BEES Urban Nature Reserve

A productive day, the grass was cut using scythes and sickles and a clear path for groups was mown. We cleared duckweed from the ponds and removed branches from the woodland area where there are species rich areas of wildflowers, to encourage them to spread and made habitat piles from the branches. We also removed wood avens and other unwanted plants.

The new benches were painted  with linseed oil to preserve them. The oil has really brought out the colour of the red cedarwood. 
 

We completed the benches today and laid the woodchip along the paths and seating areas and it all looks fantastic. Volunteers also cleared back some branches that were damaged or encroaching on the paths around the site and created habitat piles from the arisings. 

Our delivery of woodchip and benches came this morning, both consisting of locally sourced red cedarwood, so we  cleared the last of the woodchip from the paths in preparation and started constructing the new benches.

Continuing with work to renew the BEES Urban Nature Reserve, as part of our Postcode Local Trust grant; today we replaced the old steps that lead down to the site.  We planted some trees, holly and guelder rose, to form a shrub layer to provide added cover and food for birds. We also did some clearing of vegetation in the woodland area and on the meadow on the railway cutting. 

Continuing the management of the pond, as part of a project of renewal of the ponds and site, through this coming year, that is funded by the Postcode Local Trust. Today we removed the piles of pond vegetation that we had left at the edge last time, to give any pond life chance to get back to the pond. We raked fallen autumn leaves from around the pond edges to prevent them blowing in and from the surface of the water to try to prevent a build up of rotting organic matter in the pond. 

Making a start today on a project of renewal at the Nature Reserve.

We kicked off our Postcode Local Fund year by clearing felled timber from around the ponds, manually re-cutting the grass paths and removing litter accumulated around one seating area.  This was a good opportunity to take a look at the site and consider what the priorities for management will be over the next 12 months.

We decided not to remove vegetation from the ponds this autumn as the growth over the summer seems to have been limited, perhaps due to the shade from the trees.

We cut all areas of the meadow and vegetation around the pond and dug out some of the nettles, scattering wildflower seed from the Bradford Bee Keepers in the exposed soil. We removed a vast quantity of litter; fly tipping from All Saints Road continuing to be a big problem. 

We are going to need to replace the wooden benches as quite a few have rotten.  
 

We returned to the Reserve to continue with the tree thinning to allow more light onto the woodland bank and into the ponds. Coppicing the hazel and some ash on the bank has made a big impact. 

On the woodland side of the pond we tackled the large overhanging willow. We successfully removed one large branch, but this was really at the limits of our ability and endurance with hand tools. There was one ash we had our eyes on but have realised that if we are going to tackle this we will need help from a chain saw (and operator). 

Although things have improved a bit, there is still evidence of drug use.  It seems sensible to seek some funding to buy in a cleansing service, a tree surgeon and some timber to place some of the benches. 

We started our winter programme of tree thinning and branch removal today. We cut the coppiced hazel on the bank, and immediately we could tell more light will be getting to the ground to help the flowers. A key aim is to allow more light onto the ponds, to this end we wanted to remove some of the large over hanging branches from the ash trees. The task wasn’t without its excitement - high and heavy branches - but we have made a successful start and will continue when we return in January. 

The university removed 3 skip loads of fly-tipped waste last week. The banking is looking much better, but there is still rubbish to clear on our next visit. 

27th Oct 2017We haven’t been to the Reserve much this summer, with none of our regular schools groups visiting due to the anti-social behaviour that we have had to deal with. So when we arrived it was looking a bit unloved and abandoned. However, it was amazing what we achieved – all the meadow areas and paths were cut and raked, and over hanging branches cut back.

We decided not to remove vegetation from the pond as it was quite sparse in relation what we normally experience at this time of year. However, the lower pond was covered in a film of oil so we did need to address this. We used newspaper and paper towels to absorb the oil. We didn’t have enough to finish the job, but made a good start.

Whilst sitting for lunch we were aware of the lovely autumn sunshine, but none of it is reaching the ponds or grassland (or us). We will schedule a couple of days in the winter to coppice hazel on the bank and remove a few other trees. The long-tailed tits kept us company all day.