Fishpond Wood for tasks and training: 25-10-2016

If you have ever wondered how charcoal is made then you would have done well to attend an excellent training session that six of the NCvs, along with three other interested parties, opted for this week. Peter Brambleby, the owner of Fishpond Wood, was teaching us how to use a small, purpose built charcoal burner to turn wood into charcoal. This is an ancient woodland skill that was used as long ago as the 1100s, by the monks from Fountains Abbey, in Old Spring Wood a little further down the valley. James had also provided an oil drum (thanks to Nidderdale Motors) to try a more 'home made' approach.

For those readers who are interested in the theory you can find out how to achieve success by visiting this WikiHow webpage; this Steward Wood website or watching this Youtube video. For others who prefer to buy their charcoal at the local garage the photos below will show you what we were doing.

First the 'Midi' burner had to be moved to a suitable 
 levelled spot in the wood - not too close to a tree 
and definitely never on top of a peat bed!!
The round metal tube was placed on its four vents.

 Next some pieces of wood were placed on the 
base of the burner to act as 'joists' upon which 
the smaller pieces could be arranged.

 Then it was every man for himself whilst many trugs full of wood 
were emptied, in layers, on the joists.

The burner was half filled and set alight with a firelighter.

 Then - more wood was piled in as quickly as possible.

We had to then wait for the smoke to change colour from 
white (signifying that it was full of water)...

....to a grey (signifying that the wood was really starting to burn 
- or that the Nidderdale pope had been elected). 
Then the lid was put on....

...and the two movable chimneys were placed in two of the vents.
Every so often the chimneys were swapped around.

After that we had to wait again until the lid had 
settled down on top of the tube and could be sealed with sand.

During our waits we got busy with James's oil drum, 
following his instructions carefully.

We went through a similar process - without the chimneys.

Capping the drum off with its lid proved to be problematic 
as the lid fell inside the drum once it expanded with the heat. 
Not to be beaten, Osian simply covered it with  soil to seal the top.

Once the burners were fully working and closed down they had to be left for at least 24 hours. We have been promised a photograph of the outcome once they are emptied and it will be posted here for all to see which of the two kilns worked better. What we are hoping for is something that looks like this:

Here's some that Peter made earlier.

Whilst this was all going on, elsewhere in the wood seven other NCVs were busy clearing the fallen sycamore leaves from the access paths and continuing our work of clearing rhododendron from around mature trees. The charcoal trainees joined them during the afternoon. Again - photos show their progress.

Tut tut - the path to the ice house is really in need of sweeping 

before the leaves compost down into mud on our nice new gravel.

Thanks Ruth - that looks a lot better.

An impenetrable forest of rhododendron branches surrounded us.

No problem - we'll soon have that lot out of the way!

Gradually a beautiful tree is revealed...

...and a tangled mass of cut rhodies is transported 
down the slope to the side of the pond, ready for burning.

Now you can see right through to the back of the tree.

Back at the barn Phil and Jan were busy sharpening tools 

and cutting 8 old pallets down to make bug hotels.

 

Any spare wood was cut up for the log burning stove.

IMPORTANT NEWS IMPORTANT NEWS IMPORTANT NEWS IMPORTANT NEWS

The NCVs have been nominated for a 2016 Harrogate Council Group Volunteering Oscar (Wildlife Category)!!

The result of the nomination will be announced at a ceremony on Friday 28th October. The group is pleased to have been nominated and are keeping their fingers crossed that they will be successful. Perhaps non NCV readers could join in with this sure fire way of ensuring success? More news at the weekend.

Ros E.

Harden Gill: 18-10-2016

Have you ever been asked the question "Does my bum look big in this outfit?" Well, today the NCVs were continually being put in a similar, awkward situation throughout the plantation at Harden Gill, north of Thruscross reservoir. 

All around them trees were asking "Does my trunk look big in this tree guard?" More often than not the answer was easy - "No, not a all. It will last you for a number of years yet." On hearing this not all saplings were happy. They felt that they were fully fledged trees and were offended to be told otherwise.

There - that should keep you going for a while longer.

Occasionally, we had to look a tree in the eye and give the honest opinion "Yes, I'm afraid so. That guard is simply too small for you now."  For some this was a moment to be proud of. A move towards being part of a mighty canopy. For others, more concerned about their girth and getting older, it was a bad morning. Where had the days of being a whippy sapling gone? 

The terrain made the task heavy going: 

a steep, uneven slope covered in bilberry and dying bracken.

These NCVs thought that they could hide here until lunchtime.

No. Sorry folks. I can see you. Get on with the task.

Whenever it was felt that a tree had outgrown its tree guard the offending tube had to be removed by one of the 18 NCVs that were there to offer personal arboreal fashion advice. 

Sorry madam - that tube is just going to have to go.
It's doing nothing for your appearance.

That's better - at least your trunk can dry out in the wind 
(even if you do lack perpendicularity).

