Task Reports, January – April 2007

JANUARY

Sunday 8th

Whitewebbs Park

The first task of the year, and as has become tradition – we were pond clearing. The ponds in question were situated to the west of Flash Lane in Whitewebbs Park. 7 volunteers took up the challenge, removing fallen trees and debris from 3 dewponds of various sizes. Due to the dry Summer and Autumn, they were all fairly low and allowed reasonable access. ECV had worked on them in the dim and distant past, so a return visit was appreciated. The clearance will hopefully prevent the ponds from becoming silted up and disappearing altogether, retaining a variety of habitats present in this area of the woods.

Christina Lee

Sunday 21st

Tatem Park

Under blue skies and glorious sunshine, 2 Enfield Preservation Society members, 2 Friends of Tatem Park with 4 ECV members and 2 newcomers, who showed interest in future tasks, dismembered and removed a fallen tree from across the pathway to the children’s playground. Habitat piles were created from the brush and logs. Debris was dragged from the round pond. The hedge surrounding it was inspected and it was found to be full of gaps and in poor growth. The conclusion was that it was not fit for hedgelaying. On reflection, the taller hazels, hawthorns and blackthorns formed an attractive grove which was more in keeping with the ambience of the ornamental park.

Jill Kidger

FEBRUARY

Sunday 4th

Firs Farm Nature Reserve

Today the group returned to the hedge which it had worked on twice last winter. A year's growth was enough to show that the volunteers' hedgelaying had been quite successful: despite the bulk of some of the pleachers which had had to be laid in, the regrowth was vigorous from the base of the hedge, and the blackthorn which had been used to fill gaps had also grown.

With this encouragement, the volunteers began laying the next stretch of hedge. Progress was relatively quick, as this section did not include any previously laid hedge to be demolished (though, as usual, there was plenty of fly-tipped litter and rubble to be removed). There was a mix of tree species, mainly hawthorn, and most of a size quite convenient for laying. After about thirty more metres, the hedgeline ran into a clump of cherry laurel, and this marks the limit of how far this particular hedge can go: the laurel is not a suitable plant for laying, and beyond the laurel the trees were too large and too sparse.

Of the nine volunteers who attended, three had not previously done any hedgelaying, and they, along with the rest, were delighted that the hedge had been completed so rapidly and sturdily.

Steve Mathieson

Sunday 18th

Forty Hall Park

Returning to Forty Hall for the first time this year, we continued our efforts to slow the progression of the woodland from encroaching upon the meadows in front of the hall. Over the last few years (30 or so) the trees from around the river have been allowed to spread up towards the house. We are attempting to gradually reverse that trend by thinning and removing the new growth of oak and other trees before they have a chance to develop further. This work will allow the restoration of the meadows to their original state, opening back up the vista as might have been viewed as far back as Elizabethan times. A full attendance today of 11 volunteers made light work of the task, ensuring that the grass mowers can keep the area in trim and not allow any (or too much) new growth.

Robin Herbert

MARCH

Sunday 4th

Trent Country Park

On a very, very wet Sunday 9 volunteers once again set out to clear the encroaching rhododendron at Shaws Wood near the bridleway. People have different views of Rhododendron, you either love it or hate it (just like Marmite!). Many people think it is very attractive when in flower and with its evergreen glossy leaves makes a good barrier. But it is an ornamental plant introduced during Victorian times which has no place in a country park. Wildlife cannot eat or nest in it, it poisons the ground so nothing else can grow there. Because it spreads easily by means of suckers or just layering itself wherever it touches the ground, it can quickly take over an area. ECV are on a campaign to restrict this “thug” and will make more visits to this site (in better weather we hope) to contain it and give native species a chance to regenerate.

Judy Mayo

Sunday 18th

Trent Country Park

During one of the windy spells in late winter a large sycamore was brought down in the nature trail. This was one of the last sycamores of seed-bearing size in this wood, so its demise was greeted with some delight. On the downside, the falling tree had demolished a sleeper bridge over the brook, as well as the dead hedge which the volunteers had carefully constructed some months previously. Although the dead hedge was seriously mangled, its function as a barrier was effectively taken over by ten tons of tree. The bridge was beyond repair, with even the old railway sleepers being too crunched to be reusable, and so a replacement was needed a few yards upstream.

Eleven volunteers, including one new member, attended, and half the team set about building the new bridge. The bank was cut away, and half-sleepers set into it as bearers. Three sleepers were then laid across, and nailed and staked in place. When this was done, the bridge team joined the rest of the volunteers in the battle against the sycamores. As the winch was not available to pull out the stumps, most of the work involved using billhooks and loppers to cut off the regrowth of trees felled in previous years. In addition, a few of the smaller stumps were grubbed up with mattocks.

Sycamores are tenacious, and their regrowth is vigorous, so progress is always slow in clearing them from an area, but, comparing the nature trail now to what it was a few years ago, there seems to be a big difference. It may be that a more natural flora will now be coming in to replace the sycamore scrub: at least the woodland floor will no longer be getting a sprinkling of winged seeds from one large tree.

Steve Mathieson

APRIL

Sunday 1st

Hilly Fields Park

Eleven volunteers accepted the April Fools Day task by pretending to be sheep. An area of Hilly Fields close to the Fallow Buck pub is homes to a colony of yellow meadow ants. These ants excavate large mounds in meadowland but need sunlight to warm the mounds to survive. In olden days sheep would graze the area which keep the vegetation down, but in Hilly Fields ECV are used!. Young growth from silver birch and encroaching brambles were cleared from around the mounds while other members of the group cleared large areas of bramble to widen the habitat area available to the ants. Unfortunately one of these bramble patches turned out to be home to a very large grass snake, who after having its photo taken, was relocated away from danger. You never know what you will find on an ECV task.

Judy Mayo

Sunday 15th

Arnos Park

We return nearly a year later to Arnos Park, to complete (or nearly complete) the fence dividing the nature area from the childrens play area. As well as extending the post-and-rail fence, we also strengthened the existing fence by putting in supporting posts halfway along the rails. Yet again, a very hot day, just like last year, so we were very glad to reach the end point of the fence where we left a gap for a large five-bar gate to be installed (something we are doing later in the year in the next programme). We were also joined by a group of volunteers from Community Service Volunteers (www.csv.org.uk), Go London branch. Four enthusiastic helpers added to our seven ECV volunteers. As well as clearing some fallen trees, they created two Stag beetle homes - holes in the ground filled with branches standing upright. We shall see when we return later in the year if the beetles like their new high-rise apartment block!

Robin Herbert