As autumn and poorer weather set in, our Green and Grounds Team assisted by our Duke of Edinburgh volunteers continued to maintain the towpaths and footpaths that are the responsibility of the Trust.
We thank the Woodland Trust for their donation of saplings. Some of these were planted during November to infill gaps at our sites along Tamworth and Falkland Roads, whilst the remainder were planted in our nursery where they will mature for later replanting.
During December the team spent time trimming the hedges along the towpath at Fosseway Heath Nature Reserve plus clearing the towpaths and footpaths of brambles to ensure the safety of walkers from trip hazards. Our younger volunteers also cleaned up the area around Wood Lock 18.
During the past year, several of the DofE volunteers have been trained to use our large power strimmers and hedge trimmers. Safety is paramount, with close supervision by team leaders and restricting usage by individuals to twenty minutes at a time due to vibration concerns.
Members of the team have also been working with Queen’s Croft School, which has included the planting of wildflowers in the copse at Darnford Moors.
The occasional Saturday session has been lost due to non-availability of qualified team leaders through ill health or vacation. Anyone willing to become a team leader to help support our Saturday and occasional weekday sessions would be very welcome. We host groups of young people and corporate volunteers.
In December, corporate volunteers from Cardo in Cannock (including member Sarah) spent a morning transplanting young trees previously planted in our nursery to the Darnford Moors Ecology Park site. Corporate volunteers are always welcome, especially during the spring and summer months. We are pleased to report that three groups have already signed up to support us for days during March and April.
Our towpaths and footpaths are one of the public-facing aspects of our work and we endeavour to keep them accessible and safe for the public to enjoy. It is very gratifying when walkers thank us, and especially the DofE volunteers, for the hard work that is put in. The recent transfer of land to the Trust along Falkland Road and St John’s Grange will increase our workload going forward.
In terms of wildlife, over at Darnford Moors we have seen numerous young ducks, and a young swan was recently seen in residence. Ducks, moorhens and a pair of herons are frequently spotted near Borrowcop Locks. As the sites mature, we hope to see more wildlife in the future and the team are planning the installation of more bird and bat boxes at various sites to facilitate this.
Philip Skelton
Green and Grounds Team Leader
January 2025
This blog first appeared in Cut Both Ways, our members’ magazine.
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