Mayfield Farm, Wilsill: 29-01-2019

What's going on at Mayfield Farm?

Anyone walking past the lower field at Mayfield Farm last Thursday would have been asking themselves this question. Why were two people hammering in these pegs and canes and then decorating them with white, plastic bows? 

The answer was simple. Both Tony and Ros E. were preparing the virtually tree free field for a big tree planting task to be started by the NCVs this week. The white 'flags' marked out where a winding path was to be left empty of trees. Apart from this and a 2m wide stretch around most of the perimeter, the rest of the field was fair game for the 650 mixed,native deciduous trees that had been delivered from the Environment Agency.

So - let's see how they got on this week.....

 The day started with the walk down to the second field. 
Everyone was well wrapped up against the cold and possible snow showers.

The second field has been fenced off down the centre. 
This half is going to be a woodland.
(The other half has been scarified and seeded with wild flower seeds
 to create a wild flower meadow.)

Everyone got busy banging in the tree stakes - 
avoiding the flagged path and resisting the urge to make straight lines.
"Let's keep this woodland looking wibbly wobbly please!"

A double row of stakes were inserted near the central fence. 
No need to keep this boundary clear as this is where the hawthorn hedge is going. 
This will provide a good nesting environment for birds.

The introduction of a hawthorn hedge here meant that the old tree swing was 
going to have to go. It would not be good to swing into a thorny wall!!

Whilst posts were being knocked in Liz set about separating the two outer tubes from each set of tree guards. These were for the bigger oak saplings.

Anita was the first to dig a hole and Ros K. the first to fetch a tree to be planted.

The time flew by and it was soon coffee break...

...supplemented by the yummiest chocolate buns in the world.

Thanks Alwin!

Landowner Tony had to use an iron bar to remove the stones from the hole where this hawthorn was to be planted. This ridge of earth is a glacial morrain and, as such, is full of all kinds of ice age debris.

All over the field posts, trees and tubes were sprouting up.

Eventually ....

...it was time for lunch in 'Alwin's Trattoria" where we were all served a wonderful hot meal of cottage pie and green veg followed by a gorgeous fruit tart and custard. 
How does she do it?
Everyone was full to capacity - especially after seconds of everything.
THANK YOU SO MUCH ALWIN. YOU ARE A TREASURE!

Unfortunately, during lunch, the predicted snow showers set in and work had to be abandoned. However - All the tree posts were in place, many of the guards were allocated to posts and no fewer than 250 trees were planted. This was a good start to the job which will be completed next Tuesday with help from a group of students from Askham Bryan College.

Some NCVs made use of the outdoor showering facilities 

to rid themselves of the mud before heading off home.

Cow Myers, Galphay: 22-01-2019

When the NCVs received their task email this week they were under no illusions. 'Clearing scrub' definitely does not refer to a quick brush down with a stiff yard brush. No - it entailed the wearing of thick gloves, the use of loppers and saws and a lot of bending. And at Cow Myers (a SSSI site near Galphay) the last thing you would wear on your feet would be white pumps. Oh no - it is too muddy for that!

Here's how the scrub clearance went......

Although reasonably clear in the centre this flower rich meadow
 was in desperate need of a short back and sides.

All the scrub around the edges and the large 
stand of trees at the back needed to go. 

 Well- you have to start somewhere so...this patch first? 

 OK - why not.

My knees are going to pay for this tomorrow!

Dave demonstrates the brash collector's lunge.

Eventually the first blackthorn patch was no more 
and the NCVs were vying to cut the last bit.

At the other side of the meadow this team tackled a rather 
daunting wall of bramble and blackthorn.

Slowly but surely the daunting wall was nibbled away by NCV loppers until - 

- a breakthrough was achieved which allowed them
 to attack from the rear (a much easier prospect).

Brash heaps started to develop ready for burning next time. 
They occasionally had to be beaten into submission.
Blackthorn is impossible to turn into a proper habitat pile. Far too prickly and voluminous.

