The rain over Christmas Day and Boxing Day caused unprecedented flooding. Locally, the river rose to its highest level in living memory. Last year’s repairs to the bridge appear to have survived although the toilet near the kiln area got flushed away!
The river over the bridge! Shouldn’t that be the bridge over the river?
View looking through Ox Close Wood looking down from the kiln area towards the river.
Creating the clearing in Elliker Wood
On 28th November 2015, families joined us in The Ellikers to clear an area to allow light to penetrate to ground level to encourage wild flowers to grow and also into which hazel will be planted.
Children’s dens
While children made dens for themselves and their teddies!
Looking down the ride in progress on the east side of Elliker Wood
Over the last three months a great effort has gone into creating new habitats in Elliker Wood. Rides have been cleared along the top, bottom and eastern sides, boundaries have been fenced, the old and decaying hedgeline along the eastern side has been laid and pedestrian and vehicular access gates have been installed.
The top ride; complete.
Laying the hedge.
The hedge, laid.
Pedestrian gate in progress.
Gate complete.
Bardsey School visited the Marsh 8 times during the summer, looking at the beauty of nature in local places and how food webs work.
Just a few of the children from Bardsey Scholl who have visited Keswick Marsh.
We expect to commence work in Elliker Wood during October. The aim is to open up the wood to increase the variety of habitats and flora.
Elliker Wood, September 2015
At the moment inside the wood is very dark with the ground flora consisting almost solely of Dogs Mercury. Starting in the south western corner of the wood, the aim is to create short east-west rides at the top and bottom of the wood linked by a north-south ride along the eastern edge of the wood. We will also remove dead and dying trees, mainly elms, and some of the bushy undergrowth will be thinned. In order to do this a felling licence has been requested and approved.
Most of the work will be funded by a grant from Green Leeds and will be carried out by volunteers and our chain saw contractor. During the winter we will be holding two “Family Work Party” days, one on a Saturday and one on a Sunday, and hope that local people will take the opportunity to visit the reserve and help with some of the work. Keep an eye on the website’s Upcoming Events and the Newsletter for dates.
Following the preparations earlier in the year, those seeds that were the earliest to germinate are now in full flower…. Corncockle, Cornflower, Corn Marigold, and Poppy are now in full bloom. It is hoped that even more species will flower next year.
Ground preparation at Elliker entrance in April 2015
Elliker entrance…. The first flowers, September 2015
On Monday 18th May we surveyed the bats in Ox Close Wood. Our bat expert, who is a consultant ecologist, brought a number of bat detectors so that we could all have a go at listening to and deciphering the calls that we heard. Four bat species were identified during the evening; Daubenton’s, Noctule and Common and Soprano Pipistrelle. The river was a particularly rewarding area where nearly all the bats were seen and heard. A couple of the bat detectors could record calls and further species may be identified when these recordings are analysed over the next few days.
A few of the Trust members who attended the bat evening…. surrounded by Daubenton’s bats!
Two more bat evenings are planned for the 17th and 24th June when different areas of the parish will be surveyed. If you would like to come; meet at the church on Moor Lane at 9.30pm. or contact 01937 574140.
To further increase the biodiversity of uncommon w
ild flowers in Ox Close wood, we have again been plug planting in the grazing pasture. The plants were grown in the Trusts own wild flower nursery from seed that was collected locally.
About half of the wood was clear felled in 1992 by its previous owners. Until then, this area of the wood consisted of non-native conifers that shaded the ground so much that very little was left of whatever seed bank might have been present. Consequently the area that is now kept open by conservation grazing has a poor range of wild flowers which we are hoping to rectify.
This time, to deter the deer from jumping over wire fences, the posts have been angled inwards and the tops of the mesh netting has been laced with string.
Species that have been planted include Betony, Rock Rose, Aquilegia, and Ladies Bedstraw.
Fenced off area with plug plants of wild flowers
On 27th February, our Friday volunteers enjoyed a sunny day to finish hedge planting along one of the Keswick Marsh boundaries. The hedge is 70 to 80% Hawthorn with the remainder made up of six or seven other hedging plant species such as Hazel, Spindle, Holly, Blackthorn and Buckthorn. Since the hedge in the Marsh, hedging in Elliker Field has been completed.
Hedge planting
Enjoying the fruits of our labour
Planting saplings in Elliker field
Dexter cows in Elliker field
The animals will stay on the reserve untill late March when the Spring flowers start to appear.
Enthusiasm was not in short supply…. Frank Shire’s field was similarly treated by the youngsters planting a new hedge along the north-eastern edge of this reserve.
Hedge planting in Frank Shire’s
A well earned rest!
Further information can be obtained at… http://www.grazinganimalsproject.org.uk/what_is_conservation_grazing.html