From time to time there was simply no tree to check - the tree tube was empty having lost its inmate some time ago. Once removed, the guards and wooden stakes then had to be collected up and moved to an ever increasing pile.

Some trees had been battling against the elements for a long time and had given up the struggle to remain upright. These had to be coaxed back to a more vertical position. Guards and posts were checked to ensure they were solid against any prevailing winds. 

This view of the head of the gill 

shows the toll taken by the wind.

Come on little tree - 
stand up nice and straight like Maggie.

Terry and Angela decided to look at the task from the 
leaning trees' perspective and lay down in the bracken.

This handy sheep fold served as a good base to leave our bags.

Terry would only allow NCVs inside if they paid him to be a member.

 The sheep fold came in handy at lunchtime 

when the wind started to blow and the temperature fell.

(Nick instigated a long discussion about the poo of various wild animals,
 deferring to James when unsure about such fine details as 
differences in the smell of Pole cat and Pine Martin droppings.)

Unfortunately, by 1:30pm the weather took a turn for the worse and it was decided that the opposite side of the gill would have to wait for another day. 

 At 9:45am the views were great in the sunshine. 

At close of play they were far less appealing!

Ros E.

Back to the village of Lodge:11-10-2016

In spite of the poor weather forecast, a group of 16 NCVs turned up at Angram dam this morning to admire the view through the heavy mist and rain. 

The aim for the day was to continue improving the footpath to the old village of Lodge by the side of Scarhouse reservoir below- a job started a few weeks ago. The man with the plan was, again, Peter Lambert - a Yorkshire Dales Footpath Officer.

Basically we had to stand and wait ...

There was quite a bit of leaning on spades and rakes...

...and lolling around looking like a scarecrow.

...while Peter kept zooming up and down the path, in a track barrow, to a very big pile of gravel. This he brought back to us for moving into place:

Once or twice the barrow's load had to be lightened 

before it could be lifted.

But when it wasn't too heavy it worked like a dream.

Now you can all get busy folks.

That's it - spread it around to cover up the mud.

Every so often we had to follow the track barrow to the next hollow:

The Pied Piper of Scarhouse leads the 

NCVs to a new boggy bit.

Half the group worked at the Angram end of the path and the rest walked along to Lodge so that we all had sufficient space to shovel.

 Gradually the black mud track...

......was turned into the yellow brick road 

by the Munchkins.

Down at Lodge there was a bit more variety.....

Alistair dug a very nice ditch...

...and a culvert needed reconstructing.

Will this stone fit?

Oh yes - very nicely too.

The culvert withstood the ultimate test 

by the heavy machinery.

Lunch was a rather damp affair which was made all the more cheerful by Will passing on an old adage: "If the wind's in the east (which it was) the rain will not cease (which it didn't)."

Aren't we lucky to find such a nice dining area?

Some secret cake eating was going on further along the path.

Ros E. forgot her yogurt spoon so had to 

extemporise and use her finger instead.
Video version available HERE!

We returned to the cars at 3pm feeling rather damp and chilly with very muddy boots and over-trousers. Still, at least we had the satisfaction of knowing that the path is a bit easier to walk along now.

Ros E.

Glasshouses verge: 04-10-2016

      BBC

       one  CRIMEWATCH

Can you help solve this crime? 

Yesterday the North Yorkshire Police reported the most audacious case of vegetation removal on record. No fewer than 11 gangsters, posing as Nidderdale AONB conservation volunteers, worked in broad daylight to remove meadow vegetation from a 1/4 mile roadside verge on Cow Pasture Lane. The whole operation took only 5 hours. 

CCTV image of verge before the gang arrived.

This picture shows the verge after 
the heist - not a blade left standing.

Two of the gang, obviously well trained in the art, cut a whole year's growth with strimmers...

whilst the rest of the group  quickly raked and forked it to the edge of the verge where it was left to compost:

 The gang used old fashioned hay rakes...

 ...often working together to produce enormous rolls of hay.

This individual grinned cheekily at the CCTV camera, 

knowing she was being filmed.

One passer by, a man aged 52, was reported as saying "It was amazing to see the speed at which they worked. I didn't realise they were bogus - and there was I congratulating them on their efforts."

A local resident - a woman of 39 - was less congratulatory. "I was in tears" she said. "A year's crop gone in no time. The verge just doesn't look the same any more. And what's more the group seemed to have no shame about what they were doing."

When taking their breaks the criminals lolled 

in open view of the road...

...and even taunted onlookers with the box of 

home made chocolate chip cookies.

A Nidderdale AONB spokesperson felt that, although the job will do wonders to increase the biodiversity of the verge next year, he would have preferred it to have been done by the real NCVs who are now short of something to do. 

A mug shot of the criminals.

Do you recognise any of these faces? If so - please contact the BBC CRIMEWATCH team immediately.