Volunteer Sunday was upon us once again yesterday and we were joined bright and early by 12 people eager to get stuck into some sand martin bank repairs, bench installation and polytunnel work. The weather wasn’t quite as kind to us as it was in February, but despite the threat of heavy rain, we remained warm and dry – mostly!
After last breeding season and a winter’s worth of bad weather, the sand martin bank was in need of some TLC. The slumping sand at the front was scraped away, leaving a nice new, clean surface ready for the birds to burrow into. We packed in the existing holes with sand and cleared away the fallen material from the base. The bank looks excellent now and with birds being seen on the south coast last week and as far north as Louth, Lincolnshire yesterday (2nd March), it shouldn’t be long before we are seeing them here at Langford.
The group then moved up to Phase 1 to finish off removal of the last of the plastic mulch mats from the bases of the trees in the scrub block. A nice little job that makes the site look so much better.
It was all go in the polytunnel too, as a total of 20 trays of reed were prepared for the coming season, adding to our stock for sale and for planting out at Langford this summer.
Also yesterday, our resident carpentry expert Dave Watt, was joined by Paul and a group of volunteers to install three new benches along the new visitor trails. Manufactured by Dave himself, the benches look great in their new positions, soon to be enjoyed by all!
Thanks all for another brilliant day.
Shovelling sand. Photo by Barrington Randle.