Ruth ably demonstrates the brash piler's fling.
(Note the spectre of doom has followed the NCVs here from Ellington Banks.)

Whilst all of this was going on two chain saw wielding workers 
laid waste to that stand of young trees mentioned earlier.
This was all very well until it came to clearing the aftermath.
Where to begin???

Well - trim all the twiggy ends off each tree and 

start making a proper habitat pile here....

...and the remaining trunks can be sawn up and made 
into a nice log pile here.

That's right Ros K. Keep ramming in the brash to make the pile nice 
and dense and stable. We don't want any flimsy habitat piles here.

Lovely log pile taking shape there Stan.

Well - quite a bit of the debris seems to have been processed.

Let's take a look on the cutting side of the stand.....

...Not too bad at all. A lot of the cut trees have been dealt with. 
We can do the rest next time (unless the chain saw workers start generating more!!)

The day wasn't nearly as cold as it had been forecast so layers had to be removed.
This led to polo shirt envy on the part of a couple of NCVs when they realised that Paul had a shirt with LONG sleeves. Jammy thing 
How did you swing that Paul?

Coppice training: 15-01-2019

Coppice training - an antidote to a Brexit vote.

Whilst MPs went off to the Houses of Parliament yesterday to vote on the future of our country, there was a much nicer prospect for the NCVs. They revisited the Summerbridge nature reserve to find out how to coppice hazel. The trainer was Geoff Norton of Yorkshire hurdles . The photos below show the processes involved and the NCVs' progress.

First up, Geoff gave the group a little talk about his job, 

coppicing and the tools of the trade.

The reserve's herd of lovely Belted Galloway cows and their calves 
ran down the hill to listen to Geoff's talk. 
However - it turned out that they were more interested in nibbling his truck.

Next Geoff chose a hazel stool to demonstrate on.

Please note that this kind of hazel stool is not something you buy in IKEA.

It refers to the main tree stump that all the stems grow from.

Then, chain saw in hand, he was off - removing each of the stems as low as he could 
get. Stems can be put to different uses depending on their size and straightness.

Some can be used for bean poles, hurdle weaving, hedge laying posts 

and ties, pea sticks, charcoal and fire wood.

Once finished there wasn't much left but the stool.. 

However - this summer new stems will start sprouting up.

Geoff spared just one stem in order to show us how to layer it. 

Basically this means bending it over, pegging it down into the soil and 

leaving it for a couple of years to root and form a new plant.

Finally it was our turn to have a go. Working in pairs we chose a stool and got busy.

Of course - we had to use loppers and bow saws - no chain saws for us!

Well done Anita! 

You can leave that last one to Geoff and his chain saw.

All over the woodland pairs of NCVs were on their knees, sawing for England.

Nice two handed saw work lads!

Of course sawing through all these stems generated 

oceans of cuttings that needed gathering up and processing.

Yes - that looks a bit more sorted Graham.

That's a neat habitat pile Tom.

Eventually Geoff demonstrated how to process the useful cut stems 

(as opposed to the firewood and brash). Using a bill hook he:

a) 'threaded a rod' (took off any sticky out bits)

b) 'snedded a pole' (same thing only BIGGER)

Then it was our turn again - good bill hook handling Andy.

Excellent synchronisation of pole threading you three.

One important thing that had to be done was to protect as many of the cut stools as possible from the ravages of the local deer population. The best way to do this was to utilise all the remaining brash to construct high barriers - a bit like giant birds' nests.
It looks untidy but does the job. 

 Finally it was back to Geoff's truck for a quick lesson on tying bundling knots...

...to ensure that bundles of rods dry straight and are easier to move around.

He also demonstrated how to sharpen the end of a rod to use as either a hedging post or a 'zaile' (one of the two end posts that make the frame for a woven hurdle).
You need to make the point as long as possible.

 Phil and Andy show off their zaile sharpening skills.

Lesson over for the day everyone headed back to Liz's trailer 
to put the tools into the shiny new tool boxes. 
It seemed a shame to make them dirty!