Why did the mushroom get invited to all the parties? – ‘Cuz he’s a fungi!

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

And fun was had on the greenway today as we created a new habitat zone, and explored the fungi in the area. Just Aaron and myself today and we cracked on with removing canopy to let light in. We also raked all the leaves and bits of twigs and branches into little habitat piles. We also created a big dead hedge that will get a load of bramble growing over it, in the summer.

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You can see the dead hedge forming as we cleared the ground. We thought about where the sun would be, and tried to open up windows in the canopy. It will be interesting to see what starts to grow in this area. We have disturbed the ground by raking it over, and this will help any dormant seeds to germinate.

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A nice big bank of scrub that will grow over the dead hedge pile.

And onto the fungi…

Loads of really nice specimens happily growing in the area that we are working in. I will try and get them identified later in the week.

Lastly, moss it seems, is quite picky about where it wants to grow!!

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Well that’s about it. Wednesday is the next one, removing the ash saplings between the underpass and the picnic clearing.

Paul

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Sunday Workday

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Great workday today. Linda, Aaron, Mick, Tim and myself were treated to a nice bit of winter sun as we worked to clear off the south facing bank at Berrybanks.

Having cleared the dead vegetation from last year, we found lots of new things starting to grow.

We sowed our calcareous wild-flower and grass seed mix. If it takes and is a success we can extend it for the whole length of the cutting and have a superb wild-flower meadow.

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Fungi finds today were equally exciting. There is Jelly Ear growing on our new wood-pile and this other strange thing which I will try and identify later on.

Dead wood is full of bore-holes so will be full of insects in the spring.

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And our dead-hedges are getting covered with bramble. This will be such a fantastic food store for birds and mammals in the autumn.

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Lastly, we have a lot of really lovely moss that is growing over a lot of the dead wood. This is yet another wildlife avenue that we can go down and learn about. And I found a little sprig of holly growing, which will be lovely if we can get it onto the dead-hedge.

Next workday is next Sunday with our “community second Sunday in the month” that was supposed to be clearing the path down to Draycote. Still waiting for the paperwork so if we have it, we will be down by the A45 doing a massive litter-pick, if not, we will be in the picnic clearing cutting back ash trees to allow sunlight to hit the ground on the south-east facing bank.

Thanks to all who made it today. It is starting to get a little bit interesting.

Paul

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Summary of Sustrans meeting and Feb workdays

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway
I am just trying to summarise what we learnt last week with Dan and David from Sustrans. Please add anything that I have missed out.

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Clear scrub from around the base of trees.

Cut back trees or branches that are rubbing.

Use the three cut method when cutting branches.

Cut branches back to the collar.

Much deeper scallops.

Bramble scrub flowers and fruits in the second year so need rotational cutting back every three years.

Need different ages of scrub for different wildlife, hence the cycles.

Trees to be coppiced on a ten year cycle.

Keep the path as dog-legged as possible to deter motorcycles.

Keep the path from A45, to NCN 41 marker-post, approx 1 mtr wide.

Use straight branches to edge the path and retain any gravel or ballast used to raise wet areas.

Create habitat piles away from the path.

Maintain wetland area just past A45 and try to dig channels to drain other wet areas into it.

Be watchful and mindful of fungi and do not disturb it.

Don’t chop down ancient trees but do clear any young trees and scrub that are going to get tangled if left unchecked.

Workdays for February 2017
Sunday 5th 1:30 to 4 – Rake up a load of the bark chippings and sow the wild-flower meadow-mix seeds at Berrybanks.
Sunday 12th 1:30 to 4 – If we have our license to work beyond Potford Dam, then down by the A45, if not in the picnic clearing ripping trees on the north side of the bridge.
Wednesday 15th 9:30 to 11:30 – Clear ash saplings between picnic clearing and underpass.
Wednesday 22nd 9:30 to 11:30 – Clear ash saplings between picnic clearing and underpass.
Sunday 26th 1:30 to 4 – Widen path south of picnic clearing.
Thanks all,
Paul
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Kidney Vetch Zone is Down

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Great day on the greenway today. We managed to pick up a load of litter and also plant our Kidney Vetch seeds.

