If you’ve visited recently you will no doubt have noticed the changes between the car park and the visitor centre. The direct path between the car park and the washland has been removed, so access to the washland viewpoint is now through the visitor centre during opening hours, or through a barrier to the side of the visitor centre out of hours. We like to see and speak to all our visitors, whether you’re a first timer and need the full lowdown, a dogwalker heading up to the public footpath with your faithful friend at heel or a regular simply saying hello. As well as keeping us up to date with visitor sightings which we can pass on to others, it will also give us a more accurate count of our visitor numbers.
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - new fencing to aid the flow of visitors through the centre
We’re currently working on improving signage and finishing off the path works so that all visitors will know to head straight down to the centre. We'll soon be adding some more fencing down near the car park to protect a new hedge that will be going in. Some people have been taking a shortcut over our new earthworks rather than following the new trail to the washland viewpoint (the distance has only increased marginally - the extra few metres are a healthy benefit!). The fencing will not only protect the hedge and other vegetation but will also stop any potential accidents from the use of this shortcut - the area is riddled with hidden rabbit holes so we don't want people going off piste! The hedge will eventually provide new homes for all sorts of wildlife - insects, small mammals and birds. One extra benefit to taking the new path up to the washland is that it takes you past a very vocal Cetti's warbler, who has become a bit more visible over the past couple of weeks. These warblers are not always easy to see so this trail offers a great chance to check out a Cetti's!
Further down the reserve, we finally finished the reed screening alongside the boardwalk and it's looking very nice indeed. It might need the odd fix now and again if we have any strong winds but hopefully it will last a while. We're already planning a more permanent willow screen for the future. The final reeds were cut from a small reedbed near the visitor centre with the uninspiring name of '5026'. I'll bet not many visitors walk round the edge of this reedbed, choosing instead to head down the main hard track. The grassy trail past 5026 offers a different walk to New Fen North reedbed, skirting the northern edge of East Wood so why not ask about it next time you visit and we can point you in the right direction. You'll be able to see where we've cut into the reeds and you might spot all sorts of wildlife in the new open area, moving from one reed patch to the next.
Work on the raised plant bed construction continues....will it ever end?? Hopefully, yes – by the end of tomorrow! The pond bed is being filled with sand and peat, giving us different depths in places so that we have a shallow area and a deeper area. It will then need filling with water from our ditches so we’ll be getting the pump out tomorrow. Our pump is a bit quirky to start – more often than not you end up with a jet of cold water in the face so stand well back if you visit tomorrow!
Photo credit: Ali Blaney – pond plant bed, lined and with brickwork finished
Volunteer Roger B, who has been doing the brickwork in the pond bed, is currently busy getting our water butts installed. We’re having one attached to the visitor centre and one to the workshop. The water collected in these will be used for the raised plant beds. Excitingly, we also have some plants ready and waiting to go into our wildlife friendly gardening bed which is sited underneath the office window. As I type volunteer Tom is removing some turf and digging it over. Dave has been cutting the final railway sleepers to size and these will provide the edging to our wildlife garden. Now, the weather isn't very spring-like today, I have to admit. But standing in the very cold drizzle, discussing the different plants we have to go in our wildlife garden, I couldn't help but feel a warm glow inside at the prospect of our new plant beds in flower - buzzing with bees, humming with hoverflies and bedecked with butterflies. It's only a matter of time!