Summer walk: 09-08-2016

No task for us today.

Hurray, hurray, hurray.

Instead we went to play,

On a lovely summer's day.

                           (Anon)

Today was the day of our summer walk with lunch courtesy of the AONB (thanks very much for that - it was much appreciated!) The 5 mile circular walk started and finished at Bivouac, near Ilton, which was very fortunate for us as it meant we could have our lunch in their wonderful cafe. 

Many thanks to Anita and Ros K., both for organising a great walk and some good weather too. However - it must be noted with much regret that Anita was unable to join us, as she was unwell. Boooo! Poor Anita. We were sorry she could not join us and missed her ready smile. 

Ros E.

The photos show how we got on.....

Osian turned up sporting one of the stylish British Olympic team's chin warmers.

These are made from a sustainable source of human hair and can be purchased at a reasonable rate from all UK wig makers during the Olympic period.

The group gather and wait for leader Ros K.

 to blow the starting whistle.

And they're off. Terry strides out, determined to take an 
early lead in this mixed team race.

Lovely views along the way kept spirits high in 'Team NCV '.

.

Every so often some got left behind.  
The team waited for them to catch up, 
worried that they would be late for their Bivouac lunch 
and miss the chance of a medal.

It was usually these two 'laggy lasts' that held up the field.

Coffee time at the bridge - Ros E. broke out a box of her 
high energy flapjack to sustain the team until 1pm.

Graham took the opportunity to give a motivational team building talk, 
filling us in with the details of recent AONB meetings he had attended as our representative. These mainly consisted of him having a number of free meals 
so now we all want to volunteer for that role!!

Terry ignored this talk and sat in a huff because he hadn't 
been able to maintain his early lead.

Our team took the footbridge instead of going straight 
through the water jump. This probably cost us a few precious 
seconds but at least it kept our feet dry.

Prepared for all eventualities, team leader Ros K. 
drew out her secateurs to remove the 
overhanging vegetation obscuring a gate.
(Probably left there by the Russian team as a 
cunning ploy to send us in the wrong direction.)

Tony goes for gold in a second attempt 

at the 'let's keep them all waiting' event.

En route we passed this wall - 
the latest effort by the NAONB's walling group perhaps?
If so then they could do with some refresher training.

Lunch at the cafe - the reward for completing the course.

Pea soup, sausage baps and chips. Yummy! 
Who needs a medal?

And finally - anyone for the Brymor ice cream eating event? 
Well of course - you should never pass up a Brymor opportunity!!


Determined to take first place, a real killer instinct 
took over and Osian attacked his cone with gusto. 

 Ros E. soon had the chocolate filling licked clean away.

Ros K. played the waiting game, hoping that the others 
would run out of steam before being able to complete the course.

 Graham considered the possibility of swallowing 
the whole thing in one go.

Alistair found it all just too cold on his teeth, 
deciding to pass the baton on to the next 
runner at an early stage.

Choice of tasks: 02-08-2016

This week was one of those times when the NCVs were spoilt for choice. We could either take Option A:

Gate re-positioning at Timble due to erosion along Timble Gill & Dick’s Beck which involved moving the gate and posts, patching the fence, and realigning a footpath.  

or Option B:

Tool time at the Barn which involved cleaning, sharpening, tidying, updating the tool inventory and marking up new tools. 

In the event, 6 NCVs opted for both A and B. All were rewarded with both flapjack from Audrey and cake from James - thanks for this folks!!

A few photos of the 'Choose your own adventure' day.....

Team A

This is the stream that has caused the problem. 

It looks very innocent at the moment.

That there gate is gonna have t'go.

So it did!

And so did the nettles.


Ros and Anita made a start on taking down the fence.

NCVs are good at digging holes. Fortunately there 
was no Toft Gate like bedrock to blast through!

Tom and Nick put the freshly dug 
holes to good use.

Eventually - after a lot of hard work - the job was complete.

 The team could stand back and admire their work....

....before setting off up the hill for home .

Team B

Yes - the barn certainly needed a tidy....

 Over there...

 ...over there...

...and over here.

No worries - we'd soon sort it out!

Jan got busy doing what he likes to do best 

and fixed tools to his heart's content.