Great to see Aaron, Mick, Jo, Neve, Howard and myself turning out on a cold day. We were lucky to have some winter sun towards the end of the day.

Kidney Vetch is the sole food plant for the endangered Small Blue butterfly.

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We cleared a two to three metre strip up the south-east facing side of the bridge and then made two, metre square areas seeded with Kidney Vetch. We can weed out anything else that grows to give it a real chance. Ideally we just want grass and Kidney Vetch.

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We also brush-cut the path through the glade to help it to dry out.

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And lastly, we have bramble growing over our dead-hedge. This will be superb in the autumn when it is full of fruit and a vital resource for birds and mammals.

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Thanks to all who helped today. Good progress. Next one is Wednesday 25th with Sustrans. 9.30 start meeting at the small roundabout where Cawston Grange Drive and Whitefriars Drive meet.

Paul

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AWOL

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Yes, that was me on this Wednesday’s workday. I had actually put a note on our facebook page saying that I could not make it, but tagged it onto the January workday dates and I guess it just got buried.

However, Aaron, Marcus, Peter and Catherine did get there and did a sterling job of clearing the litter around The Bear bridge.

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Apparently there is a load of beer cans (about 60 odd) down in the picnic clearing. Unfortunately they are all empty!! I will pop down on Saturday to clear up. We are then back in the picnic clearing on Sunday at 1:30 for our proper workday. We are creating habitat for wildlife so should be fun.

Thanks to all who made it today. Sorry for the poor communication.

Paul

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Misty Weekender

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Strange day today. We had a bit of sunshine and then it was a bit misty and damp. But it did not deter eight of us turning out and creating a super wildlife habitat at Berrybanks.

Well done Aaron, Jez, Gary, Linda, Carrina, Mick, Tim and myself for getting out there.

We created a space where we have clumps of scrub and areas of bare ground. When the sun gets into this area in the spring, the south-east facing bank will be a riot of wild flowers.

On the north-west facing bank we found quite a bit of fungi. Thanks to Gary and Mick for pointing it out. The names have since left my head, but here are the pictures.

We have a lot of wood on the ground and it will slowly rot down as it creates a habitat for a host of bugs. This picture shows what happens to the logs. Something has stripped the bark and all the bore-holes will be full of bugs that will attract birds and mammals. The moss will also be good for species that like damp habitat.

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The last picture shows how wide we have made the path. It is still very wet in places but where we have done this in other areas, the ground does dry out and grass starts to grow.

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You can see the mist starting to come down on this photo.

We have created a great habitat. As we worked today we could hear a lot of birds tweeting away. We found a toad, and this area is now set up to be really diverse in the summer.

It was also great to see so many people using the greenway for family walks or cycling.

Thanks everyone today. The rest of the month will be scheduled around what Sustrans want to do with our license to work beyond Potford’s Dam and the habitat management workshop that they want to run. Just keep an eye on the blog or facebook page for dates.

Hopefully we will fall into some sort of routine soon with a weekday-weekend-weekday schedule.

Paul

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First Workday of 2017

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Great workday today. Aaron, John and myself and we cleared a lot of ash saplings in the picnic clearing.

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Just loads of saplings shooting up. We cut them back and created a habitat pile rather than starting a bonfire and having to waste time and effort tending it.

We then cut back a few of the trees up the bank to allow more sunlight to hit the ground.

We built up our hedge and just need to encourage bramble to grow over it so that it becomes a good food source as well as a good wildlife habitat.

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This year and probably moving forwards, I want us to get back to how we used to work, which is much more focused on creating a diverse wildlife habitat. We need the sun to hit the south-easterly facing bank for as long as it can, so a nice open path with a lot of the shading trees taken out and tear-drop scallops cut into the scrub to really catch the last rays of the sun as it moves round.

One thing that was nice to see today was rotting logs with loads of bore-holes. This means that there are a load of insects burrowed into them and they will attract birds and mammals in the spring.

