Our first Open Day event of the year was another hugely successful event with over 70 visitors coming through the gates and still with a mixture of people who have been here before and visitors who have never been here before. Once again the weather was kind to us, which allowed all to really enjoy this magical part of the area.

As always, committee member Nigel Duncan was involved in pond dipping activities and as can be seen, he discovered newts in the pond.

Another established activity is committee member Rich Sylvester keeping the children entertained with story telling.

Of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without the refreshment stall featuring home made cakes and biscuits. Well over £100 was raised this afternoon, all the money goes back in to the maintenance and running of the woodlands.

Activities that allow adults and children to get involved are another part of our day’s events. Climbing on recently fallen trees connects with nature and, we hope, brings a respect for the natural environment.

Finally, quick-thinking committee member Pip O’Byrne had her camera at the ready and took some photos of mice which were scurrying around in the Glade area. Doesn’t it look cute!

Earlier this week, some froglets were placed in the Westcombe Woodland’s pond by neighbour Susanna Currie. As can be seen in the photo, they are tiny creatures and we will be looking out for these over the next few weeks.

The predicted strong winds hadn’t arrived when we started work and we started to continue the work from last month. With our usual good mixture of volunteers and committee members, we concentrated on removing brambles from the mini Glade. April and May are when we can get at the roots of the small plants before they start to grow and swamp the more delicate species, such as bluebells and primroses.

More saplings, including hawthorn as in the below photo, were planted along the boundaries and those previously planted are already starting to quickly grow in to a good, wildlife-friendsly habitat.

On the lower levels of the woodland, work continued to take the smaller branches of fallen and felled trees to create piles of dead wood. The below photo shows such a habitat that was started in February.

Of course, it’s also a pleasure to be in the woodlands and see the season change. The pear tree blossom in the below photo makes the tree appear to be covered in snow!

The third volunteer morning took place on the 3rd of March. Lots of blue skies and a good mixture of volunteers, committee members and 3 people from the local “GoodGym” in Greenwich meant a lot of useful work completed.

More ivy clearance was undertaken and lots of young saplings were planted and heeled in. In addition to “common” species, crab apples” will be making an appearance!

The border with Tom Smith Close’s car park was also planted up by one of the group’s most active volunteers, Dave Larkin. There were still many saplings that need to be planted in the next few weeks. Logs from the bottom of the woodland were moved to The Glade area and will soon find a new purpose.

The blue sky definitely had a warming effect on the bee hives as there was a lot of activity here.

With Spring arriving in the next 3 weeks, it was nice to see some of the fruit trees starting to bud, including the photo of the pear tree.

On a cold morning at the start of February, committee members Lieve Reckers and Nigel Duncan completed the annual maintenance task of removing excess vegetation from the pond. If this wasn’t done regularly, the reeds and grasses would eventually take over, causing the pond to turn into mud and back into a normal part of the woodland. Lieve’s waders and thick gloves resulted in the excess vegetation being put on the side of the pond, allowing valuable water and insects to fall back into the water.