Location, Location, Location

Our Wednesday Work Party met with frosty conditions and fog that persisted for most of the day.

Luckily we had a physical task in mind to get the blood pumping. Our plan was to collect the brash and log wood remaining after clearance work beneath a further section of power lines and to convert the material into a number of mansion sized habitat piles. These will provide vital shelter for invertebrates and small mammals in particular, together with the opportunity to breed in safety. Typically, we might expect to attract bank voles and wood mice through the winter and reptiles in the spring. Steve has already mentioned the regeneration benefit to ground flora from this kind of work.

Having completed 3 such piles with much material still remaining, I can see a whole estate in the making...

Whilst we're all for a bit of self expression from time to time, we wouldn't want to encourage too much competition within our Work Parties but there was certainly an element of both today, with plenty of banter on the relative merits of pile 'architecture and engineering' with the artful, neat approach versus the slightly unruly. Constructors were observed to be proud and quite possessive of their individual results. Judge for yourself....

Gabrielle standing proudly next to her 'habitat palace' - the rest of us could only look on in awe!

Thanks also to Keith and a warm welcome to the Wednesday Work Party to Richard and Gareth (official photographer for the day!), both experienced conservation volunteers.