a problem!!