Fencing at Sparrow Hawk Farm - Part 4: 25-06-2013

Well - here we are again - as happy as can be. Ten NCVs reported for duty at Sparrow Hawk Farm on the hillside above Pateley Bridge. We were pleased to welcome a new NCV to the group - Osian.
Three others joined Paul (our leader) for grass identification training with Marian Wilby down in the council chambers. Photographic evidence of this can be seen below: 

Anyone know what this one is?

Marion consults the identification key 

whilst Hannah waits to be enlightened.

If you have been reading this blog recently then you should know the system as far as Sparrow Hawk Farm is concerned, as this was our fourth visit. We were continuing to erect the three fences that are needed to protect newly planted trees from being grazed by livestock.
So - for the benefit of new readers (or to reiterate for dedicated followers) the various tasks that had to be carried out included:

1. Erecting thick straining posts at each corner or bend along the run of fencing. This means digging very deep holes through very rocky ground. One of these holes had to be curtailed as running water could be heard underneath so thought that we'd better stop before we ended up with a water spout.

             

John and Jan dig down and down..... "I say Jan, I think we'd better stop, I can hear water!"

  

 Meanwhile, in the other corner of the area, 

Will and Osian use the giant tweezers and then 
add the finishing touches to a straining post.

  

Tony (the new) shows off his shapely calves 

- summer has definitely arrived.

2. Knocking in the fence posts 3m apart between the straining posts - easy when you say it quickly but finding out the best places to knock them in takes time. If you hit a rock with the post the end bends up and a post is very difficult to remove once it is in part way. Even more difficult is removing a post that is completely knocked in - something that had to be done twice when we realised we'd put them on the wrong side of the string line.

The string line is carefully laid out 

(ready to be ignored in two cases!)

Graham makes sure that this post is perfect
- no need to dig this one out, thank goodness!

3. Attaching the pig wire, ensuring that it is pulled taut with the special tensioning tool before being stapled to the posts. Only Anita had actually used this tool before so she was promoted to 'tensioning tool team foreman' (forewoman? foreperson?). She then cascaded her knowledge to three other NCVs, training them up into a crack team.

                 First you do this....  then you do that....  then you just pull this and.....

.... hey presto - a fence!

4. Attaching a strand of barbed wire around the top of the fence - no chance of getting around to this today I'm afraid.

Today we were working on the third and final fence (a trapezium shaped area). We worked hard from 10 am until 3:30 pm, managing to get jobs 1 and 2 completed and starting job 3 along one side of the trapezium. One more visit should finish the job off.

The day was glorious, as was the view. Digging and post knocking doesn't seem too bad at all on a day like today. Even better - our hosts, Kit and Megan, supplied a wonderful feast of goodies at lunchtime. 

A lunchtime spread fit for a king
(or a group of hungry NCVs)

(or a group of hungry NCVs)

The two cakes and punnets of strawberries were much appreciated and a competition ensued between Jan and Graham to see who could create the highest swirl of cream on top of a strawberry. I think Graham won but I can't be sure; Dean and Anita enjoyed the outcomes anyway.

Jan creates the first cream tower.

Anita and Dean eat the record breaking attempts.

Ros (E)

Bracken Bashing at Old Spring Wood: 18-06-13

What a beautiful day for bracken bashing, the weather was lovely and the concept of bashing something sounded like a wonderful day ahead to relieve stress. More seasoned volunteers will have guessed this was my first time, I wondered why they didn’t seem quite as excited as me.

Twelve volunteers and their leader marched into the woods carrying their bashing sticks after a briefing explaining both the concept and the difference between bracken and ferns. Who are the good guys? Nothing is simple, we have to identify the enemy before bashing!

Sticks at the ready  - bring on the bracken!

The first half hour was quite enjoyable picturing well know politicians as I flattened the bracken; very satisfying, but after an hour when arms were beginning to ache a coffee break was unanimously called. It was one of the longer coffee breaks I had encountered on my volunteering so far.

The NCVs are glad of an opportunity to stop for a photo opportunity. The smiles are becoming slightly forced as the joys of bracken bashing start to wane.

A bit more bashing and it was lunch, with talk of a second front in the lower part of Spring Wood. We did make a big impression, the bracken gave up without much of a fight and we all felt victory was ours.

Slowly the ground starts to clear and the precious wild flowers can now be seen.

Dave - you've missed a bit - it's behind you!

In its favour bracken bashing does come out just ahead of Balsam pulling; thank goodness it was such a beautiful day and in such lovely surroundings.

