Shropshire and Staffordshire National Trust Volunteers

Something unusual happened last Sunday on our first workday visit in some time back to Moseley Old Hall, Wolverhampton:…. 

Our workday leader David, having done the organising, delivered the tools, planned the task, then decided he was too poorly to continue pretty much as soon as he arrived, so we sent him home to recuperate.

Still as David later wrote from his sick bed, thanks to all for getting things done in his absence – good to know there is a crew he could rely on.  Too right since a large proportion of your committee were at the workday, you’d think they’d manage to get things done (…or perhaps not!)

Sunday also saw another new ranger to the patch meet SSNTV’s incredible team and see them efficiently put paid to all the tasks she had envisaged. Amy is the very new and first ever ranger dedicated solely to Mosley. She’s also a newbie to rangering herself.  She is also as she had to admit to the volunteers, not yet much of a gardener, so with that role empty at present she has her hands full, covering that job too.

By the end of day at least, she knew where to find some additional, capable resources!

Two primary jobs were identified for the Group for the day.

The first for which few volunteers could be found, was to turn and reorder the overgrown row of six compost bays. However Ian, with lots of home grown expertise and Chris, fresh from heap turning with Nick at nearby NT Benthall, gave Chair Russell suitable guidance on what should go where as they dug to find the good stuff and sorted the heaps to identify new green as well as well-rotted and therefore usable composts.  (Nick if you’re reading this, any tips for compost success would be well received by Amy!)

Job number two, which found more favour, was in the woods to the rear of the Hall, running alongside the road. Amy wanted the paths widened, removing overhanging green to provide a more welcoming feel and encourage more visitors to walk around these pleasant glades.  That meant the woods were to be cleared of most of the unwanted regenerative regrowth, pulling things out at the roots, and tugging out nasty brambles, roots and all. That way specimen trees and shrubs would be more visible.

In the woods, as the earth was exposed and more light fell on the woodland floor, numerous mounds of green cuttings grew at alarming rates. At first these were by the side of the developing rides, but unfortunately due to the Hall’s very close proximity to the M54 no bonfires on site are allowed to dispose of them – so what to do these unsightly distractions; the answer was to hide them away in discrete areas out of sight from the paths.

The compost team armed with rudimentary instructions, managed to sort and order the heaps, combining and splitting contents, whilst at the same time creating a sequence from fresh & new; to old & matured, with some economy of effort on what moved where.

By the end of the day the wood had been given a late spring clean and youngsters will be able to run and tumble amongst the trees without getting covered in scratches.

It wasn’t long after we’d left that Amy wrote to say…

I just want to say a HUUUUGE thanks to yourself and the rest of the team on Sunday. I’m still baffled at how much work you have all done! That area will now be set up for den building as it’s the perfect little clearing! I couldn’t believe how many people started actually walking around in that space when it was just a dead zone before.

Plans were already being discussed about how a return visit could be arranged in the next workday programme.  So yet again SSNTV impressed and our reputation of a team fond of hard work continues.

Thanks to all for their efforts, in unplanned organising; digging and Leela too, for some delicious cake at cake o’clock (correction, as Leela points out, it was David’s chocolate cake!)

…Oh yes, and David seems to have recovered enough at least to manage a holiday this week to Italy – perhaps he just needed more time to pack after all!