Timble: 25-01-2022

This week the NCVs gathered at yet another new venue - that of Highfield Barn, Timble, where the land owner has applied to the Farming in Protected Landscape Scheme for a new hedge and drystone wall rebuild. Today the gang were helping prepare the site before the hedge plants arrive.  There were some trees and a pond in need of TLC, and an old hedge which needed coppicing. Apparently the field is a hunting ground for a local barn owl so, to increase the chances of it finding some local wildlife to eat, the creation of a good brash pile was added to the day's job list. Plenty to keep everyone busy then - whatever it takes to help out Mr. Owl!!

Here are the pictures taken as the day progressed....

The day was cold and gloomy - 

hence the quality of the following photos.

The field is called 'Barney's meadow' and the owners

are going to encourage wild flowers to grow here.

The pond is at the bottom of the hill and

 is in need of a good deal of attention.

Not a job for this week.

Instead the NCVs focused first on

 coppicing the trees down the wall line 

to allow the wallers to work.

Everyone picked a tree to work on in pairs.

Friedy and Chris chose this one - something 

that they could get rid of completely.

Paul and Dave faced this rather large specimen bravely...

...and, with chainsaw help, made a huge difference.

Sarah and Tom made a start on this holly....

...and, again, managed to get it right back out of the way.

Sarah was puzzled by the two different types of leaves

 on the holly bush, until Liz explained to her that the uppermost

 leaves don't need to be spiky as they grow out of reach of deer.

Graham pondered the best way to tackle this huge holly.

With a bit of help from his friends the 

ground below was opened up to the light.

Liz's chain saw skills were put

 to the test throughout the day..

As per usual great waves of brash accumulated and needed 

dragging down to the bottom of the hill for processing.

So - Anita made a start on a brash pile....

And Ros E. began to construct a log pile.

Both would become excellent homes for wildlife of all kinds.

It wasn't all plain sailing. This branch got caught 

up in the crown of this tree. 

A quick re-enactment of the story of the enormous turnip ...

...managed to pull it free.

Right - what next?

A coffee break probably - along the one section

 of wall relatively free from vegetation.

By close of play the brash pile had reached 

monster proportions. Jumping up and down on top 

of it ensured that it was good and solid.

The log pile, too, was a very good size.

As you can see from a glance behind the fence -

there remained a good deal of brash to be dealt with.

Still - we don't want to be without a job on another Tuesday.

Maybe next time we will work there in sunshine!

Picking Gill Nature Reserve: 18-01-2022

 

This week is the 'Big Energy Saving Week' - a national campaign to help people cut their fuel bills. Well - what better way for NCVs to do that on a very chilly morning than to turn up for a hard day's work outside, wearing plenty of layers? No need to have the heating on at home. No lights required, no computers being used, no ironing or hoovering being done. And with the added bonus of doing other good things for the environment!! A win win situation.

The venue this week was the Picking Gill nature reserve near Eavestone and the task involved preparing a hedge for laying in a couple of weeks time. The reserve is well overdue for some TLC as can be seen from the state of the information panel and the pond below.

So - let's take a look at what was done ....

Care was needed on the icy puddles.

The hedge looked rather daunting...

...but NCVs are not easily daunted!

Paul was slowly absorbed by some hungry hawthorn but Tom 

remained blissfully unaware of his plight.

Whilst helping Andy, Graham took the opportunity

 to practise his ballroom dancing.

 
In no time at all there were two enormous 

piles of brash that needed dealing with.

Alistair and Graham wasted no time.

A fire was soon flickering and making inroads on the brash.

The hedge was being tackled from both sides.

Unfortunately brash from the road side had

 to be lifted over the kissing gate.

Not an easy task!

Another issue that had to be dealt with 

was the removal of  a wire fence.

But hey - what's  the removal of a wire fence to the NCVs?

Each hedge tree was protected by a plastic 

spiral which had to be removed and collected.

Thanks Will!

The plastic bags of ,often shattered, plastic started to mount up.

In the end there were 6 sacks in the back of Liz's vehicle - 

which meant that Graham had to be drafted in to help 

transport the two barrels of saws and loppers back to the barn.

Eagle eyed Andy spotted a couple of baby hawthorn trees 

so dug them up ready for infilling the gaps in the hedge.

Liz spent a while finding out how long is a piece of string.

Answer - 50m. Now Phil - how many hedge

 stakes and rails will she need to buy?

Once the hedge had been prepped 

it looked a lot less daunting.

And then it was on to a bit of halo

 coppicing of a large hazel tree.

This generated a third pile of brash to 

replace one that had just been burnt to ash.

The tree looked a lot better after the job and lifting its crown

will help to prevent the brambles scrambling up into the canopy.

Six little NCVs sitting on a wall....

Coffee and lunchtime was a treat in the sun.

A walk up the hill behind the work area allowed everyone to see 

just how big this lovely reserve is. (This is just one corner.)

For years we have been driving past it on the way 

to Ripon and never knew it was there!

At the top of the hill was what must be the

 UK's smallest war memorial. An unusual use for 

an unwanted gate post!!

Hackfall Woods: 11-01-2022

 

This week it was the first visit to Hackfall in 2022. A day of routine maintenance, clearing gullies, sweeping benches, moving fallen branches etc.  Without any further ado let's see what was achieved....

Oh heck - what have these 2 NCVs 

spotted that has got them worried??

Maybe it was this??

Well - what a good job the NCVs are at hand!

Liz negotiated the debris...

...and deployed her bow saw.

Oh Ken - do you need a hand?

"Definitely - Andrew! Over here please!"

Goodness - it's made bit pf a mess of the fence!!

Now - is Julia just clearing stuff away

 or harvesting some materials?

Harvesting materials, obviously.

This feeble dead hedge keeps rotting down

 so needed replenishing.

Brilliant - replenished hedge now creates a 

definite barrier to anyone thinking they 

might just take a short cut down

 the slope to the sand beds.

Talking of brilliant dead hedging - 

these 2 ladies look slightly happier now that 

they have improved a second skinny little barrier.

Wonderful weaving girls!

And look at this nice clean bench - just one of the ones that were 

cleared and weeded.

Err, excuse me - just don't you drop any crumbs or spill any tea 

on that there bench. They've only just cleaned it!

Yet another horizontal tree. 

Storm Arwen to blame perhaps?

Let's clear the path at least.

This one was a little less monstrous.

This gully was chock full of rotting leaves and mud.

Not any more!!

So - to sum up - a very busy saw related day with a great team that cracked on making the paths safe for visitors. Well done to the NCVs for another hard day of graft.

Just to finish - is this a piece of tree decoration that the fairies forgot to pack away on 12th night or a string of rather unusual fungus?