Hackfall Woods: 04-06-2019

This week was 'Legs Matter Week' in the UK - and boy did the NCVs know it. Where would they be without their legs? Especially once they'd finished their work down at the bottom of Hackfall Woods and needed to get back home for a well earned rest. Yes,  legs certainly do matter - so make sure you take good care of them.   

And what were the NCVs up to at Hackfall? Well - there was some footpath work and a Himalayan Balsam hunt to conduct. Here they are at work:

First some wood had to be harvested in order to...

 ...mark the border of the old pathway from Fountains Pond
(newly revealed last time the NCVs were in the wood).

Andy prepared for life on a desert island.
I wonder which 8 records he would choose?
Which luxury?

 

Very few balsam stems were spotted in the areas checked.

This vegetation is balsam free but played host to nice blue damselflies.
A buzzard flew overhead, mobbed by crows, and newts could be seen in the pond.

Lovely ferns and the rare Herb Paris were a sight for sore eyes.

Unlike these plastic bottles!

The wishing stone was revealed.

Determined hurdle makers, with the bit between their teeth, 
started constructing a hurdle  to keep visitors away from the back of Fountains pond.

This needed a constant supply of thin stems.

Now that is one big hurdle. It should give the right message!

A lovely tree was given a hug...

...and at lunchtime a special visitor (Peter Cowdray of Planet Birdsong) 
came for an hour to take anyone who was interested on a bird song walk. 
Here he is filming and recording some of the NCVs talking about bird song.
The film will be the culmination of three years' collaboration between Planet Birdsong and The Wild Watch and will be premiered at the prestigious New Networks for Nature conference in York on October 31^st.  Click HERE to see the trailer of the film. 

And finally - NCV Phil reached a very special birthday last week.

Here you can listen to the less than energetic rendition of 'Happy Birthday'
after a hard day's work.
If you can't get the video to play then try this link.