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.

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 .

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.