Meltham Kop

Steve, Cath, and Ben (photo by Duncan)

Today, courtesy of the Woodland Trust and Ikea, we began planting 420 more trees on Meltham Kop. The trees were the Woodland Trust's "wildlife pack" designed to enhance food and shelter for a variety of birds and small mammals. We were: myself, Philip, Jess, Dianne (and Lizzie the dog), Cath, Geoff, Trevor, Brian, Vashti, Steve, Hap, Ben, Duncan (and Harvey the dog), Neil, Julia, and Ramsay. We were using recycled stakes and guards, collected by the Senior Section. Nice and bright morning, but damn windy.

Lizzie the dog and Jess

Reclaim and re-use

Brian, Trevor and Peter

A rare photo feature for the Senior Section today. Brian, Trevor, Peter and Dianne were at Marsden Golf course removing stakes and guards. With the help of the young un Jess were were able to bluetooth the photo off Dianne's blackberry onto my phone.

Guy and Philip, and many many deer guards.

The rest of us were at Scammonden removing deer stakes and guards for re-use at Parkwood. We were: myself, Vashti, Hap, Peter T, Steve, Philip, Guy, Neil, Andrew, Duncan and Harvey the Dog, Jess, Geoff and Remy. Cake was a kind of almond free cherry bakewell.

Other notable events of the morning. Hap kindly donated several prizes for the raffle to be held at the 50th, and we met Roger and Richard in the Sair, and they have very generously sponsored our room booking at the Broad Oak Bowling Club.

Back to Butterley

This morning we were back at Butterley Reservoir above Marsden, preparing to plant 400 trees that are coming to us from the Woodland Trust. We took 80 stakes and guards up with us, and then dug as many screefs as we could in the Molinia grass above "Where birds go to die". The Molinia grass is that golden (dry) looking windswept stuff, and there is no shortage of it. We were: myself, Geoff, Philip, Dave, Dan, Dianne, Peter, Trevor, Vashti, Steve, Hap and Remy. Cake was ginger, with lumps of stem ginger in it. Hopefully the trees will arrive at the National Trust Office this week, and we will be planting next Saturday.

Wholestone Moor, once moor

Ben and Geoff looking damp, but undiminished.

Continual heavy rain, wind and cold made it a gruelling morning for the three of us - me, Ben and Peter. But we got on with the task and planted, staked and guarded 50 quick-growing and hardy Italian alder trees to help with the slow growth of the trees planted on the site a few years ago. We enjoyed a brief break in the driving rain to eat some lovely cake (we could not identify it specifically but the general feeling was that it was a classic, almost like Plato's 'perfect cake'). Peter had to leave not long after the break leaving me and Ben to finish off. Two and a half hours or so later and the damp had well and truly seeped through but the work was done and the warmth of the Sair fire and a pint was very welcome.

Geoff

PS Simon, Guy and Philip were at the nursery, bagging logs and talking to a reporter from the Huddersfield Examiner. Many more people turned up for the mid-season meeting at 1pm in the Sair.

PPS Duncan and Harvey were at Merrydale, doing formative pruning?

Harvey, heroic wilderness hound.