Task Reports

Please contact the office if you are interested in volunteering and we will discuss details.

Conservation Work - Past

Bolton St James Church garden

Bolton Road, BD2 4LH

Returning to the church after Shaping Spaces program made a start at digging over the church garden and the back getting it ready for the raised beds and path to be installed as agreed.

The young people appeared to have made good progress with the initial work and so our task was that little bit easier. With a strong showing from our volunteers we managed to make slow but steady progress with clearing out the rubble and weeds...

The beds were marked and measured out and the beginnings of the flag stone path was laid down

 

Culture Fusion

125 Thornton Road BD1 2EP

It's that time once again; today we are working at our base in the under-croft area where some of our equipment are stored along with the Culture Fusion Meadow.

Part of the team spent their time assigned to the task of tidying up the store area. With a concerted effort we were able to restore a little order to the under-croft and storage sheds and even managed to assess the condition of some of our tools and equipment.

Meanwhile the other part of the team spent their day working on the meadow removing some of the more dominant species and tending to the raised beds.

Tree planting with Forest of Bradford near Holmfirth.

Our planned trip to Otterburn had to be changed today as the ground conditions were too wet to get the materials to the planting site. Instead we travelled south to within view of the Peak District. We were helping with the Woodland Trust scheme at Hepworth, fairly near Holmfirth. 

There was a wetter section in the middle of the field, where aspen and willow were planted. The other species included hazel, oak, birch and hornbeam (not a species we normally plant). 

It was satisfying to get the job completed, with all trees planted, staked and guarded securely.

 

Tree planting with Forest of Bradford

Queensbury Area

Sorry – I forgot the ropes! This was a challenging steep site and there was more than one gentle tumble on the hillside. Our group of 11, including 3 first timers, worked hard to complete the job. 

We succeeded in planting all 500 trees in the two planting areas. Species included Oak, Rowan, Alder, Wild Cherry, Birch and Willow. It was a cold day and exposed site. By the afternoon the low cloud had cleared and we had views across to Mixenden and the moorland above Ogden Reservoir. 

The two areas will create shelter and woodland habitat in what is an exposed valley, and will connect to other areas planted in recent years.  There is an area that Forest of Bradford planted 14 or 15 years ago. It looks healthy, but the fact that the trees took a long time to get going reflect the harsh growing conditions

 

 

Upper Wharfedale - tree planting

near Buckden
Upper Wharfedale 11th March 2016

Today a group of 16 of us travelled to Buckden in Upper Wharfedale area of North Yorkshire to help with the planting scheme within an area of managed woodland. The National Trust is managing the project and Peter left us quite a big pile of trees to plant! The mix was designed to replace several cleared clusters of felled none native tree species.

The work was swift on the whole as the soil was relatively easy to dig with little obstructions such as rocks etc. though the area of woodland being worked did have an incline. The trees were being staked and guarded, planted randomly within dense clusters, grouping to allow for losses as well as returning the woodlands to a more natural state. 

Towards the end of the day we ventured onto an area that seemed to be mainly rocky etc., so it became harder to find adequate depth for the roots. Despite this we made a good contribution to the planting scheme. 

There are some photos here. 

Residential; Hutton Roof Crags

Residential 4th-6th March 2016

We are now true regulars at Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s site at Hutton Roof Crags and we weren’t going to let a few inches of snow put off our journey over the A65. Luckily, the roads were clear enough to make a safe journey and by the time we passed through Ingleton the snow had all but disappeared and we had glorious weather for the rest of the weekend.

We have made this the destination for our winter residential, not only because it is a lovely place and we get a great welcome from Wal and his volunteers, but because we are pleased to be able to help with the habitat management on this National Nature Reserve. The woodland management is designed with butterflies in mind, in particular the High Brown Fritillary. Rides are being widened through the woodland to enable the butterflies to fly between areas, and areas are being coppiced to allow the ground flora to flourish, including the violets which are the foodplant of the fritillaries. 

So, we were clearing brash, stoking fires and felling trees and moving logs so they can be taken away and put to use. We also got the chance to see how Dan the charcoal maker loads and fires his kiln.  

Same time next year? 

 

Sydenham Place Community Garden

back Sydenham Place, BD3

31st July 2015Today a group of 12 of us traveled to the CommunityGarden located in the Sydenham Place area of Undercliffe to carry on helping the local residents in creating an accessible wildlife garden. A couple of the group were assigned the task of constructing and placing the bird boxes up into the trees. Another small group were assigned the task of litter picking and pruning back in order to clear the way for a channel to be dug out extending from the unfinished brick block pathway; this will help make the site more accessible. 

A weed barrier cloth was then laid over the soil creating a form for the path. Then reclaimed bricks were prepared by ensuring they are cleaned of any old mortar and cut to the required size using hammer and chisel before lying down over the fabric underlay.

Meanwhile a team tackled the task of measuring the height, length and angel of the slope so we were able to estimate the need of 4 step risers to climb the slope as a means to join up two section of the pathway. The timber was then cut to the required length and evenly spaced out before being staked in place. Finally the step risers were then back filled with soil and compressed until level so to create a surface to walk on.

See more photos and end results here. 

Bowling Park Community Orchard

in the allotments on Bowling Park Drive

Today we completed the winter pruning of the apple trees. We also turned the compost heaps and gave the trees a feed of compost, and a handful or so of seaweed and fine charcoal (a by-product of our barbeque charcoal making that we understand helps to make minerals more accessible to the tree). The shed had a spring clean and was made secure. 

Two years ago Sue and I went to a grafting workshop and ‘created’ two new trees – Aklam Russet and Yorkshire Greening. Today we planted them. They are still fairly small, but make welcome additions to our selection of trees as they will both store well. 

Bradford Apple Group have been successful in receiving a grant form Sovereign Healthcare, who wanted the money to go towards the management of the orchard.