After a heavy night of AGM’ing the day before, only a few dedicated SSNTV’ers made it out on Sunday – or was it the threat of thundery rain – as workday leader Peter reports…….
On Sunday SSNTV travelled to its most southerly site at Kinver Edge.
The task for the day had two aims: create a new, wide “ride” (broad path) through the trees increasing the light, so providing the best conditions for a diversity of flora and fauna on the slopes; the second was to divert a short steep section of the Centenary Way path making it more accessible.
As the signs for visitors explain, creating a V-shaped gradual edge to the woodland from tall, mature trees to smaller shrubs and ground cover plants will provide a better habitat for a mix of species, such as the white admiral butterfly. This will hopefully flourish, as it has done in other areas of the Edge already worked on in previous years – in a location, at present representing its most northerly extent in the UK.
With wet weather and passage of time, the Centenary Way has become extremely narrow, rutted and twisting. This makes it almost impossible for some of the public, with pushchairs and the like, to complete the circular walk.
The work involved one of the group’s favourite tasks cutting and burning – in this case the cutting was done by ranger Ewan (taking a day out from his holidays) with his chainsaw speeding up the operation to fell sizeable trees. There was still much to cut and process and in that way generate lots of logs for firewood income….and the small matter of a steep slope to navigate in the rain!
Once all the trees are felled a contractor will be brought in to help create the new accessible path. Walkers and mountain bikers can then be segregated reusing the old path line.
Work was regularly interrupted for cake which Ewan had baked for us, thanks for that – Rhubarb and Custard wonderful!!!!!!!!!
Shropshire and Staffordshire National Trust Volunteers 