More tree planting at Longside Farm: 30th and 31st March 2015

Remember last week? Well this week was more of the same - only for two days rather than one. With 1600 trees waiting around in plastic bags the NCVs needed to get a crack on - and so we did. 

7 turned out on Monday and, on Tuesday 14 reported for duty, along with one of the students and his tutor, for another exciting day on the hillside at Longside farm. (There was plenty of cake and flapjack to be had - thanks to Paul, Rhona and Audrey!) 

Unfortunately, although the weather was reasonably kind on Monday, by lunchtime on Tuesday we had to abandon ship due to the appalling weather conditions. Battling against high winds and sleety showers was no fun. The remaining trees (still lots and lots) had to be taken back to the tree nursery where they were heeled into the soil to help keep them in good condition for next week's planting. Some photos from the two days can be seen below.

Ros E.

On Monday Jo and Mike enjoyed working on 

the flat area at the bottom edge of the site.....

....whilst Paul and Osian had to toil up to the top wall to fetch more stakes 

which were 'wanged' downhill. It has been suggested that 'stake bundle wanging'  

should figure as an event in the next Olympic Games.

By the end of Monday afternoon there were still many trees left.

Thank goodness we now have a trailer to put all our gear in!! 

On Tuesday Osian was in danger of losing his tubes 
as he carried them up to where they needed to be.

"I'm sure there is a tree or two left in this bag."

Everyone enjoyed the coffee break and 
flapjack before the rain started.

An NCV bows down to pay homage 
to the tree gods above.

Tubes sprouted up all over the place, 
struggling to remain vertical in the high winds.

A video of the view from the top of the hill - 
if you can't get the sound to work then just imagine 
being in a force 10 gale whilst standing here.

The well travelled trees are given a more suitable 
venue to spend the Easter weekend. They are getting 
fed up of travelling up and down the dale in bags!

Back home many muddy pairs of gloves were washed 
and an empty hanging basket used an aerial glove dryer.

Tree planting at Longside Farm: 24-03-2015

15 NCVs and the two students met in a layby beyond Ramsgill and began to walk up the drive past Longside Farm where they met Paul and the tools. These had to be carried up a steep slope on rough ground kindly bequeathed to us from forestry operations some 8 years ago. Debris on the slope still provided the necessary agility and fitness test for everyone. The handrail was much appreciated! Unfortunately the tree saplings, stakes and tree guards were at the top of the slope having been deposited there in a trailer on Monday. 

The NCVs gather at the bottom of the hill to collect their tools....

....before toiling up the very steep slope to the planting site.

The view to Gouthwaite helped to make the 
journey up worthwhile.

After a brief explanation by Paul we set about planting as many trees as possible. The saplings were variable in size, from tiny and delicate to long and robust. We had cherry, birch, rowan, sycamore beech and oak and a few Scots pines and hollies and the task was to plant roughly 2 metres apart – in reality where the stakes would go in firmly - and in a random arrangement of native species. We were working in pairs or small teams and were enjoying ourselves so much digging holes and banging in stakes that we missed coffee break altogether.

Tom helps to plant his first tree.

Team work is the order of the day.

By lunchtime we had dropped a significant distance from the top wall and needed regular resupply of guards and stakes (lobbed downhill at the unsuspecting recipients) from above. Only the occasional brief hailstorm interrupted an otherwise beautiful day. The views of the dale and Gouthwaite reservoir were lovely, as was the sound of moorland birds. Bluebells had started to grow amongst the debris and young trees.

Lunch on the terraces amid the tubes.

Ros E. and Angela make their way very carefully back up the slippery 
slope with a bucket of precious water from the valley bottom 
to quench the thirst of the trees.

There were tree planters to the left.....

....and tree planters to the right.....

.....and tree planters down below.

By 3 pm we were beginning to hope that there were no more stakes or guards and were sorely wishing that there were no more trees either. Time to call it a day. We had done about half the slope and look forward to repeating the exercise next week.

 

Ruth 

At last - somewhere soft and stable to sit and rest 
at the end of the day.

Willow Spiling at Missies Farm, Laverton: 17-03-2015

Our project for the day was carried out in conjunction with an event organised by “Yorventure” and the AONB to demonstrate to local landowners how to combat river bank side erosion.

The sun shone and eighteen NCVs joined Paul, the two students and their tutor for detailed briefings at Missies Farm, Laverton (owned by David Verity). There were numerous tasks to be done starting with coppicing willow and alder along the banks of the Laver. Willow bundles were then created, held together with baling twine. These bundles were to be used later for one method of erosion prevention.

Bundles of fun were had by all.

Meanwhile poles were being driven into the river bed around an oxbow ready for spiling. 

The state of the river bank at the start of the day.

 

Jan and Ros E. brave the icy waters - and 

the threat of getting driven into the bank.

The Boss volunteered to hold the poles as they were driven in, but stepping into a particularly deep hole we lost her! Jan, ever the hero, rescued her without any serious damage apart from pride - no photograph, the camera was in the boss’s pocket.

Ros's version of the tale.....

It was when the final post was being placed into position that things went a little awry. Jan carefully moved it into place down the bank and we both watched as it slowly sank beneath the water. "I'll rescue it - I have waders on," I said confidently, stepping into the river again. However - I failed to realise that if an 8' post can disappear then so can a 5' 4" NCV. The available bank had disappeared at this point and I nearly did too. My thigh high waders were immediately full to the brim as the water reached the bottom of my fleece and Jan had to hang on to me for dear life. Luckily 'Chris the digger' came to the rescue and helped to pull me out - no mean feat!! Luckily I had a pair of waterproof trousers in the car so was able to change into those for the rest of the day. I made sure that the second pair of waders I chose were the kind that came up to my chest! Jan / Chris - I am forever in your debt.

