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Reevy Mill Dam

A boat on the dam through the reeds
A large mill pond with nesting coots, moorhens and Canadian Geese that is popular with local fishermen.

Reevy Mill Dam, looking towards Buttershaw High SchoolReevy Mill Dam, looking towards Buttershaw High SchoolBEES manage this small wildlife space, adjacent to Wibsey Park, on behalf of the Council. Our main responsibilities are to keep the pathway open and remove litter. The grassland is managed to encourage wildflowers and the trees and shrubs are planted to attract wildlife.

The site, which is mainly a large mill pond with nesting coots, moorhens and Canadian Geese, is popular with local fishermen.

In June 2007 the Environment Agency carried out a brief survey of the pond. View the survey results

 
Geolocation

53.765227, -1.790428

Conservation Work

Friday 5th June: Reevy Mill Dam, Reevy Road, Buttershaw, BD6

Reevy Mill Dam Fri 5th June 2009Reevy Mill Dam Fri 5th June 2009

Today the group split to carry out work at two sites. In the morning one group carried out the finishing touches to the path and steps at the BEES Urban Nature Reserve. This was in readiness for the Breathing Places Open weekend. The end result looked very nice.

The rest of the group returned to Reevy Mill Dam and carried out work to install a bench, we now have three on site, litter collection and repairs to the footpath. There was sad news that a number of the fish had died at the pond, which is being investigated by the Council's Drainage Team and we reported it to the Environment Agency who suggested that the cause may be from lack of oxygen. But good news is that a pair of Canadian Geese have raised a brood of chicks, and appear to be developing well. Which was not surprising given the number of people who came to feed them during the course of the day.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people taking an interest in the wildlife at the pond. This is rewarding news for the volunteers who look after the site and for thanks for our 7 volunteers today.

See more photos of the day here and here 

 

 

Friday 16th October 2009: Reevy Mill Dam, Reevy Road, Wibsey, BD6

Friday 16th October 2009clearing the path

Today our group was joined by a group of young people from Prince's Trust and there was 26 people on site. Together we were able to make a real difference to the site and completed the task of stripping the overgrown turf from the path. We also carried out litter collecting, cutting the grass and pruning overhanging branches. This sets us up very well for next week when we will overlay a new surface and hope to complete the path improvement work.

Today we worked with 15 volunteers and 9 young people from Prince's Trust

Click here for other photos of the day.

Friday 24th September: Reevy Mill Dam, Reevy Road, Wibsey, BD6

keeping the path clearKeeping the path clearToday we made our annual trip on to the water to collect the litter which accumulates; this included traffic signs and plastic bottles. We also carried out our other annual job of cutting the grassed areas using the autoscythe and hand scythes, as well as the regular job of keeping the pathways open and collecting litter.

Today we worked with 18 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the day.

 

 

Friday 12th October 2012: Reevy Mill Dam, Reevy Road, Buttershaw, Bradford, BD6

The task today was mainly to cut and rake off the grass areas of the site. This will allow the grasses and wildflowers a chance to grow again next year and provide useful habitat for the insects and birds that visit the site. The grass was cut with the autoscythe and then raked off with hay rakes and taken to site edges with pitch forks. We also organised the boat to be on site and this gave us a chance to clear litter from the reeds around the edges of the pond. Two brave and willing souls braved the vessel and the elements and set off for the unknown. The journey revealed a surprising amount of debris like shed panels and footballs, which had to be carefully manoeuvred to get out of the water. Another job that we undertook was cutting back of the overhanging braches along the roadside. At the end of the day the site was looking very different to when we started.

Today we worked with 8 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the day.