Mayfield Farm: 26-07-2022 and Old Spring Wood: 02-08-2022

A blog of two halves...

After a week off, due to the heat wave (no one can be expected to work in temperatures so high!), the NCVs got back to work on a two week stint of invasive species removal. The pictures below clearly show that they made up for their week of inaction!!

First half - 26-07-2022 -  the NCVs were back on thistle pulling duty at Mayfield farm. 

There were LOTS of thistles to pull.

Some were rather small.

Others required more effort.

This final one required the attentions

 of three spadesmen.

If only the dead thistles could be sold 

the NCVs would have made a fortune!

A delicious lunch, provided by Alwin (thanks Alwin!),

enabled the NCVs to not only  finish the thistles, but also

go on to harvest yellow rattle seed. 

And what an enormous quantity everyone picked!

This will be donated to other landowners, 

wanting to enhance their hay meadows, and also spread

on the glasshouses verge.

2nd half - 02-08-2022: This week they were back on the case of the bracken in Old Spring Wood....

During the morning half the group worked in the bluebell

 area at the bottom of the wood 

whilst the other half worked along the top plateau.

(No photographic evidence of this -some may be added at a later date if any arrives)

No need to do much in this area - it is ALL ferns. No bracken in sight.

Phew!

On the other hand, this area was just bracken.

Although it looks as if Alistair was using a large brown trowel 

as a basher, this is in fact an action shot of his stick.

What a fast basher!!

Lunchtime saw a meeting of the groups for the 2022 WWQ* Symposium

(*that's Wordle/Waffle/Quordle).

Here delegates exchanged puzzle solving strategies.

Research papers arising from this prestigious meeting of minds

will be published early 2023.

All bashed out the gang made their way 

back downhill to their cars.

Millenium Green: 12-07-2022

 

Well I never. I didn't know about that!

Tell me more.

New Conversation Day is annually celebrated on July 12 worldwide. This holiday is set aside to encourage people to talk to each other and make new friends. Well - what better thing to do than to volunteer with the NCVs and do just that?! Conservationists having conversations with conservationists about conservation!

This week the NCVs were informed that their services were no longer required to eradicate balsam at the top of the dale because.......

.....the battle has been all but won in that stretch! Hurray!! 

So - now they need to focus their efforts on the next stretch down the River Nidd from the Millenium Green Bridge to the main bridge in Pateley Bridge. Let's us take a look at what got done.....

Everyone met at the Millenium Green scout hut, where

conversation centred on who was going to go across to the 

far side of the river.

This was the starting point for the HB pulling task.

Conversation here moved on to the quantity of 

balsam that could be seen from this viewpoint.

And there WAS a lot!

Some of it very tall.

The conversation here focussed entirely on 

why this particular patch of balsam couldn't be a wee 

bit taller to save bending over.

Whilst Julia and Rachael were working they were were in 

deep conversation about the need to be armed against

 the many predators roaming the river banks.

A minute later they were proved right as an enormous 

tree monster loomed through the undergrowth.

Luckily the sight of Julia and her slasher 

stopped it in its tracks.

Brenda and Sarah considered what could 

be made from long lengths of balsam.

A new ballgown perhaps?

It is likely that Paul and Andrew, both wearing 

waders, were talking about the benefits of 

being able to work in the water in the warm weather.

Paul certainly looks as if he is feeling the chill!

Conversations with this NCV had to

 be conducted in a loud voice.

Luckily there wasn't a flash flood during

 the day.

Whilst most of the group conversed about weighty things

during the lunch break...

...one NCV preferred to try to 

push over a weighty thing.

No points for guessing what these four were talking 

about at the end of the day - 

• the good progress made 
• the excellent conversations they had had
• the fun they had all experienced (despite there being no shortage of brambles, nettles, trip hazards, serious slopes and the occasional bee or wasp sting.)

Greygarth: 05-07-2022

 

Bikinis on?

