New Month – New Mission

Aaron, Marcus, Reece, Dave and myself got back to basics this week at the bird-feeder clearing.  

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We cleared out all the encroaching scrub and plants that had gone over from the summer. We’re a bit late in the year to be doing this but hey-ho! When it’s a little drier we just need to mow the grass short and rake-off.  

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Things to take away from this year? We need a bit more sun hitting the ground, we need to weed out the encroaching scrub during the summer (easier said than done) and we need to be collecting the seeds from the flowers already present and sow them into the ground bared from scrub removal.

Hopefully, we can extend this clearing with a new scallop at each end.

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We have had some lovely photos of birds, and the cheeky squirrels, from our observation bench over the summer. Next year I want to spend more time observing and recording, and less time working!!

Lastly, a log-pile that we put down eight or so years ago…

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Whenever we cut back we always seem to come across it and marvel at the fungi and lichen.

We are back in the same place on the next workday to keep pushing the scrub back.

This side of Christmas we are working south of the underpass, on our four picnic bench areas, and installing a couple of basic perch benches in the area where the Cawston Bridleway crosses the greenway. After Christmas we will be working north of the underpass, just scalloping, tidying up and putting in a perch bench or two at Berrybanks. And then in March, we can seed the newly cleared areas around the picnic benches with a colourful wildflower seed mix.

Paul

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The New Steps Had To Go…

I made an error when putting the new steps in, and for reasons way too complicated to go into here, they had to come out.

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Thanks to Aaron, Marcus and Reece for helping to dismantle them, and a massive sorry to Tim and Martin who helped the team to make them.

Amazingly, we just kinda shrugged and moved on.

We now have a pretty awesome picnic area in the cleared section.

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Plenty of banter about how we should have the benches angled, I kid you not!!

We then got back to our mini-wildflower patch and started clearing it of brambles. We really need to mow or brushcut the grass or it will just take over. We agreed to extend this area by a couple of meters at each end. It did really well over the summer and next year we can set up some proper surveys for flora and fauna. Butterflies are my secret passion and I  have had to put that on hold because I never seem to have the time to just sit and observe them.

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The views from our last picnic bench…

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Amazing to have this on our door-step!

Next week we are in the bird-feeder area. We are just clearing out the wildflower bed and having a general tidy up.

Anyone who wants to get involved – please do. You will be welcomed with open arms. We also have a number of other projects that, whilst not totally dependent on the greenway, certainly add to the enjoyment for people using outside green spaces. Come along for a chat if you want to find out more!!

The coffee and cookies are always pretty awesome, too…

Paul

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“More Than Just a Path…”

Bit of a weird one this week!!! Marcus, Reece, and myself and an unannounced visit from Sustrans volunteer Nick (Sustrans Volunteer Co-ordinator).

No work done but just talked about some issues around steps, falling down the hazardous slope down the side of the “Potsford Dam” bridge, newts, stiles, communication and a few other things that are probably unmentionable here…

Here are some of the positives of what we are doing:-

We have created a fantastic asset for Cawston, Beechcroft and Bilton.

People can get fit by walking, running or cycling along our greenway.

We have created circular walks at the points just before Potsford Dam, Just after Potsford Dam, and further down just before the old Dunchurch Station to take people back to Cawston, or to Dunchurch, or carry on on NCN 41 to Leamington, via Draycote.

People can picnic on the greenway at one of our many benches and enjoy stunning views across the heath areas.

People can get fit by joining us on workdays.

People can enjoy connecting with others and chat about whatever, whilst on workdays and look after their mental wellbeing.

People can learn about wildflowers, bees, birds, other insects and all the other stuff that nature puts on our door-step.

We are a starter platform for people to go on and get involved with RSPB, Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and various other more specialist groups.

We have free coffee and cookies!!

We have limited funds so have to beg, steal and borrow as much as we can, and have fantastic support from the residents who use the path.

