Shropshire and Staffordshire National Trust Volunteers

So the first real cut and burn of this season’s workdays has come and gone!

All the group’s tools were out last Sunday (in joke) as, whilst ranger Mike was sunning himself on holiday, SSNTV ventured back to Dudmaston and Bonemill, Dudmaston Bank in particular near to Comer Wood to thin and help to regenerate the woodland.

It was a chance to see the impact of time away because of Covid too, as those who made it out to the last Christmas work weekend – now which year was that? – and were returning on Sunday, struggled to recognise the patch the group had cleared on the last visit. There was head-high himalayan balsam which had quickly taken the place of the previously weather damaged, felled trees and there seemed to be plenty more candidate trees to clear away.

Soon there was a sizeable fire eating up the damaged wood and hot enough to burn up the unwanted green shrubbery.  As autumn temperatures hadn’t quite arrived yet, during the day there was a gradual drift away from the strenuous tree felling and heat of the burning pyre, towards the slightly less demanding task of pulling the shallow-rooted balsam from the soil.

We were joined by new assistant ranger Sophie and one of the Dudmaston volunteer ranger team.  In fact Sophie managed a very passable impression of ranger Mike,  as she whipped round the site removing large stems at ground level with an argumentative chainsaw.

Thanks to Mags for some excellent bread pudding at cake o’clock – it’s amazing what you can do with leftovers (from our recent 40^th anniversary bash).

By the end of the day the site almost looked like how we had left it the last time in 2019… oops, no, got my year wrong should read 2020!

Next up, back to Kinver for a weekend double-header amongst the sandstone rock houses.

Ed.