Our first session of 2018 was somewhat eventful due to......
With winds recorded in excess of 90 mph at the Needles, it certainly wasn't much less in Mill Copse...! Caution was needed on the drive out there due to tree branches in the road plus lots of standing water in the usual places (why don't Island Roads ever fix the drainage issues???) Having shelled out a fortune (£3.40 to be exact - GRRRR...!) to park in Yarmouth it was an "interesting" stroll along the harbour wall to the mill - there were rubbish bins and seaweed strewn everywhere. Once we had all assembled in the copse the wind wasn't so much of a problem and we were soon working away - doing what GGmers do best, cutting back undergrowth. We were tasked to clear a circular area around an established Sycamore tree so, that at a later date, it can be safely felled. Why fell a tree? Sycamore throws out thousands of seeds (those little "helicopter" winged seeds) that root everywhere and stop the native trees growing. Click this link for further details... https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/factsheet/factsheet.cfm?speciesId=25
There were plenty of clumps of willow to clear plus a couple of larger shrubs that needed our attention - all were dealt with by the end of the session. Any straight lengths of material were put aside for future projects, the remainder was carefully stacked up as habitat piles.
Considering the adverse weather conditions, we had an excellent attendance for the first session of the new year, so well done to all those who braved the elements...!
Many thanks to Alison for taking the photographs this week.
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