Sunday at the Quarry
…as Workday leader Matthew describes:
It was a return to the woodland at Stretton Westwood quarry on the penultimate workday of 2020. This was the last worksite I had attended before….something unusual happened…..back in early March.
Although the forecast was wet, we did have some dry spells, with Rangers Al and Kate choosing a bonfire site which provided good cover from the December rain.
The Rangers had come up with a cunning plan, as usual: we were to cut the hawthorn to around chest height – or head height for some! This would let in large amounts of light whilst keeping the integrity of the steep banks intact. Al and Kate would also take out some of the large ash trees to to thin the established woodland and develop access, whilst adding to the increased light. The aim of all this to encourage the orchids and other woodland flowers to re-appear as they have done on other parts of the site where such action has already been completed.
All the group thoroughly enjoyed the day’s task. The usual banter went down well. We look forward to a time (April perhaps), when we can share a proper “cake o’clock” again. This will please many members of the group and especially Kate who remarked on missing the usual pre-Christmas feast!
…The (Alternative) View from the Top of the Slope
After the glorious late sunshine of Attingham, the cold and rain at Wenlock reminded those participants who were making it two days in a row, what volunteering is really all about – Guess what? – I chose the wrong day….comments our muddy, wet Editor:
That is, not sure how dry a day it was for those working at the top of the slope compared with downhill near the warmth of the fire – especially as those volunteers gradually cut down their protection from the cold wind and rain throughout the day!
The quarry is a work in progress site so far as nature is concerned, as ranger Al explained and hence part of a multi-year initiative – not quite a formal plan! There are older established mounds within the site – are these old spoil heaps, it’s not clear; along with newer ones, pushed up by man’s mechanical efforts. Large trees surround the perimeter and steep rocky walls. The thin limestone soils are a particular habitat for plants and shrubs which survive when the going gets a bit tough – it’s these in particular we’re trying to encourage. We wait to see if, as a result of our efforts, there are dormant orchids, for example just waiting to stir.
The twisted hawthorns and pencil-straight ash both brought their challenges. As the trees frequently didn’t want to come down even when supports were cut away – the one species often still tangled up high, the other perfectly balanced stock upright on their cut stump.
Artistic skills were also on show, as the chest-high “pollarding” left some intriguing shapes in an attempt to encourage new growth.
Those more steep banks also presented a challenge in the wet and slippery conditions, as the loose soils and rangers’ orange marker dots sometimes lead to decaying and damaged trees overhanging the banks. The question: could we target the fire site in one go, bringing them down, without falling in with trees!
Enthusiasm did prevail despite some shivers in the cold; the wet seeping in; and the main path to the fire site becoming a slippery, muddy runway. Raincoats, trousers and cagoules all became a nice shade of wet mossy green or was it muddy brown! So much so that Al also preferred to remain on the chainsaw all day, in preference to that last-minute Christmas shopping. Despite the grotty weather that there was even talk, to be confirmed, of returning in 2021 for extra workdays to make up for time lost this year.
…Who needs sunshine!
