Extreme weeding – part two

 

Just like buses, this blog arrives in clusters. After a break of months, last week we reported on the working party that pulled up bag-loads of Himalayan Balsam and trimmed the boardwalk edges, and now, already, we can report on a working party that pulled up bag-loads of Alder seedlings, and trimmed the boardwalk edges.

Another sunny morning saw 13 volunteers arrive, some perhaps whistling a merry tune with a spring in their step, such was the cheerful nature of the day. Two of those, Carolyn and Mike, were with us for the first time, so let’s hope they found it an enjoyable experience.

Of those intrepid 13, nine toiled in the noisome swamp intriguingly known as Area X, seeking to resist the inexorable March of the Alders by plucking out seedlings very close to the ground. Lacking only the iconic pointed hats, they compared themselves to working in a paddy field.

The medical benefit of good spinal flexion was perhaps offset by the inevitable backache induced, so other stretching exercises were necessary to relieve it. Bags were filled – a minimum of nine presumably, and tipped onto a new dumping site, to be covered with black plastic to prevent them re-sprouting.

Meanwhile four other doughty workers were busy completing the trimming of the boardwalk edges. Two brush cutter operators operated brush cutters, while two broom operators operated brooms. (Incidentally, why do you brush a boardwalk, or any other surface, but not broom it?)

It’s actually quite an achievement to complete this task in two sessions, and it represents a lot of hard physical effort.

Brushing (or brooming if you prefer) is also hard work, let me tell you. It’s no good just sweeping the cut stuff off to the side, it needs pushing together and hoiking off to a dump site so it can rot down in the time-honoured fashion. It’s a skill, no question. And it makes you hot.

Here is Team Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:

Thank you so much to the thirteen volunteers who came this morning. Fortunately for the alder pullers it was not so hot and a tremendous number of little seedlings got extracted thanks to every bent back. It will save us so much work later.

I think the brush cutters did not notice the cooler weather judging by the sweaty brows. Well done chaps, it has made it much easier to traverse the boardwalk and will be appreciated by all.

We will be sending out the dates for the new cutting season very soon, as well as opportunities to help make a wildflower meadow at the pit.

Thanks again.

Margaret.

We work on the Common because we care about it as a special place in our own back yard, and are grateful for the huge amount of support we receive from the local community, as well as NWT, on whose behalf we do the work. This was also the case from Southrepps Parish Council, the previous owners of the land. It is perhaps inevitable that sometimes what we do is not welcomed by everyone, but it should be stressed that we are helping to look after a statutorily protected Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the way that has to be done is laid down by Natural England, with the intention of providing the best possible return for nature. As always with conservation work, some of the benefits are quickly apparent, whilst others take years to be fully realised: the beauty of this place is that the range of different habitats provide both the annual joy of the revitalisation of familiar sections, as well as the satisfaction of watching other areas gradually return from an unsatisfactory condition of little value to wildlife, to one to be truly proud of.

Duncan

 

Extreme weeding

 

Even though I’m not one, lacking the necessary qualification, the Team Leaders were kind enough to include me in their recent suitably distanced outdoor meeting to discuss plans for the next few months of volunteering on the Common – all things being equal. I confess to being briefly distracted by an overhead Buzzard (Buteo buteo), and as the meeting broke up a speeding bird of prey was spotted by several of us. It was only a fleeting glimpse, but its speed and the shape of its wings suggested it was probably a Hobby (Falco subbuteo). The keen-eyed amongst you will have noticed the similarity in the scientific names of these two raptors, and that’s because subbuteo means ‘smaller than buzzard’. That’s not very precise really, considering lots of birds are smaller than a buzzard, and the hobby is not even another hawk: it’s a falcon, smaller than a peregrine falcon as it happens, so it’s a shame its name is not subperegrinus, but what do I know?

Something I did know and wanted to pass on to my colleagues, was why the table-top football game Subbuteo was so named, but sadly, at the moment I was going to reveal it to an enthralled audience of the two who had failed to escape quickly enough, I discovered I could not remember the reason. Mark Cocker’s monumental ‘Birds Britannica’ came to the rescue once I found my way home, so the story is here related for your edification, as well as for any Team Leader who has persevered this far with this drivel. It seems that the person who invented the game in 1948 was called Peter Adolph. He, quite properly, was a keen birdwatcher, and wanted to trademark his invention ‘The Hobby’ after his childhood favourite bird of prey. The Powers That Be rejected this application, so he had another crack at it using the second part of the bird’s scientific binomial. Do people still play Subbuteo? I suspect some probably do, and maybe even form vast intercontinental super-leagues, the activities of which are only constrained by the current international travel ‘ban’. Strange to think that the game to which they are so devoted has a name which translated means only ‘smaller than a buzzard’.

Several years ago I managed to take a photo of one of these wonderful little falcons as it flew over the Common:

At our meeting it was decided that we need to start work on removing the emerging Himalayan Balsam and Alders, so the agreement of NWT was sought. They advised that before we could be confident of starting that job, we should try to determine if there were any nesting birds we must not disturb, so a couple of us carried out a survey of the relevant areas. Apart from one patch of willow scrub we were satisfied that the planned work for this month would not cause problems. It was pleasing to see that our iconic Bogbean plant is coming up in good numbers, although the Cotton Grass is so far looking rather thin.

That was something of a digression: here’s what happened on our first working party since restrictions have been eased.

The day before 10^th June had been particularly hot and sunny; great for many purposes, but not especially for hard physical labour. As it happened, the weather had changed for the cooler and cloudier for our session; still quite warm enough thanks, but not too bad. The group of nine was split into two, five working on trimming back the edges of the boardwalk down from Warren Road…

… with the other four hunting and removing Himalayan Balsam, suitably dressed to protect themselves against stinging nettles and the possibility of deer-distributed ticks.

The boardwalk work is particularly arduous. Working the brush cutters is tough, but so is brushing up the resulting material and removing it from the scene.

After an hour or so of such hard toil we were ready for a break, so here’s the traditional photo:

Here’s the message of thanks from the day’s Team Leader:

Thank you to the nine volunteers who came to our first working party of 2021. It was great to be back. I had expected the Balsam to have grown faster in the heat and damp but unfortunately the nettles had grown faster which made for a 'stinging' experience. Well done to the boardwalk team who have completed edge clearance on two thirds of the boardwalk making it easier to walk. We have done this earlier than usual this year so we will see how that goes.

If anyone wishes to join us next Tuesday it will be more boardwalk clearance and pulling up of alders and Himalayan Balsam: meet by Foxes Beck bridge at 9.30.

Thanks again.

Margaret

The next session will be on 15^th June, when we will be excited to welcome some new recruits to the cause. No doubt more edge trimming will be on the agenda, alongside more Himalayan Balsam and Alder sapling removal.

Anyone who has walked around the Commons recently will have enjoyed the sight of them waking up again. Here is School Common, with Broom in resplendent flower.

At this time of year the varying shades of green on the central area of the Common are particularly lovely. In addition to Bogbean, orchids are in flower, along with lots of Ragged Robin and many of our other signature plants.

The dappled shade at the bridge over Fox’s Beck is a great place to pause and take in the peaceful scene, and never more so now. Thankfully, it never seems to run dry, and except after heavy rain, is always crystal clear.

It’s good to be back!