Yesterday afternoon, committee member Pip O’Byrne, was walking in the woodlands and took these 3 photos of early Spring activity. The beautiful primroses are really starting to be in flower and she also photographed the large amount of frog spawn that we have in our pond.
On a beautiful, crisp Sunday morning at the start of March, the Westcombe Woodlands came alive with the spirit of community and volunteerism. The morning saw what was probably a record turnout of committee members, experienced volunteers and quite a few new faces!
The main activities of the day involved the planting and staking of trees. Volunteers worked tirelessly, taking trees from their resting places and carefully planting them in their new homes.
The taller trees were staked to ensure they would grow strong and stable, a testament to the care and dedication of the volunteers.
The sights of newly planted trees standing tall against the clear sky was a rewarding end to a morning of hard work and collaboration.
Our usual mid-morning coffee break enhanced this volunteer spirit with camaraderie and a shared sense of purpose with laughter, good conversations assisted by hot drinks and biscuits, with everyone united by their love for nature and their desire to make a positive impact in our little woodland.
Committee member Jerry Avis can be seen in the accompanying photos standing proudly next to new water butts, which will allow newly planted trees and shrubs to be easily watered in the drier months.
The pond, at present, is full to the point of over-flowing. While we have flowering primroses, the bluebells, although they are growing strongly, won’t be in flower for at least another 3 or 4 weeks.
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Every now and again we have a walk around the woodlands and complete a survey of what we see. Obviously, plants like bluebells and snowdrops won’t be seen in mid-Summer, but most of the plants remain for our pleasure all year round. In mid July last year, there was an evening walk around to see what we could find, and we recorded several dozen species or at species level. Some plants such as grasses and sedges need a more specialist person to analyse more deeply, and there are some “garden-escapes” on the list too.
Ivy – Hedera helix
Hogweed – Heracleum sphondylium
English Elm – Ulmus procera
Hazel – Corylus avellana
Enchanter’s nightshade – Circaea lutetiana
Garlic mustard – Alliaria petiolata
Bramble – Rubus fruticosus
Elder – Sambucus nigra
Herb bennet or Wood avens – Geum urbanum
Holly – Ilex aquifolium
Creeping buttercup – Ranunculus repens
Sycamore – Acer pseudoplatanus
Smallflower willowherb or Hoary willowherb – Epilobium parviflorum
English oak – Quercus robur
Cherry – Prunus species
Field Maple – Acer campestre
Male Fern – Dryopteris filix-mas
Foxgloves – Digitalis purpurea
Thistle species – Cirsium spp
Green Alkanet – Pentaglottis sempervirens
Ragwort – Senecio jacobaea
Rosebay Willowherb – Chamerion angustifolium
Solanum species – Solanum spp
Dark Nightshade – Solanum nigrum
Heuchera – Heuchera spp
Crocosmia – Crocosmia spp
Rowan – Sorbus aucuparia
Hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna
Herb Robert – Geranium robertianum
Stachys species – Stachys spp
Bindweed – Convolvulus arvensis
Buddleia – Buddleja davidii
Silver Birch – Betula pendula
Acanthus – Acanthus spp
Tutsan – Hypericum androsaemum
Yellow iris or flag iris – Iris pseudocorus
Bromus – Bromus spp
Gooseberry – Ribes uva-crispa
Red Campion – Silene dioica
Mallow – Malva spp
Dogwood – Cornus spp
Lemon Balm – Melissa officinalis
Dwarf mallow – Malva neglecta
Horse Chestnut – Aesculus hippocastanum
Dogrose – Rosa canina
Cleavers – Galium aparine
Robinia – Robinia pseudoacacia
Purple Loosestrife – Lythrum salicaria
Meadowsweet – Filipendula ulmaria
Common reed – Phragmites australis
Juncus species – Juncus spp
Poa species – Poa spp
Primrose – Primula vulgaris
Nipplewort – Lapsana communis
Cock’s Foot – Dactylis glomerata
Yorkshire Fog Holcus lanatus
Damsons – Prunus domestica subsp. Insititia
Yew Tree – Taxus baccata
Poplar – Populus spp
Ribes species – Ribes spp
Bugle – Ajuga reptans
Holm oak – Quercus Ilex
Yesterday’s volunteer morning, for those that participated in our January event, was much warmer, a definite relief to cold fingers and toes! The event was also very well attended too, with committee members, volunteers and members of the local Charlton -based “Good Gym”, see the photos of people enjoying a half-time coffee and biscuit break.
The main entrance to the site is also looking very different with the portacabins from neighbouring Seren Park Gardens being removed. After 2 years, it was a surprise to see the entrance again!
Also continuing on from last month, we have salvaged un-used wood and a small shed which will soon find a new lease of life.
Our usual activities of removing excessive amounts of bramble continued and committee member Jerry Avis was once again repairing damaged steps so that we could maintain safe access to the woodland. Plant-wise, there’s still very little activity, but the hazel catkins are in full bloom, bluebells are already starting to emerge and some of the early flowering primroses have wonderful and delicate pale yellow flowers on show.
Work continues to make sure that fallen trees are being dealt with for safety reasons. Finally, the pond is looking very well, it’s absolutely full of water.
Our first volunteer morning of the year saw a large turnout but, wow, it was very cold! The main focus of the day was to plan for the year ahead, using the knowledge from Russell Miller’s site visit several weeks ago.
Topics and thoughts discussed were very varied, ranging from tree removal, coppicing of hazels, planting of more native bulbs and perennials, cutting back of ivy, removal of invasive plants and “tidying” up of deadwood to make it more beneficial to nature.
The accompanying photos show that the previous night was very cold, in places the frost looked like fresh snow! It was definitely below freezing as the pond had frozen over. But, the hazel catkins were in flower and tree leaf buds were present on an elder shrub.
