My last project for CVLLP was a watergate for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust with the brilliant Churnet Valley volunteers. Part of a series of Natural Flood Management works.
It was a nice change to be working by the river Churnet today with the volunteer team. Engineered log jam stabilised with living willow posts and some spiralling of living willow to sure up an eroding bank. Hopefully it will survive, Last year's seems to have taken well.
Yesterday I was out hedgelaying with the Churnet Valley Practical Projects volunteer team. We tackled a 'hedge' near Swinscoe that some might have been tempted to rip out and replant... but not us.!
Very pleased to have passed cs38&39 tree climbing with Billy. Thanks to the excellent tuition by Shaun of Dart Training Assessed by Matt of Total Tree Solutions. This training is in preparation for the CVLLP upcoming veteran tree project.
Last two days were spent with the volunteer gang at Ellis Hill laying trees. Today was like the wettest Glastonbury (with no naked hippies tho!).
We have been creating a tree stump sump. This creates rot and mimics similar features in veteran trees thus providing a similar habitat for saproxilic inverts found in nearby veteran trees.
Today we were seed harvesting at Side Farm Meadows, near Cotton Dell. The Churnet Valley volunteers were harvesting seed to be taken to the grassland restoration project at Tittesworth.
We collected lots of knapweed and great burnett.
