We had a very good workday last Sunday. We cleared the stream that flows down through the middle of the wood during heavy rain, cleared paths and cut back vegetation in the main wood and at the picnic area, and did a lot of litter picking.
We were very glad to have three local guides with us who are working for their BP Badge – many thanks for your help, girls!
Our next work morning will be on Sunday November 1st.
The Wapley Bushes Conservation Group is meeting on Sunday 20 September at the Shire Way gate at 10.00 am. We should finish by about 12.30 pm.
We will be doing some general conservation work such as tidying up a small stream that is the habitat of a very rare plant.
Please come along and help! Tools are provided, but you’ll need to wear wellies or stout footwear and appropriate clothing. If you would like more details please ring Paul on 01454 315851, but you can just turn up on the day.
Peacock butterfly – named after the eye-shaped spots like those on a peacock’s tail.
Painted Lady butterfly – an immigrant that flies in from North Africa. Adults cannot overwinter in UK and return south for the winter.
Small White butterfly – its caterpillar is very fond of cabbage. Small and large whites are often called “cabbage whites”.
All photos taken 25 July in the small patch of rough ground on the left as you enter the Lower Meadow. The meadows will be cut shortly – take a look now if you want to see them.
It’s peak season for insects at Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve.
All photos taken 23 July.
Meadow Brown butterfly on vegetation next to the top pond
Bee on thistle
Dragonfly in the woodland ride – very hard to photograph on the wing
Nature lovers are invited to join a walk to explore the wildflower meadows, riverside grasslands and woodlands of St John’s Park estate in Chipping Sodbury.
The walk, which will be led by Mary Wood from Avon Wildlife Trust, takes place on Tuesday 21 July from 7pm.
South Gloucestershire Council has employed the Avon Wildlife Trust to renew the management plan for these open spaces so please come along to discover the wildlife and discuss how the areas should be managed in the future.
Anyone interested in joining the walk should meet at the bridge over the River Frome on Wickwar Road at 7pm.
If you need any further details please contact Chris Giles at South Gloucestershire Council on 01454 863725.
We also collected young trees we had cut down a while ago when coppicing in the Western Wood, and we took out some self-sown young ash that have appeared in the Upper Meadow.
We sharpened stout lengths of wood and drove them in as uprights, then filled in between them with heavy boughs as a foundation and then lighter branches on top.
Dead hedging is a traditional woodland management practice, and it works well with coppicing – in future we intend to use the coppiced wood as soon as we cut it. Previously we’ve left it to decay as habitat for insects etc, but it was too ready a source of firewood and much of it disappeared.
We had one more task to do before we finished. The diagonal path up through the Western Wood has been getting overgrown, so we cut back the brambles and cleared a way through.
Not bad for two and a half hours work! Our next work morning will be on Sunday 20 September – an early autumn tidy-up, including clearing leaf mould etc out of the little stream so that the centre of the wood doesn’t flood during winter rains. Please come and join us – ring Paul on 07771 562505 for details.
Dead hedging is making a barrier entirely from natural material, as shown in this drawing from the BTCV. Stakes are driven into the ground at intervals, and longer cut branches are woven between the stakes.
We are planning to collect material that we have previously coppiced from the Centenary Wood (see earlier post) and bring it down to locations where we want to create barriers to protect sensitive areas.
Please come along and help us – you can also collect your FREE copy of the new Nature Journal, if you haven’t already got one. You’ll need to wear suitable footwear. Tools and gloves will be provided.
We look forward to seeing you at 10.00 am at the Shire Way gate.
Our next few work mornings will be as follows:
Meet at 10 am at the Shire Way gate in each case.
This was a work morning with a difference, exploring the Reserve with the new Nature Journal.
Flora we spotted included hay rattle (a partly parasitic plant, drawing nutrient from grass), bird’s foot trefoil (otherwise known as bacon and eggs), cowslip seed pods, campion, and twayblade (one of the orchid family)
We identified many different bird species including wren, song thrush and green woodpecker.