Well obviously no. At least, not if you were an NCV working at Greygarth this week. It may have been the 76th anniversary of the invention of this scanty piece of swimwear, but the idea of NCVs shimmying around in neat little two pieces whilst trying to pull balsam would break all kinds of health and safety regs. (It would probably also put everyone off their lunches!) No - full sets of protective gear were needed as the group readied their strimmers, slashers and gloved hands before heading off to do battle (again) against their hated foe.

And here they are - a small, but perfectly formed, group 

waiting patiently to go into battle.

Slasher Tom wastes no time and gets busy with his blade,

wherever the balsam was big enough to be slashable.

Many of the plants were still only at the micro-salad stage 

and needed hunting for in amongst the reed tussocks.

And there was no shortage of reed tussocks!

Liz got the strimmers out, which enabled one 

of the ponds to be strimmed within the day.

Of course, this will not have destroyed

 the micro salad leaves.

Man in hat enjoys a day out in Nidderdale.

(Dave A. can always be relied on for a smile!)

Andrew was difficult to control - 

he was dizzy with the excitement of it all.

Line up! Line up!! Feeding time!

The NCVs had to take a bit of care not to harm 

some other pink flowered plants that were growing 

in the area, such as betony and foxgloves.

They noticed that there was a good 

deal of cuckoo spit on the balsam.

This white foam is created by insects called frog hoppers

which lay their eggs in the moist blobs.

It seemed to be distorting the newest leaves and flowers.

Could it be an ally in the eradication of plant?

The answer to the last question above is probably no. BUT - a little nugget of comfort could be had by anyone reading this week's article on the treatment of balsam at Hell Wath nature reserve near Ripon. The development of that balsam eating fungus we first heard of a long time ago is now being trialled. Who knows, maybe one day this task will be a thing of the past for NCVs?

🤞

Azerley: 28-06-2022

The good news this week - NO BRACKEN.

Hurray!!!

The bad news - Balsam instead.

Boooo!

Yes - it is the time of the year when an NCV's 'just godda to do what an NCV's godda do'. There is no choice of task. It's invasive species eradication time. They just keep popping up out of the ground.

At least with balsam pulling you can see a difference in the area at the end of the day. Of course - whether there will be a difference in the amount of balsam next year is another matter. Seeds just keep coming into the area down the streams and on walkers' boots. Ground hog day comes to mind.

So - let's look at the pictures and see for ourselves what went on....

Now - is Kevin indicating the direction we needed to walk in 

or the average height of the balsam plants?

He explained that he was going to use his newly acquired

unicycle balsam eradicator to speed up the job.

'This shouldn't take long' thought these NCVs.

Not much here'.

How wrong can 3 NCVs be?

The majority was growing in vast swathes.

And, to add insult to injury, it was growing amongst

 the world's tallest stinging nettles.

Piles of dead balsam appeared all over the area...

Now - what is it that this trio found amusing at coffee time?

Possibly this pair of pooches?

"I'll jump if you jump..."

"Oohh no. It's a long way down."

Unlike the ladies, these three gents preferred

 to remain standing (or at least sitting

 on a more robust platform.)

The NCVs took a linear approach and 

gradually beat the balsam wall back.

Occasionally dead willow branches had to be taken 

away to allow access to difficult to reach areas.

The land owner laid on quite a treat for lunch .

A variety of the most delicious pork pies, the likes of which

 had never been seen before.

(It was suggested that any vegetarians may

 find the ones topped with mushy peas acceptable.)

There was even a goody for afters (if you still had any room left).

What a lucky lot we are!

Pass on our thanks to the landowner Kevin.

Ruth had the honour of pulling the last stems in the work area.

Friedy leapt for joy when 'home time' was called.

(Please note - there are still acres of balsam remaining.)

In recent weeks Liz has had an eclectic selection of items

in the back of her car. This week was no exception.

I mean - who knows when a chandelier 

may come in handy on a journey?

Anita immediately bagged two of its crystal 

pendants to use as earrings. And very regal 

she looked.....

... well at least for a few seconds!

Time to go home methinks!!

🙂