We have developed side-groups to run alongside the greenway to help disadvantaged groups in so many ways. These groups are about to come on-line and will blow you away in how good they are!

I could go on and on…

You know what, we may not be perfect, we are just a bunch of blokes trying to make a decent path that becomes, “more than just a path…”

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Here is a picture of a newt!! Just so we know what we are looking for…

Paul

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Picnic Area

Our new picnic area is starting to shape-up. In my mind’s eye, I can see exactly how this area needs to look.  

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To get wildflowers to grow we need plenty of sunshine. The bench also needs to be in sunshine, or it will become damp and eventually covered in moss or lichen. So Aaron, Marcus, and myself went about clearing scrub and removing branches to create windows to allow the sunlight to hit the bare ground.

We also had to pull out the bramble roots to stop the scrub returning.

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Fantastic exercise and very rewarding!!

We want two more deep scallops cutting into the scrub between the benches…  

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…and then marry the area up to the mini wildflower patch that we created last year.

Possibly in December when everything is in slumber, we can look at how we can bring the reed-bed into play and this just adds to the biodiversity of the area.

Next week we are building a simple stile over the newt fence. We have various lengths of timber that are about 22mm thick and 110mm wide so that should be strong enough to create an approximately 300mm stile.

So next week, electric drills and screwdrivers, woodscrews, a saw, some postfix, a spade, and a bucket will be required!!

Great day today. Loads of banter and cracking on with the task in hand. Decent coffee and cookies, too.

Paul

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Steps Issue

Unfortunately, we have had to have our new path temporarily closed.

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The issue is this – the developers, by law, have to protect any newts that might reside on the greenway. This means that they have to put up a newt fence to keep them off the housing development. Because I have never seen a newt on the greenway, I kinda smashed through the newt fence to create our exit. I didn’t even consider the consequences. However, this puts the developers in an impossible situation because it means they are breaking the law.

Hence the fence.

There are solutions and hopefully, we can work something out like this…

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Nothing was done with intentional damage or malice, and I am sorry for all the upset that I have caused for loads of people!!

So, Marcus, Aaron, Reece, and myself rocked up to try and get the project moving the right way again.

The steps look fantastic and all of this workday was about up on the top.

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At the top of the steps, we want to position a picnic bench and start a wildflower mini-meadow. 

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As you can see from the slideshow, the steps start where the greenway breaks out of a wooded path and turns to scrubby bramble. We want to scallop most of this scrub back and seed with Corn Cockle, Corn Chamomile, Cornflower, Corn Marigold and Field Poppy.

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This will create an amazing blast of colour and bring in so much wildlife.

Onwards and upwards!!

Paul

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We Promised and We Delivered…

map of potsford dam new path

We wanted to steer people away from the almost sheer drop, down the side of the Potsford Dam bridge, and instead have a far safer exit point onto Trussell Way.

Whilst we had an idea of trying to incorporate the reed-bed into the route down, it soon became apparent that we were just repacing one danger with another. Downward slopes with water at the bottom are an accident waiting to happen!

So, Martin, Tim, Marcus and myself set about making a safe path out onto the new part of Trussell Way and an attractive circular walk that stays on the Cawston side of the Coventry Road.

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Down we go…

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Lots of back-filling to keep everything in place. 

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From the existing path, the new steps start as the coppice turns to scrubby bramble. 

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We felt that it would be worthwhile scalloping a lot of the scrub and extending the wildflower patch. This means the woodland walk suddenly breaks out into wildflower meadow, with views across Lawford Heath, and the reed-bed on the other side with dragonflies and damsels doing their thing. We have a couple of spare picnic benches that we can add. This will encourage people to stop and enjoy the wildlife and views.

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My new furry friend. I am slowly getting over my fear of dogs, thanks to all the dog walkers who have patiently let me get to know their dogs.

