A Good Friday - the joy of friends

 With a lot of work to do before the bracken returns and a realisation that I was just not going to get it all done, I invited friends to form a working party on Good Friday. We were lucky with glorious weather and the 12 of us achieved a huge amount.



  • Old, nasty barbed wire from a disused fence with 5 strands of wire was delicately located and removed 

The wire runs between fence posts across the site - I have been told pigs used to be kept on this land which required this separation


Delicate work that requires patience and one of those jobs that just needs to be done once - thank you Emma!


Second box heading for the recycle centre in Kendal - when I took the first box they asked me if dated from WW1 !


  • Mulch mats were hammered in for nearly 50 trees



Mags tackled the orchard and worked methodically round the 13 trees already planted



  • 24 new trees were planted, mulch mats, tree guards and stakes added (8 yews, 8 wayfaring trees, 4 walnut, 1 Worcester apple tree, 1 crabapple tree, a hazel and a wild cherry tree). My brother donate these trees as his and his wife's contribution to the Queen's Green Canopy https://queensgreencanopy.org/. They were bought from the Woodland Trust who logged that the trees were for this purpose and also the cost of the trees was 'gift aided' enhancing the contribution to tree planting nationally https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/schools-and-communities/queens-green-canopy/





A wayfaring tree planting team got these beauties in. Wayfaring trees are known for being found beside paths on the way home. So these have been planted along a line which will be a path once the major tree planting has taken place and will guide me back to the gate on the road. I thought I hadn't heard of a wayfaring tree but a friend reminded me of this image - the wayfaring tree was logged under fairy in my brain:-




     



Gail and I got the 4 walnut saplings in. The nut was still visible attached to the sapling rather like a conker. I so hope these are successful and create a lovely smelling canopy over this corner of the wood at the edge of the damson orchard.






There was a team effort planting these tiny yew saplings. I have 3 lovely mature yew trees but decided to leave them out of the main planting scheme next year. It was pointed out to me that the current trees are not reproducing so giving some support would be helpful. We have now planted 8 new yew trees spread out but at the same line in the wood that the successful yew trees are located. 


I experienced a mixture of feelings planting these - on the one hand they are tiny and vulnerable but also yew trees can live 1,000 years. I have been back today to add some brash to see if that protects these saplings. I have also trained the camera on one which is located in an area with high badger activity.




I shall keep a close eye on these saplings.

  • Tree guards acquired from a neighbour's wood were used with the oak saplings recently planted - an upgrade from toilet roll middles!


  • Paths were opened removing gorse and uprooting brambles which is especially important as I have quite a few visitors looking around the wood at the moment. Florence and Tim did a brilliant job but I was otherwise occupied as they worked and didn't catch them in action but this is the result - the Maydor looking splendid and ready for visitors.




  • A row of gorse was pulled out by their roots to free space for tree planting next year. This is gorse that should have been removed by the contractors but I mistook one gate for another and left some standing where trees need to go. I am sorry to remove the gorse while it is in flower, but if it had been removed last year then the flowers would not have appeared this year at all.  This probably has created space for at least 40 trees which means I will honour the commitment made when applying for the grant. Emma, Jon and Cliff worked in the heat of the day to make a real difference here.







  • The wood store was completely cleared out and the logs cut last year were brought down to replenish stocks for fire building - John quietly worked away and went up and down the site 9 times. I will upload a photo of the now beautifully organised wood store next time I visit! A tidy woodstore is a thing of beauty! 





We kept the fire going all day (expertly started by Susanne), vegan sausage sandwiches were enjoyed, tea was drunk and marshmallows roasted. We got philosophical at one point. We had the company of Tizzy, Peppa and Abe who enjoyed the smells of wild animals. 



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We will do this again - making work fun is definitely the way forward.  Thanks to everyone for making it such a fun day.




 

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