Wednesday 28th October 2026 - Little Lynn Common, nr Briddlesford GG #1103

 Terry's photos

Listening to instructions....

The remote controlled brush cutter in operation

The remains of Greater Broomrape (Orobanche Rapum-genistae)

Spectacular Rustgill (Gymnopilus junonius) 

above and below

Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Mark's photos

The creation of the hibernaculum

Phil's photo

Another new venue this week – we are being spoilt!  We were working with Gift to Nature who have taken over the management of this site at the request of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) who own this woodland (along with others nearby).  Little Lynn Common is the wooded area at the junction of Combley Road and Briddlesford Road and from the outside appears to be solid woodland.  However, once off the road and into the site there are wide grassy rides with mature Scots and Corsican Pine trees mixed with silver birch, gorse, bracken and, of course, brambles.  There are no public rights of way but there are permissive footpaths.

https://www.gifttonature.org.uk/discover/out-in-the-country/little-lynn-common/

The management plan is to encourage heathland plants.  Overgrown gorse was cut back to encourage it to regenerate, and a small copse of silver birch was cut down to open up the area and let light onto the ground.  Cut material was piled onto a hibernaculum and the lighter brash was burnt.  The G2N Rangers had their remote-controlled grass/brush cutter with them, and this was used to clear bracken and bramble.  The resulting mowings were then piled on top of the wood in the hibernaculum. 

Little Lynn Common is home to red squirrels and great spotted woodpeckers (heard but not seen today).  Greater broom rape, a native parasitic plant, also grows here.  It needs gorse (or broom) to parasitise and is an interesting, rare plant without any chlorophyll – see link. 

https://plantiary.com/plant/orobanche-rapum-genistae_11939.html

Autumn, of course, is the perfect time to find funghi.  We found a variety of funghi including Fly Agaric and Spectacular Rustgill – see links.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/fly-agaric/

https://www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/spectacular-rustgill/

Thank you to Terry, Phil and Mark for the photos.

Wednesday 21st October 2026 - Swanpond Copse, Ashey GG #1102

 Alison's photos

Getting started....

Opening up the undergrowth

This is how a coppiced stool should look

Mark's photos

It was not the most auspicious start to the day – torrential rain that looked as though it would never stop.  However, in true GG tradition, we battled our way to this weeks’ site – Swanpond Copse in Ashey (a new venue for us) which is managed by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT). 

The copse was planted approximately 20 years ago as part of the ‘jigsaw’ planting plan whose aim was to connect remaining isolated ancient woodlands.  A variety of trees were planted in a random fashion, staked and protected with tree guards, and then neglected for the next two decades.   Consequently, the woodland is dense with bramble, there is little light penetrating to the ground and trees that benefit from coppicing are overgrown.

Our task today was to start the coppicing of hazel trees within the woodland.  Two areas were chosen.  We had to clear the brambles so that we could gain access to the trees and then cut them down to a stool.  Ideally, a coppiced stool should be in a low mound shape.  Due to the overgrowth of the wood in many cases, we had to leave tree stumps a metre or so high.  These will be cut down by the HIWWT Rangers at a later stage.

Coppicing is an ancient woodland management tool with many benefits to the environment and wildlife – see link for further information -

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/managing-trees-and-woods/types-of-woodland-management/ 

The cut material was laid in dry hedge formation creating a habitat for wildlife at the back of the coppiced areas.  Fortunately, shortly after we started work the rain eased off.  We hope to return to this lovely woodland shortly.

Thank you to Mark for the additional photos.

Wednesday 14th October 2026 - Play Lane Millennium Green, Ryde GG #1101

 Terry's photos

This week we were back in Ryde at Play Lane Millennium Green helping the Trustees to maintain this space.  As previously reported, there was an infestation of NZ Pygmyweed in the pond area.  The Trustees had worked hard on one part of the pond to remove all greenery to try and solve this problem.  On the other side of the pond there was a lot of flag iris.  We were asked to dig up some of the irises so that they could be transplanted to other damp areas.  It will be interesting to see whether the pond fills up with water again – due to the dry summer and the springs that feed into the area changing course – the pond is currently empty.

As well as moving iris, we were asked to clear one of the drainage ditches on the site and to cut back bay and bramble.  Bay (Laurus nobilis) is a non-native tree which spreads easily by suckering and its very dense vegetation shades out other preferred planting.

Thank you to Terry for the photos and to Rose (PLMG Trustee) for the biscuits.

Wednesday 7th October 2026 - Bugle Stream, Brading GG #1100

 Mark's photos

Alison's photos

We first visited this venue seven weeks ago and were asked to return to continue with the work helping Brading Town Council to clear the Bugle Stream to prevent flooding. 

The focus today was on clearing the silt from the entrance to the culvert.  This was a really grotty job!  The silt was dug up, loaded into buckets and then tipped into wheelbarrows for disposal in the area where any arisings were stacked.  The metal railing surrounding the top of the culvert has been repaired – we had piled up brambles to try to protect the area and these we were now able to remove. 

GG-ers not involved in silt removal worked further along the stream, digging out sedges and cutting back any other shrubs overgrowing the stream. 

At the end of the session a silver birch sapling was planted just above the culvert.

Thank you to Mark for the photos and to Mrs Garratt for the delicious refreshments.