Cothill Fen, 12th March 2016
It was a cold and misty morning as we gathered at the car park for Cothill Fen, opposite the Merry Miller pub. We were met as usual here by Judy Webb from Natural England who would supervise the morning's tasks.
Following the trek down the path to the fen itself, we were fully briefed on our objectives. Judy had some old photos of the site that she showed us - how the area used to look, with a much larger pond and more expansive fenland area in general. Our job was therefore to continue cutting back small trees and shrubs that have been encroaching upon the boundary in the interim.
The terrain underfoot, in and around the trees, was swamp-like, making it a fairly tricky area in which to operate. However, armed with saws and loppers, we were keen to get underway and to remain warm!
Small trees and shrubs were felled and cut into sections, before stacking into piles. We were careful to ensure that species such as willow were kept off the ground so that they wouldn't put down new roots.
A good-sized area was cleared throughout the morning, leaving the larger trees for subsequent work parties, where chain saws would be required. Otherwise, this work will continue later in the year after birds have arrived and nested in the vicinity.
Following the trek down the path to the fen itself, we were fully briefed on our objectives. Judy had some old photos of the site that she showed us - how the area used to look, with a much larger pond and more expansive fenland area in general. Our job was therefore to continue cutting back small trees and shrubs that have been encroaching upon the boundary in the interim.
The terrain underfoot, in and around the trees, was swamp-like, making it a fairly tricky area in which to operate. However, armed with saws and loppers, we were keen to get underway and to remain warm!
Small trees and shrubs were felled and cut into sections, before stacking into piles. We were careful to ensure that species such as willow were kept off the ground so that they wouldn't put down new roots.
A good-sized area was cleared throughout the morning, leaving the larger trees for subsequent work parties, where chain saws would be required. Otherwise, this work will continue later in the year after birds have arrived and nested in the vicinity.
-Andrew
 |
| A foggy car park |
 |
| Down the track |
 |
| Misty fen |
 |
 |
| Assembling at the work site |
 |
| Michelle gets to work |
 |
| Carolyn helps Ursula retrieve her boot from the mud! |
 |
| Tea-time! |
 |
| Workers amongst the trees |
 |
| Looking a lot clearer |
 |
| Blue skies later on |
 |
| An area where trees were previously cleared to open up the fen |
 |
| Margaret transports some cut tree branches back, while being steadied by Kevin! |
Comments
Post a Comment