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Cannot see us having our license to work beyond Potford’s Dam on Sunday so we will be back at Berrybanks at 1:30pm and just try and create a habitat zone with the bramble.

Good work today.

Paul

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Woodland Ride!!

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Today we managed to do what I have been trying to achieve for the last seven years. We created a section that really felt like a woodland ride.

Great turn out with Mick, Wayne, Anna, Carrina, Howard, Arron and myself getting stuck in.

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We cut all the overhanging branches back and made a real difference to the light hitting the ground. We have a lovely bank of scrub on the south-easterly facing side and lots of brash that will rot down and create habitat for wildlife, behind the line of trees.

I know that we have a potential conflict situation here. I personally would like the whole path to resemble a woodland ride, but I know other volunteers and users like the tunnel effect where the branches meet from each side. The compromise is that we all get a bit of what we like, and we end up with a diverse and varied habitat. My idea is that we work off glades and maybe have an open ride from one glade to the next, and then have the closed tunnel path to the next, and then back to open, etc, etc..

But anyway, conversations for 2017. Smashing turnout today for our last workday for 2016. Lovely beer called Winter Warmer in The Bear after. The dormouse is in fact called an arboreal species, because it prefers to use branches to cross the path rather than use the ground. A little bit different from my earlier suggestion that they were called marsupials.. lol.

I am sure we will have our license for Potford’s Dam to Draycote ready for the New Year. It will be all hands to the pump to get the section from the A45 to the golf club passable. After that we will have to adopt a pretty strict rotational cutting program. We simply will not have the time to get bogged down in sections.

Thank-you to everyone who has put in time, thought, effort and anything else this year. We are creating a valuable and safe path to Draycote Water Reserve, a lovely nature reserve, a great place to cycle, walk and run, a place to chill out and connect with nature, have a picnic and learn about butterflies and wildflowers.

Wishing you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Paul

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Message From Sustrans

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

Dear Friends of Cawston Greenway,

We have Organising a Task Day training running this Wednesday, 7th December. The training day is part theory and part going outside and putting it into practice. This training has been organised to prepare the group to work under the new license on the land between Coventry Road and Draycote Reservoir. This is a participative workshop – there is a little bit of presentation from us, and lots of opportunity for you to share your ideas, and join in and practice. Feedback from volunteers and staff that have attended the course so far has been extremely positive.

When and where:     

Wednesday 7th December, 0930 – 1430

Cawston Community Centre, Scholars Drive, Cawston, Rugby, CV22 7GU

Please ensure you have warm clothes and suitable footwear for a task day as we will be outdoors for part of the day.Please also bring a selection of the tools that you usually use on workdays.

Tea, coffee, cake and biscuits will be provided. Please bring a packed lunch with you.

Aim

This session will develop your confidence and skills in organising and running a task day. Help you to understand the activities required for managing a task day, before, during and after. Offer an opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas and best practice. Expand your knowledge of the resources available and when to use them.

 Please confirm you attendance.

If you have any further questions or would like to book a place on the course, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kind Regards

Daniel Robertson

Volunteer Coordinator, Midlands

Sustrans  |  2 King Street  |  Nottingham  |  NG1 2AS

M: 07785 273 740

E: dan.robertson@sustrans.org.uk

W: www.sustrans.org.uk/volunteer

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Sustrans Training Day – Wed 7th December.

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Paul - Cawston Greenway

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We have an exciting diary date: Wednesday 7th December the guys from Sustrans are coming down to work with us. The day will begin with a bit of a classroom session at Cawston Community Hall, teaching us new skills and honing existing ones, then a bit of lunch and then we hit the greenway to practice the skills that we have learnt. This is invaluable because we are going to be taught by professionals – what is not to love about this. The workday will end at 2:30pm.

Please click the “going” option on our facebook event or let me know by commenting on this post, so that we have an idea of the numbers.

Facebook page event is here CAWSTON GREENWAY.

Thanks in advance and look forward to seeing as many as possible on Wednesday.

Paul

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