After the wind and rain of the previous days, the working party were blessed with a dry and eventually warm, sunny morning when they met for the last working party of 2025.
The volunteers split up into four groups for each of the morning’s tasks; coppicing, dead hedge repair, Dogwood removal and litter picking.
The group were joined by a new member, Amanda who was soon put to work helping with coppicing and then Dogwood removal.
After a hard and eventful mornings work the whole group went over to the Holly Blue for a welcoming cup of something hot, provided by the pub as usual.
Coppicing
The first group took on some coppicing work in an area of woodland where too many trees were competing for growth.
Coppicing is a management technique to remove some trees to improve the health and growth of the remaining ones by reducing competition for light, nutrients and space. The influx of light allows dormant woodland flowers to flourish, which in turn provides food for insects.
The trees that had been removed were then put to one side to form a ‘dead’ hedge to encourage a natural wildlife habitat and provide shelter for animals.
Dead Hedge Repair
The second group, led by Andy, then set about repairing an existing dead hedge that had been partially destroyed, where somebody had raided the hedge and used the stakes to build a shelter.
Dogwood Removal & Litter Picking
Whilst all of this was going on Sue was busy litter picking around the park and the third group got stuck into the old favourite of Dogwood removal. They were joined by a very inquisitive dog who seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, much to the amusement of the removal crew.
Another dog, who wasn’t so welcome, ran off with Jenny’s water bottle and by the time it was retrieved it had been thoroughly chewed and broken!
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