The members of the Beggarwood wildlife group met on the first Tuesday of January, for the first working party of 2026.
The group were several members short this month due to circumstance and ill health. Linda was ‘stuck’ in sunny Egypt due to a flight cancellation and both Roy and our leader Ildi were unwell.
Jenny took on the role of leader and after a short discussion as to the feasibility of doing any work in the freezing temperatures, the group decided to ‘give it a go’.
Having already braved the freezing temperatures just to get there, they were then faced with a snow blizzard! But was this a problem for them – No! They weren’t going to be deterred by such minor inconveniences.
These hardy souls, some resembling Michelin men, with the many layers of clothing being worn, got stuck into the tasks at hand and soldiered on both manfully (and womanfully) and achieved an amazing amount under the difficult conditions.
After a couple of hours, a rather cold but happy team reconvened at the store before retiring to the Holly Blue for a well-earned, and much appreciated, hot drink.
Coppicing
The tasks this month were mainly determined by the weather, so Sue and Mary went off to do some litter picking, later meeting up with Andy, Colin, Jenny and new girl Amanda, who were continuing where they had left off last month, carrying out some coppicing and forming a new dead hedge. Although everybody worked hard in such difficult conditions, Andy deserves a special mention as he managed to somehow hammer the stakes into the frozen ground!
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 team were once again joined by a playful and inquisitive dog, but luckily not the water bottle destroying one this time!
Tool Store Tidy and Path Clearing
Bob was left to sort out the store, which had become a health hazard to enter, and to salt the path around the café area for anybody hoping to visit later.
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