Angela slapped green paint  on tool handles

(which shows the tools belong to us) 
and Terry made inroads into the heaps that needed shifting.

Ruth took on the tool inventory and 
was soon wishing she hadn't.

Alistair was scratching his head over this contraption. 
A prize for anyone who can explain what it does.
I think it's a tool for winding up the sun.

And then - all of a sudden - the job was done.

What a difference a day makes!

A place for everything and everything in its place.

 That all looks a good deal tidier...

... and there's plenty of space to have a dance!!

Woe betide anyone who doesn't put their tools back in the right place from now on!!

Ros E.

Dacre Banks Nature Park: 23-07-2016

OfVOL

Office for standards in volunteering (conservation division)

Making a positive difference to the environment

  

Task appraisal report
Date	26-07- 2016		OfVOL appraising officer	Ms Bea D’Eye
Volunteer group		Nidderdale AONB Conservations Volunteers (NCVs)
Task		Removal of an area of Himalayan balsam and weed trampling in the newly established Dacre Banks Nature Park.
Weather conditions		Warm and pleasant.
Judgements (Please refer to the criteria listed in the OfVOL appraisal manual, chapter 5 section 3, subsections 1i -10 iii when making these judgements)
Volunteer task leader James S. is an excellent task leader with many admirable qualities. It is clear that he is well thought of, as evidenced by a turn-out of 11 NCVs at a time of year when many are on holiday. NB An alternative reason for the good turn-out could simply be the hope for more of the excellent cake provided on past visits by the wife of the nature park’s owner, Michael Emsley. This will need checking via the data collected from individual NCV interviews.
Grade:	Outstanding (pending interview data check)
Health and safety  A sound risk assessment was circulated to all NCVs during the week prior to the task. All NCVs were clad in appropriate clothing in the main* and I am pleased to report that all NCVs reached the end of the task in one piece. *Two NCVs were required to work alongside a stream but did not have the requisite wellington boots. However this offered them an opportunity to practise their yoga stances ‘al fresco’ as they straddled the stream. Photographs taken by James failed to be registered on the camera. (See targets for development section below.)
Grade:	Good
Group morale James had not mentioned the fact that Himalayan balsam may have to be pulled until the task briefing. However, morale appeared to be high in spite of both this and the other aspect of the task.  Areas of ground previously  covered only by short grass during a tree planting project at the start of the year, i.e. Then were found to be completely overgrown by all kinds of vegetation with thistles and nettles very much in evidence. Now In spite of this the NCVs maintained a cheerful disposition throughout, as evidenced below: Morale was considerably boosted by the sight of two types of cake at coffee time, which was delicious.
Grade:	Outstanding
Task achievement Apart from the Himalayan balsam the main intention was for unwanted vegetation to be trampled or cut down around each of the saplings that had been planted in plastic spirals to ensure that they were not shaded out or pushed over. This will also enable Michael to spot the trees in order to treat their surrounds with a herbicide. The balsam occasionally required the NCVs to engage in teamwork, something they manage well. Two managed to work together in a tug of war with one difficult stem which was particularly well rooted: The NCVs used excellent skills of logic and observation to locate the almost invisible trees. Comments such as: “There’s  one here and here, so there must be one there” “If you find one in a trench then just follow the furrow along and you’re bound to find one” Like miners digging for coal, whenever they struck a seam they followed it along until it ran out. At no point were any of the field's fauna hurt - as evidenced by this photograph of one of many masses of Peacock butterfly caterpillars found feasting on the nettles. As photographs show the NCVs were successful in their endeavour. By 2pm the job was complete.
Grade	Outstanding
Overall Judgement :  Outstanding (Pending moderation by the national OfVOL moderation body, OfMOD) NB If this grade is upheld the NAONB NCV team must not become complacent. They should be advised to maintain these high standards and be prepared for another, unannounced, OfVOL inspection at any time. Targets for development are as follows: The NCV leader should ALWAYS mention when Himalayan balsam pulling is part of the task to allow NCVs to find an excuse not to attend. The leader should enrol on a photographic training programme immediately to ensure that future important evidence collection is not compromised.  Bea D’Eye