Woodland management at Guy Edge

Before.

After

Today we were at Guy Edge, Linthwaite. A very early CVTS planting site, from the 1960s. The land is owned by Kirklees and we have an official management plan drawn up in collaboration with their Forestry Officer. Today we were mainly clearing brambles and low hanging branches from footpaths. At some point we will return and fell a proportion of the numerous Corsican Pine on site. We were: myself, Philip, Dianne and Lizzie the dog, Hap and Steve. Guy popped along briefly to advise. Cake was chocolate brownies. A good morning's work, and good weather too.

Planting prep in Autumn sunshine

A lovely Autumn morning. We were myself, Jess, Dianne and Lizzie the dog, Ben, Geoff and Dave. We took 100 Hare guards and stakes, and 60 Deer guards and stakes up to Butterley Clough. I spent some time pruning the trees near the golf course second stile, since we will be carrying a lot more gear through there in the coming months. Seemed a good idea to make way. Stakes and guards are safely stashed on site ready for when new trees arrive. Lemon drizzle cake at break time (which was a bit late, as I lost track of time). Towards the end we helped Dave with his wildflower Meadow experiment. Which involves clearing a patch of Bracken and it's attendant root system, ready to be sown with seed in the Spring. Spoke to Bobby in the Sair and our pre-season meeting is now listed on their calendar.

Bramble on!

An enormously sweaty morning attempting to loosen the stranglehold of brambles on our young trees at Fieldhouse. We were: myself, Steve, Geoff, Philip, Dave, Hap, Duncan and Harvey the Dog. Guy and Mandy were working at the nursery. Cake was an improvised currant, cherry, choc-chip affair. There were a mysteriously large number of carrier bags in amongst the trees. Abandoned by blackberriers?

Parkwood Revisited

Philip amongst the White Willow

This morning we took a trip up to Parkwood in Golcar. Planted over 3 seasons from 2012 onwards there are trees at various stages of growth across the field. We were very pleased with progress. Willow and Alder are doing well in the wet parts of the field, and Downy Birch was growing well in the dryer centre. Deer guards have been well worth the money, as planting done with canes and spirals has suffered from deer browsing. We retrieved 36 stakes and a similar number of guards for re-use this Winter. We were, myself, Steve, Philip and Ben. Cake was apple flapjack.