February tasks

Been too busy too post much recently, but will try and catch up in the next week or so.

We have run several more tasks including one at Riverside Park, Horley.  It was another bitter, snowy day, but we had good numbers of volunteers turn out for a spot of hedgelaying.  The site is a splendid little green lung caught between the A23 and a housing estate, but it has a variety of habitats including a small lake, scrub and woodland and the Gatwick Stream runs through the length of the site, joining with the River Mole.

This is the second time we have laid this particular section of hedge, the first being five years ago.  In that time a healthy lot of new growth has come up from the stems that we cut and laid over.  Hedgelaying is a very satisfying thing to do because you can make a big visual difference in a day.

The finished hedge is certainly nowhere near the exhibition standards you see at hedgelaying competitions, but none of the volunteers have a lot of experience in the art, and several were complete beginners.  So well done everyone!

We have also been up to Banstead Woods, for the annual megabash of rhododendron.  Lots of rhodie was cut and burnt, but I can't tell you much more as I was part of the kitchen crew, catering for the 150 or so volunteers that come!

We also had another rhodie bonfire ourselves, last Sunday, tidying up some cut last summer.  Finally today we were coppicing some hazel in Glovers Wood, in Charlwood, another of the Woodland Trust sites we frequent.  We had rain, rather than snow, or sleet, which sort of made a change.....but nevertheless 15 brave souls came out, so it was a really successful day, just too wet to be taking photos!