Terry M

Himalayan Balsam pulling at Hackfall Woods: 11-06-2013

Today we had a good number of volunteers to carry out the task - Paul and his eleven NCVs were joined by four of the Hackfall volunteer group. We needed this kind of manpower as the job involved pulling up rather a lot of Himalayan Balsam, an invasive species that must be eradicated. For those readers who are wondering why we should want to do this I am including a website link that will explain it all far better than I can: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=96

Himalayan Balsam - a worm's eye view.

Some people argue that it is an excellent food source for bees but, unfortunately, that is its only redeeming feature. It is threatening to overtake Hackfall Woods and we need to get rid of it - and quickly. The aim is to stop it flowering and setting seed otherwise it spreads at a rapid rate of knots. 

Terry M. quite enjoyed the beginning of the day. It was his first time pulling balsam and the first patch we tackled seemed thin on the ground and easy to deal with. Hmmmmm. He soon changed his tune. After an hour the job starts to take its toll on the back muscles. As we moved down the boundary path we saw that the plants were getting more and more numerous; taller and taller. There was acres of the stuff. To add insult to injury it was growing amongst brambles. And nettles. And holly.

When they saw what lay ahead, Bobby and
Dean wished they had had a prior engagement

We took turns of collecting up the piles and transporting balsam in wheelbarrows to the boundary wall. There it could be dumped into compost heaps and chopped up with a spade to prevent the plants trying to make a come-back. 

Standing aside to make way for a speeding barrow, Graham takes the opportunity to straighten his back.

At lunch time one of these heaps came in handy as a nice soft sofa upon which we could eat our packed lunches. It was satisfying to know that we had got the better of that bit at least.

After lunch we decided to change tack as there was no way we could remove it all in the time we had left. We moved further into the wood to what appeared to be the edge of the infested area and started working backwards towards the boundary. That way, we thought, we could slow down the balsam's spread. However - it soon became apparent that the balsam was one step ahead of us. We were surrounded by it - this was certainly not the edge of the area! 

Hannah stands to take stock of the situation
- and despairs!

With just half an hour left, and our backs starting to complain bitterly, we tried yet another method: marching in a line and just trampling it down. This turned out to be an efficient way of dealing with the problem but whether or not it will have killed off the dratted stuff remains to be seen.

A view of the aftermath of the task - brambles still all standing.
Is that some balsam I can see? Paul - you've missed a bit!

Although Hackfall is a beautiful environment to work in there is one disadvantage - at the end of the day you have to toil back up the hill to the car park, carrying tools and pushing wheelbarrows. I think that Dave B. deserves special mention. Not only was he meticulous in removing the tiniest of balsam seedlings throughout the day but also pushed a barrow all the way up the hill by himself.

Some Tuesdays we go home knowing that we have finished a job. This was not one of those days. As I left the woods the wind was wafting through the remaining tracts of the weed that we never managed to reach and I could hear the sounds of yet more balsam seeds starting to germinate. I suppose that we have at least made a start. I think we said the same thing last year!

Ros (E)

Sparrow Hawk Farm part three! 04-06-2013

What a glorious day for the third week at Sparrow Hawk Farm. There were 8 of us plus Paul so we divided into two groups. One group concentrated on attaching the wire to the posts which had been put in last week around the second area of trees and the other group tackled the third and final area.

...whilst team B get busy adding the wire
to the posts erected last week.

We marked out where all the straining posts needed to be then carried all the posts, mainly uphill, to approximately the right position. We were able to move and replant 10 trees which made it easier to get a good line from each straining post. Then came the hard bit, digging the post holes deep enough! We started with spit and pick, then crowbar and 'tweezers', but finally resorted to hands and knees. When our arms weren't long enough we decided the hole was deep enough.

Team A get to work on the straining posts (note the need for sun hats!)...

...whilst team B get busy adding the wire
to the posts erected last week. (Fencing 'thingy' back in use.)

Lunchtime was spent sunning ourselves, admiring the view and feasting on cherry pie, ginger cake and strawberries kindly provided by Kit and Megan.

Mmmmm. Cherry pie, ginger cake and strawberries.

Progress was slower after lunch as it was so hot but we managed to get three straining posts in place around the final area. The fencing wire around the second area was completed, except for the barbed wire, and looks very impressive.

Impressive fence indeed!

Paul decided to postpone an afternoon of Cowslip seed gathering at Low Grantley.

Chris S