Once the poles were in volunteers donned waders and started to weave the willow saplings around the poles. The willow takes root and forms a solid hedge that prevents further erosion.

Tom feels that his waders may be a little on the large size.

Once the posts are in place Ros K. and Phil get weaving....

....as does everyone else.

 

NCVs on the higher level feed those below with the willow wands.

The finished hurdling looks very impressive.

After wiring the top 'Chris the digger'  finishes the job by squashing soil into place.

In the afternoon we were joined by experts Dan from the Dales River trust, Marian our AONB Farm Conservation adviser and the invited landowners who had arrived after their lecture at the Kirby Malzeard Mechanics Institute.

The experts, with our help, showed how by using the willow bundles, held in place by stakes and wire, erosion could be halted.

A quick and easy way to save the river bank..

Alternatively a coppiced branch can be pinned with a metal stake and wire to divert the river flow, giving a wild life habitat. Eventually the bank starts to build up again as sediment is deposited in the slow water behind the branches.

Paul coppices a tree .....

..... which is wired alongside the bank.

Altogether a most enjoyable and informative day rounded off by trays full of quiche, pork pies, sandwiches and cakes provided by the “Yorventure” funding.

Terry

A final afternoon tea picnic is enjoyed by the gang.

All kinds going on this week! 10-03-2015

This week there were four different activities for NCVs to choose from. Paul opted for the  "inspiring events"  training session at Pateley Bridge Council Chambers, focussing on ideas for making our events work better in future. The NCVs could have joined him but, instead, most went for a more outdoors approach - an excellent idea given the beautiful sunny day. Two NCVs took the less inviting option of staying in the workshop, sharpening tools. This is a rather tedious process but we are very grateful to Jan and Dave for giving up their day in the sun to ensure that our tools are now all nice and sharp and ready for future use. The others split into two groups as follows......

Task one: Tree planting at Ramsgill

I am under strict instructions from her with a bee on her bonnet, to keep this brief, so…

The Task: plant 130 trees and some willows near the sand martin wall at Gouthwaite to hide a brand new sand martin wall from the road.

People: 1 Leader – Barry, waller and tree planter extraordinaire. 6 additional workers and 1 drone, comprising 2 volunteers from Nidd Birdwatchers and the rest from the NCVs.

Process: A demo by Barry. Stop for cake and coffee (with much thanks to Alwin). Plant trees. Stop for lunch and eat even more cake. Examine the sand martin wall. Head for home.

The team listen to their leader then get busy.

The tree tubes (and saplings) are soon in place in the enclosure.

What a great venue for a Tuesday morning!

An excellent day (well, half day really) for both weather and work. And cake! Thanks go particularly to Yorkshire Water for fencing off the area and providing the trees.

Tony (aka 'The drone')

Task two: Log shifting in Fishpond Wood

The Heritage skills students and four NCVs walked up to Fishpond Woods to rescue some of the logs from the many brash piles. These are going to be made into charcoal by the wood's owner once he purchases a charcoal burner. Armed with saws and wheelbarrows the small band of volunteers spent a happy though tiring day sawing, shifting and piling wood (see photos below).

First we had to select appropriate logs and start sawing them up. 

(20 - 80 cms long and about the width of an arm is ideal 

according to Osian's smart phone google search on site!)

The students shifted the logs in barrows, taking them around the end 

of the lake to the stacking department. During the afternoon supply exceeded the capacity of the 'piler upper' who began to disappear under the incoming tide of wood.

 At lunchtime some decided to snooze in the sun....

....whilst others chatted or pondered by the lake side.

(PS Thanks to Audrey for the flapjack)

By the end of the day we had two large log piles waiting by the path, 

ready for the charcoal burner when it arrives.

It has to be said that the dimensions of some of the last logs of the day were not exactly to google's instructions!!

The team felt very pleased with the fruits of their labours - 

and were well ready for a sit down!

Ros

Conservation and biodiversity apps training session: 03-03-2015

This morning 8 NCVs and the Heritage Skills students attended an interesting training session at the Pateley Bridge council chambers about conservation and biodiversity apps, led by Dr Anita Glover. Anita is a biologist with a specialism in bat ecology from the University of Leeds. She is very interested in 'Citizen Science' which aims to get amateurs interested in science issues.

The first part of the morning involved Anita showing us the various apps and online tools available and then, after a break, we got the chance to investigate the different apps on our smart phones and tablets.
In general, recording apps (i.e. those that allow you to record different species seen and share this information with others) are often free, whereas ID guides are usually charged for.  Often the recording apps will provide an element of an ID guide within them.  Apps that were covered in the course included:

Recording apps:

-          Apps to record specific native taxa, e.g. iRecord ladybirds, iRecord butterflies and mammal tracker

-          Invasive species recording apps such as plant tracker and aqua invaders
Plant tracker can also be accessed online as a website and shows distribution maps of invasive species. These maps don't seem to be able to be accessed on a smart phone.

-          Apps to help track plant health, e.g. the forestry Commission’s tree alert (useful to record instances of tree diseases spotted) and OPAL’s tree health survey

-          Apps that allow you to set up customised survey forms for your own surveys, e.g. Fieldtrip GB

ID guides:

-          ID guides developed by Isoperla, e.g. Wild Flower ID, tree ID and herptile ID (£2.99 each or £8.99 for a fixed bundle of 4 - 2 tree guides, a flower guide and a fungus guide.)

-          Collins bird guide (£14.00 for iphones and ipads only)

-          ispot (not an app, but available as an online tool which allows you to post up photos for confirmation of identification)

Thanks to the AONB office for organising this event. I finished off the day by going home and buying the Isoperla bundle and bird ID apps which are excellent for using when you are out and about. I will no longer have to carry heavy ID books and charts!

Ros E.