Newsletter

The first event on the programme will be a tidy up of Entrance Coppice, Thornton Wood. This will be removing some of the brash and brambles which have overgrown the brash piles. This will allow the smothered carpets of bluebells under the brash piles to recover and flourish. Hopefully, also prevent Entrance Coppice from being overgrown by brambles in its early stages of the coppice cycle and leave plenty of space for the spring flowers such as bluebell and wood sorrel to proliferate as well as the coppice regrowth. The volunteers have bought two multi-cultivator heads to help remove bramble crowns, which come out remarkably easily from the soft woodland soils.

There is a Volunteers’ Christmas Party in Bebington. Let Paul know if you want to come along. Bring a contribution to share. The following day projects continue at New Ferry Butterfly Park with hedgelaying, coppicing and turf removal.

At Thornton Common betwixt Christmas and New Year there will be hedgelaying along the eastern enclosure hedge, willow removal, oaks re-pollarded of south of the ponds and some of the oaks in the centre can have their crowns lifted or thinned to help with the spread of heather in the strip between the main western and eastern ponds. If you cannot make it to the tasks, feel free to pop by and say hello and grab some tea and homemade cake.

In the new year the group’s 40^th season starts at New Ferry Butterfly Park, continuing with coppicing on the embankment, cutting the ash and hazel to benefit primroses which in turn benefit early flying bumble bee queens and brimstone butterflies. Turf striping over the railway ballast beds will continue as it is one of the best ways to create a wildflower grassland rapidly.

The 39^th AGM is at Windsor Close Community Centre; it will be followed by a slide show of activities over the year. It is a chance to improve and develop the group further and for members to contribute more to the group. A fortnight later there will be a group meal and meeting at the Bridge Inn, Port Sunlight, to develop the next events programme and other group activities and projects. Ideas on how we should celebrate 40 years of the group’s existence welcome.

At Home Farm, Landican, the volunteers will be expanding their hedgerow network there by planting a mixed species hedge.

The productive hazel and sweet chestnut coppice under the pylons will be cut at Eastham Country Park. Do come along to enhance the ground flora and sustain the group’s hedge laying activities.

The 20^th WCV Cheshire style hedgelaying training event will take place near the gas works opposite ASDA, Woodchurch Road. Please book so that we have enough resources to run the event. Volunteers will retire to the Seven Stars, Thornton Hough, for a post event meal.

The next two-events are dedicated to the award-winning New Ferry Butterfly Park. In March the volunteers will finish off the last of the vegetation management and collect the arisings. In April, the volunteers will be preparing the park for the summer visitor season.

Finally, there will be a spring walk around upper Dibbinsdale, a chance to check out the wonderful ground flora there, the coppice regrowth so far and assess the forthcoming autumn harvest of hedging stakes from Quarter Bank Coppice. Natural England’s review and assessment of the state of this part of the Dibbinsdale SSSI will be available then, so their recommendations can be discussed.