Lastly, I cannot emphasise enough, how just meeting up and doing stuff on the greenway, creates such a mental feel-good factor. Everyone is welcome and everyone brings something to add to the group. Give us a try sometime over the cutting-back season. I am sure you will not regret it.

Paul

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Last Summer Workday

It was the last summer workday in 2019, and also, probably the last time that we will go beyond Potsford Dam.

The reason for this is because Sustrans are putting in an off-road cycle path from Potsford Dam to Leamington, so our services will no longer be required past this point.

https://rugbyobserver.co.uk/news/new-traffic-free-route-set-for-cycle-network-linking-rugby-and-leamington

There is the elusive Right of Way called R168x which runs from the greenway, somewhere from the section between Potsford Dam and Dunchurch railway station, to Dunchurch Bridleway R168. This trail is another project that I am currently working on so keep your eyes peeled if you’re interested.

R168 and R168x

Anyhow, this week Marcus, Aaron, and myself snipped back the shrubbery so that anyone using the path has a clear run before the path naturally clears.

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Next week we hope to start building the steps down to the reed-bed. Once we get access to the reed-bed we can start to encourage dragonflies and damselflies. It will be very interesting, from a wildlife point-of-view.

Wildflowers spotted: 

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Until next week!

Paul

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Bilton Grange Takeover

With 22 (I think) youngsters from Bilton Grange Preparatory School in Dunchurch, taking over this week, I was a little apprehensive, to say the least!

However, they all worked very hard and very well together.

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Digging new steps down to the reed-bed

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Snipping back bramble runners

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Sampling blackberries

You can see in the background, the initiative task – The very task that has had me flummoxed every time I have tried to put the thing up!! 

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No such trouble for these youngsters!

A great morning and I hope that we can do it again at some point.

A taster for next month…

I am trying to develop a path from Dunchurch to the greenway – Dunchurch Greenway…

Dunchurch Greenway

It will be a totally off-road 1.5 mile greenway that connects just before the old Dunchurch railway station.

Paul

 

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Winter Project

Today, Marcus, Reece and myself just scoped out what we need to do over the winter to get the reed-bed and the wildflower meadow working together around bench #4.

Here is a screen-grab of the area.

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The red oval is where people are currently getting on and off. Massively steep and hugely dangerous if someone takes a tumble and ends up on the road at the bottom.

The red line shows a new path dropping down the bank, circumnavigating the reed-bed and the Victorian aqueduct, and then reaching across the dry ground and following the fence-line out onto the new development.

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Going down.

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Looking up, this needs to be steps.

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Reed-bed.

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Inching along.

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Aqueduct.

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And out.

It’s going to take a lot of work to get this right, and then grow scrub over the old path to deter people from using it. However, we have a good six-month window to work on it, so there is no need for us to rush. It will be better to do a quality job.

The reason for dropping down where we are, is so that the reed-bed is accessible and we can start to clear it and help it to flourish. It also compliments the other side of the path up on the bank, which is our little mini-meadow of wildflowers.

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Not forgetting of course, that it creates a lovely circular walk that is just in Cawston, rather than taking people through the woods.

A well deserved cuppa and cookie at the end of a tough day!

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Back on it next week!

Paul

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Come Rain or Shine…

..the show must go on!!

Well, that is what I kept thinking as Marcus and myself got thoroughly drenched on this week’s workday.

But another section snipped back and kept clear for all of our users. So it was well worth the effort.

Trying to amuse myself with photos from the top of the bridge and then the same view from under the bridge. It was that sort of a day… However, we now have a couple of more productive workdays lined up where we can work on the slope down to the reed-bed and try to develop the circular walk, on the Cawston side of the Potsford Dam bridge, that doesn’t entail having to slide down the savage slope on our backsides!! 

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Another dreary wet shot across the heath…

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Lastly, I cannot see any signs of life in our bat-boxes. I think we need to bite-the-bullet and modify them. I have put in on the list for September.

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At least the coffee and cookies provided a bit of relief from the rain!!

Until next time!

Paul

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