December 2010 Workday

The December workday required the collection and disposal of various lumps of fallen branches as part of a tidy up around the orchard at Hall o'the Heath farm.  Chris and Dave had prepared baked potatoes that required heating up ready for an early lunch whilst the frost and snow were still around.

Baked Potatoes cooking on our traditional December bonfire.

Visit to Redstone Willows in Alsager

Examples of willow work at the Redstone Willows centre in Alsager, in a range of different coloured varieties.  Haslington Conservation Volunteers have planted and maintained a hazel copse in Haslington - we were very pleased to find an outlet for our cut hazels in Redstone Willows.  

The examaple of willow weaving chosen for us was a Christmas bell.  Take a wooden base and insert 6 similar sized lengths of willow in a circle.  Start the weaving process - over one and past the next.  The rate of incline is adjusted by the alignment of the active strand, as the work spirals upwards.

At all times ensure that you do not knock your mug of coffee off the worktable.

Use of the bodkin to finish off the loop on top of the
bell.

By adjusting the size and number of loops on the top a winged Christmas angel can be formed.

Preparing for the top loop to be added to the bell.A very personal example.

Rare photo of the blog author.

November Tree Planting and Bird Box Survey

On a beautifully bright November Sunday the work day for the Haslington Conservation Volunteers involved two tasks.  Firstly replacing a dead tree on Park Road and secondly inspecting various bird boxes in an end of season survey.

A pair of Whitebeam's had been planted about 5 years ago either side of the private road from Park Road to Haslington Hall.  Unfortunately flooding caused by a blocked field drain resulted in the Southerly tree drowning.  The drains have now been cleared and the tree was given a last chance to regrow this past year but unfortunately a replacement was required.



Dead Whitebeam to the South of the road

 



The northerly tree had survived the flooding to produce an excellent crop of berries for the winter.

The dead tree is cut down and the roots removed before the fresh tree from Siddington is replanted.

Colin is normally to be seen leaning on a spade but on this occasion its our colleague Sarah.

The new tree is safely enclosed in its animal proof enclosure.

Another section of the Haslington Conservation Volunteers set off with extending ladders to check what use had been made in the past year of some of the many bird boxes installed by the group.

Sarah is cleaning out box 34 in an oak tree near to Haslington Hall.  As can be seen below the box was stuffed full of grass and root material together with a large quantity of dry dusty soil.

Colin shows the contents of a second box which appears to include chicken feathers in the matrix.  The actual egg laying area was tunneled into the nesting material, complete with maggots.

The morning sunshine brought out many walkers including the webmaster of the Haslington Parish website who reports on our activities here.  http://www.haslington.org/news/local-news/new-tree-planting.html





 





Crocus Planting in Haslington

Haslington Conservation Volunteers helped the Rotary Club of Haslington to plant 400 crocus bulbs on a sunny Sunday morning.  The bulb planting is part of the Rotary Polio Eradication project, the purple crocus flowers in the Spring symbolise the little fingers of children who have just received the polio vaccination [a little finger is dipped in purple dye to prove they have been vaccinated]. The picture shows Jan Lewis from the Rotary Club of Haslington along with Haslington Conservation Volunteers Dave Griffen.
The bulbs were planted next to the trees provided by the Haslington Guides last Autumn behind Shelburne Drive.  All but two of the trees appear to have had a good year.

Workday Sunday 3rd October 2010

A message from Ron

"This Sunday is our workday and we will meet as usual at Waterloo Road car park at 9.00am.  From there we're going up to Hall o'the Heath.  We hope to cut and rake the wildflower meadow but if Dave is unable to cut the meadow for us, we will do some tree planting instead."

Sadly the workday was postponed due to the very heavy rain.

Orchard work Sept 5th

The orchard at Hall o'the Heath farm developed by the Haslington Conservation Volunteers.  ready for its yearly tidy.

The grass and brambles were cut back from the whole area and thrown into the neighbouring fields for the cattle to feast upon.

The volunteer workforce taking a food break of essential biscuits and coffee.

The volunteers with Cheshire East Ranger Alistair.

