Hello everyone, this is what I got up to last month!
At the beginning of December there was an amazing Hedge laying Workshop at Paddington meadows. Myself and a large group of volunteers helped lay a hedge using tools and methods that have been used for decades. This produces an effective barrier that lasts much longer and has much higher biodiversity levels than the modern alternative of using a tractor and flail. Hedge laying is an ageing craft which has become increasingly less common over the years, it is important that we continue this craft so that it doesn’t die out!
I visited New Moss Wood for the first time this month to help with a few things that needed doing. We installed a pipe through one of the bunds between two of the cells in order to drain some of the water from one to prevent some of the sphagnum moss from drowning. Common Cotton grass was translocated to the edges of a bog pool in order to increase biodiversity of that area. We also planted a few small pendulous sedges along the ditch bank. These are both native species that should thrive in the conditions at New Moss Wood.
I also assisted in the installation of some traffic counters at Little Woolden Moss and Wigan Flashes. These counters are installed underneath the path and count the amount of people walking over the top of them. This data can then be collected and provide valuable information on the numbers of people visiting some of the sites within the Carbon Landscape. This data can then be used as evidence in funding bids for the sites.
Throughout the month I have also been working on my personal project, researching more on Willow Tit and identifying suitable routes ready to survey the habitat in the new year.
