We shall be carrying out general management works on the reserve including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven.

Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre, 10.00am

Parking is available at the Yate shopping centre car park on the western side of Link Road, BS37 4AY

Just seven of us this morning, but we achieved a lot. We dug out the bed of the stream down through the woods, so that it won’t flood when we get heavy rain.

It’s a “winter stream” or “winter bourne”, hence the village name Winterbourne.

We also did a major litter collection, removing half a dozen big sacks full – about par for the course after the summer holidays.

We were a bit discouraged though that there has been some fly tipping on Besom Lane near the kissing gate – we’ve reported it to South Glos Council.

Please note that the days for filming at Wapley have changed:

• Saturday 12 September – 12am to 11pm
• A short session on the evening of Saturday 26 September for a few hours
• Then the main shoot will take place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October

The arrangements have been fully discussed with the Conservation Group and the Parish Council.

Please note that an amateur film unit will be fiming in and around Wapley Woods on the following dates:

• 12/09/15 12am to 11pm
• 19/09/15 11am to 10pm
• 20/09/15  5pm to 11 pm

The arrangements have been fully discussed with the Conservation Group and the Parish Council.

We shall be undertaking the annual stream clearance and other reserve maintenance walk on this autumn workday. Please wear stout footwear.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am.

A guided walk with consultant Rupert Higgins, who has been carrying out an ecological survey of  Yate Common. This has covered invertebrates, birds and lower plants. with a concentration on vascular plants.

Rupert will point out many of the species he has found.

The survey has been done to produce a 5 year Management Plan.

Meet at 10.30 am at the start of the “Road to Nowhere” on the Rodford Way roundabout.

Well, probably several men! Walkers will have seen that only one third of the “narrow side” of Wapley Common, where the orchard is, has been mown. This is so that that other two thirds of the grass will fall as a dense mat and provide a habitat for mice and voles.

These small mammals are ideal “owl takeaways” and will encourage our local tawny owls (and perhaps others) to nest in the near side of the woodland.

A lot goes on at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve between workdays. Members of the committee and friends walk the Reserve regularly, tidying up and clipping back overgrowth. Dodington Parish Council’s handyman and street warden visit to clear litter, especiall after busy weekends.

Other “unseen” work includes monitoring the fruit trees and treating them with traditional remedies as necessary. Members of the public report any problems they find on the Reserve, and the Committee or the Parish Council try to deal with them as quickly as possible.

We also do a monthly photo shoot right round the Reserve, the Common and the Orchard – we’ve now got an archive of digital photos going back to January 2003. This allows us to monitor how things develop month by month, and to compare different years at the same time.

Sometimes the photo survey produces surprises – these plate-sized bracket fungi have appeared in the last month. We know where they usually appear each year, so we keep a look out every time we walk round to see whether they’ve arrived yet.

All this information feeds into our management of the Reserve. The Five Year Management Plan is being revised at the moment by a professional ecological consultant, and he will be making recommendations that form the basis of the work we undertake on work mornings or commission contractors to carry out.

The meadows will be mown fairly shortly, and we’re getting to the end of the butterfly season. So if you want to see Wapley at its summer best, take advantage of a sunny day and head over to see what you can find.

Here are a couple of butterflies on their favourite plant, black knapweed:

Marbled white

Meadow Brown

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve and the Orchard for the Future have won the Green Flag Community Award for the third year running – the only Green Flag Award in South Gloucestershire.

The Green Flag Award scheme recognises quality parks or green spaces. In total, 1,582 parks, cemeteries, universities, shopping centres and community gardens in the UK have met the high standard needed to receive the Green Flag Award or the Green Flag Community Award.

The Green Flag Awards are judged by an army of more than 700 green space experts, who volunteer their time to visit applicant sites and assess them against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement. The Green Flag Awards Scheme is run by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

Obviously Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, who manage the Reserve, and landowners Dodington Parish Council are very pleased with this success. They are now looking forward to hearing the results of their South West in Bloom award entries.