September Work Day - Sunday 5th

A message from Ron....
"Just a reminder that this Sunday we'll be back up to Hall o'the Heath to do some tidying up work (strimming and hedge cutting) in the orchard. This will be our first workday with the new ranger, Alistair, and I'm sure we will all make him welcome."

August Work Day at Hazel Copse

Hazel Copse August 2010.  The undergrowth and Hazel have shot up after the recent rain and warm weather.  Some more of the Hazel should be ready for coppicing this winter. 

Replacement and extra fence posts were required to keep the cattle out of the copse.  Dave and Julian use the post driver while Colin in his Dickies work trousers pulls the barbed wire out of the way.

Ron concentrated on reinforcing one of the corner posts that the cattle love to use for scratching.

Chris working on straightening up the leaning posts.  The area should now be secure from sheep and cattle ready for the winter.

August Workday - invitation from Ron

The usual invitation from Ron
"A short note to remind you that this Sunday, 1st August is a workday and we will be repairing the fence round the hazel coppice in Robert Leech's field.
Colin and myself had a meeting with the ranger on Tuesday at Hall o'the Heath and we also had a look at the hedge at Crewe Green Church. Colin will fill you in with the details of what was discussed on Sunday.
Hope to see you all at 9.00am on the car park."

HCV Summer Outing 2010 part 2

Following the visit to Wilmslow, it was then a quick trip over to Teggs Nose Country Park just off the Macclesfield to Buxton Road.

A circular walk from the visitor centre led down towards the lower slopes and back up to the quarry where we regrouped.

Old Quarry machinery.

June work day - Sunday 6th June

A message from Ron 

"We meet again this Sunday when we'll be repairing the fence around the hazel coppice in Robert Leech's field.  Colin won't be with us due to a prior arrangement with SECOS.  Hope you can make it and hope the rain keeps off!

 

I'd also like to add a plug for my walk on the following Sunday, 13th June, starting at 10.30am from Waterloo Road car park."

May Work Day - Bird Boxes

A message from Ron


A reminder that this Sunday, 2nd May we will be making bird boxes at Zan. Haslington folk will meet at Waterloo Road car park at 9.00am as usual, people from the Sandbach area meet at Zan for 9.15am.

Let's hope it's a fine day so we can work outside. Look forward to seeing you all.

April work Day - Coppicing

The April work day took place on 28th March to avoid Easter. Finishing the coppicing work in the Hazel Copse that was started back in February.

The copse was planted about 10 years ago with the intention of coppicing the Hazels on a 10 year rotation.  Given how fast they have grown we may now move to a 4 year rotation.

The intention is to leave nice clean cuts near the ground that will produce re-growth during the coming year.  We were a little late in the year fininshing the cutting, with sap running from the cuts.

The hazels cut back a couple of years ago are regrowing well.

The coppiced wood was divided into three, larger pieces with interesting shapes will be used for garden furniture, smaller pieces will be used in hazel hurdles, and the remainder was used to reinforce the hedge to keep out the sheep.

The copse after we had finished for the day.

Transport to the willow weavers of Alsager.

Spring Trees

Spring Trees in bright sunshine at Hall o'the Heath Farm, Haslington March 2010

March Work Day - Tree Guards March 2010

The March task required the construction of a large tree guard around various trees planted at the Hall o'the Heath farm in Haslington.  It was a very bright clear morning, with the sun rapidly melting the frozen surface of the fields.

February Work Task 7th Feb 2010

Coppicing

A message from Ron

"Just a reminder that Haslington Conservation Volunteers meet this Sunday at 9.00am on Waterloo Road car park. We will not have a ranger with us, Brian having retired, so we will use our own tools. (Please remember to bring gloves). It will be more convenient to walk to Robert Leech's field.


Let coppicing commence, hopefully without too much rain. See you on Sunday."

January 3rd 2010 Work Day

Message from Ron regarding this months work day...

"I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year. Our first meeting of 2010 is this Sunday - gathering, as usual, at Waterloo Road car park before heading off to Crewe Green Church where we'll be cutting the hedge. This will be our last workday with Brian who is due to retire on the 29th of this month. I know we would like to wish him all the best for the future and thank him for all his help and advice."

This is work on the hedge between the graveyard extension and the open fields that we have worked on in the past.  We need to ensure that the trees within the hedge are safely established.