Enhancing the Valley for wildlife and informal recreation
The programme for the Volunteers is open to all and in a wide spread of locations. Relevant to the Yare Valley this month is the clearing of brambles in the Bluebell Woods (Eaton Park) on the 7th October, and the trimming of hedges at Eaton Burial Ground on the 10th October. These two locations are important stepping stones in connecting the Yare Valley Green Corridor with the surrounding ecological network.
The full programme is here.
A lot going on this month, as Mark Webster explains:
After a fire and brimstone summer, we are already moving into a sort-of autumn with leaves falling from the trees, the football is back already (did it ever go away?) and so here and now is your September activity programme, packed with useful things to do, but also the chance to discover much more about our threatened wildlife. We always try to include a little bit of learning on our sessions (whether that’s how to use traditional tools, the history of the places we work at, or a bit about the animals we spot) but this month we will especially focus on the flora, as from 9th September our Wild Plant Wednesdays will include a look at the varied plantlife of the sites we are working at in a bit more detail.
As for the actual practical action, we will be doing several task days to help look after Mousehold Heath, where the remaining habitats there are even more precious after a devastating fire, and we will also be paying some extra attention to Smockmill Common, expanding the central meadow area by cutting back encroaching brambles etc. There’s a welcome return to Alderford Common, a site packed with historic interest and nationally significant levels of biodiversity, plus everywhere from a small hidden, private woodland glade (Alpington) to some very popular and vital green spaces right in the centre of Norwich (Ketts Cave, Netherwood Green) all of which have lovely meadow areas amongst their important trees.
Please do encourage anyone who you think could benefit from getting out to join us whenever they can: wildlife needs all the help it can get right now, and we really appreciate anyone giving a few hours to help out. Oh, and they will definitely* enjoy it too!
The full programme for September is here.
The Conservation Volunteers offer opportunities to volunteer every weekday in various locations in Norfolk. From time to time they offer specialist training.
This month on Friday 7th August they will be in Bowthorpe Southern Park pulling up ragwort to help protect the animals that graze there.
All details of the programme and training are in Mark Webster’s letter.
Many other opportunities to give nature a helping hand in the Valley, but more often further afield, are available through the Conservation Volunteers organised by Mark Webster. The July programme, and Mark’s letter of the month are here.
Another full progamme this month, with quite a lot of attention going to the Wensum River Valley. Mark Webster writes:
“…We are all about the flowers this month, protecting newly seeded wildflower areas by removing more aggressive weeds, controlling bracken to enable a much wider range of heathland plants to thrive, and (of course) visiting lots of beautiful riverside sites, many that the public don’t get to see, to remove the dreaded Himalayan Balsam from the Wensum catchment before it can affect the Broads. We really do get to see some of the loveliest parts of Norfolk from the upper tributaries to almost the heart of Norwich.
So I hope you can send us more people soon, as we go Way Upstream into the Heart Of Darkness Hellesdon and beyond…”
Mark’s full letter, and the June programme is here.
All are welcome to join in the conservation activities. This monthly the activities include dealing with invasive plants such as yellow archangel, and in the Yare Valley at Bluebell woods next to Eaton Park, giving some tlc to some recently planted trees. Mark Webster’s full letter and programme are here.
On the 25 to 26th April Norwich Community Gardens Festival will celebrate and make better known the work of many volunteers who give time to caring for green spaces around the City. You can come along and support the volunteers in a range of activities across the City. Included is an opportunity to meet volunteers at Danby Wood in the Yare Valley between 9am and 3pm on Sunday 26th.
Other attractions are a Norwich Tales and Trails Puzzle Walk, a bike ride, a herb propagation workshop and a children’s Spotting and Activity Sheet.
All the details can be found at here.
Mark Webster of the Conservation Volunteers writes:
“Not sure if it’s Spring or not yet? The weather is variable but we will be staying out all month, although we do have our semi-indoor Jolly Trips this month too: these are our much-loved and much-anticipated ‘works outings’ where we go to places chosen by some of our regular volunteers for a work-free day out. These ‘thank you’ days are open to all existing volunteers (including Easton students) although if any day is oversubscribed then preference will be given to those who have done the most task days with us already. Please do ask any eligible people to book for these days as soon as you can by contacting me ( 07740 899 691 / mark.webster@tcv.org.uk ) or telling their leader during a task day.
There are still some actual practical tasks to do as well though, including wildflower planting at two new Broadland sites, removing invasive species (no, not balsam yet!) and various jobs to keep pathways open across Norfolk so that people can get into their local green spaces even when the weeds start to grow up!
Whether volunteers are joining us at Sainsburys in Norwich or on-site, please can I suggest that you ask them to leave enough time to get to the meeting point BEFORE the minibus arrives. We usually have to get on to the work area as soon as we do arrive, and we don’t want them to miss their chance to join us. At some sites it can be difficult to find us once we have left the meeting point, but if they are lost or running late they can call or text (or whatsapp) 07740 899 691. I will see if I can direct them on to where the team are – or get someone to come and find them (if we can do this without disrupting the rest of the team too much). It is also worth noting that parking can sometimes be extremely limited near to where we are actually working, hence the need for a meeting point with spaces, but perhaps some distance from where we are working.”
The full programme can be found here.
The Conservation Volunteers are looking forward to Spring with their activities this month. The hedge cutting season will end shortly to avoid the main bird nesting season from March to August, but hedge planting will continue apace. There are plenty of other conservation activities as well. If you would like to give your support the monthly programme from Mark Webster is here.
Learn a new skill of building a leaky dam. Is there a place for such dams on the river Yare?
Mark Webster of the Conservation Volunteers writes:
“I am particularly excited to announce the long-awaited start of the Leaky Dams project in the Tas Valley, where we will be making and installing natural flood defences, using trees sourced from the immediate area to create barriers to slow down floodwaters in a measured way. There’s also more chances to learn the ancient craft of hedge laying at Easton College, restoring a historic pond to how it was in the 1930s (we have the photographic proof of that!) and plenty of hedge and fruit tree planting – including a new community orchard in Cringleford, and new and old sites to see across Broadland. Plus there’s another chance to see the epic Blickling Hall estate.”
The full programme is here.