Sunday 2nd May 2021 - Work Party

 

Cowslips

A fine morning and lots of volunteers again. Having had such a good work party last month, we were able to take on more fiddly tasks this time.

The paths and glades were mown and strimmed, not such a minor job actually but important in keeping the welcoming atmosphere of the woodland. The long, main path had a concentrated effort in weeding and raking the edges. We removed the dead grass, and targeted sycamore seedlings and bramble roots. 

A log in the glade has been completely destroyed by badgers looking for insects so this was tidied up and new logs rolled into place.

The bluebells planted along the stream at the top are flowering. They were carefully weeded round, cutting back the cow parsley so that we can see them and encouraging them to spread, hopefully.

We gathered at the end with our drinks to discuss the forthcoming plant sale. Make a note of the date, Sunday 6th June. 

On Tuesday 4th May, a report was given to the Annual Village meeting, via zoom, about the work of the Woodland Group over the last 2 years. There wasn't a meeting last year because of Covid restrictions. If I can work out how to add it to the blog, I will.

Red campion

Sunday 11th April 2021 - Work Party (Hurrah!)

 

Cherry blossom and blue skies in the woodland.

There was a big turnout and some new recruits for our first work party of 2021. I had a long list of jobs but we got them all done. 

The first job was to move the brash, twiggy bits, from the felled trees on to the dead hedge line which goes along the boundary of the wood.

 

We had a bit of help with collecting the logs and piling them up for sale in the future.

The hedge, planted in December, was mulched a thick layer of organic matter to will stop the weeds growing and help to keep as much moisture in the soil as possible. This will give the hedge plants the best chance to grow.

It's a never ending job, clearing the brambles from the path edges and some more of this was done today. Some Ragged Robin plants were added to the damp area and grass seed sown on the bare soil where the pipe was laid. 

The picnic table was cleaned ready for use again.

Hazel trees were planted a number of years ago to form the structure of the den and have taken a long time to get going but are finally putting on some growth. The den area was given a tidy up with the dead bits removed and the trees mulched. 

Plum blossom 

Top end of the wood greening up.

Other small jobs included lightly pruning the fruit bushes and pulling back the vegetation around the new bluebells, just coming into flower. 

 

Time for a socially distanced drink at the end.

Sunday 6th March 2021 - Lockdown update

 

We are still in lockdown and unable to meet for our monthly work party, however the woodland is looking lovely with lots of primroses now in flower as the snowdrops have faded. 

It has been a mostly cold spring so far, the leaf buds are still swelling ready to burst open very shortly.

Our contractor returned to remove a couple of trees with ash dieback, a fungal infection, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus,  which could become dangerous in the future. He also thinned the trees along the new hedge line, roadside, to help the hedge grow. 

Here, you can clearly see the fungal infection in the centre of the cut wood.

The next work party will be in April which I hope will be able to go ahead. Looking forward now to warmer weather, lighter evenings and being able to get back to work in the woodland.

Sunday 7th February 2021 - Lockdown

 

We went back in to national lockdown in January and therefore haven't been able to do any work in the woodland. This would have been our work party date, first Sunday in the month, but the weather would have stopped us working anyway.  These photos were taken on the Sunday and there was more snowfall on the following days.

Main track

This damage was caused by the telehandler when we did the work on the ditch.

As you can see, the tracks have suffered from the continued rainfall and also the increased foot fall from people stuck at home taking a daily, local walk. It is getting very slippery but I wouldn't want to stop people using it. It will recover to a certain extent.

This is the central ditch, the input at the top has been monitored to help control the amount of water but generally the new work has been successful as it now flows under instead of over the lower path.

Snowdrops in the ditch by the road.

Hazel catkins

Social media

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Happy New Year- January 2021

It has been a bit of a strange year at Eades Orchard, with the various restrictions, and we now find ourselves in tier 4 so, effectively, back in lockdown and unable to meet again.  We have still managed some successful projects and the woodland has been much used by locals and some visitors from further afield.

 

On the eastern side of the wood.

This is the stream looking from the top, running well because of the large amount of rainfall but also forming shallow pools and, most importantly, not flooding the path at the bottom. 

Top end of the wood

The bluebells that we planted in the autumn are starting to grow!

Mossy stumps.

If you want to know what we have been up to over the past year, and further back, check the previous blogs.

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I wrote a draft of this post a few days ago ready to go out at new year, only since then we have a a tree come down. No damage done.

Work Party - Sunday 6th December 2020

 

The weather was kind to us this morning and the sun even came out. It was a bit soggy underfoot though.

Some good news to start, Matthew Hicks our county councillor, has agreed to let us spend some of his locality budget on tools, and here they are! 

Up to now we have mostly relied on people bringing their own tools but this will enable us to be more inclusive allowing anyone to turn up and join in, with tools and safety equipment available.

We also managed to apply for, and get, hedge plants and guards from the Woodland Trust, via the Suffolk Tree Warden Network. So our main focus for the morning was planting a new hedge. Here's Jeannie showing us the planting technique.

And here's work in progress. We split into hole digging, tree planting and guards teams and managed to maintain social distancing. 

Here is more progress and the finished planting. We plan to mulch the hedge in the future, and control the weed growth along the verge to give it the best chance to grow.

Meanwhile in the wood, the noticboard was renewed and the bird feeders re-filled, this is done regularly in the week.

There was also a second team of volunteers on leaf raking duty. All done until next year.

We have had very heavy rainfall over the last week but the new pipe and raised path are working well and the stream is pooling and flowing in all the right places.

A good turn out of volunteers and much work accomplished.