Sturts Volunteers Day
About a hundred people of all ages spent a very pleasant afternoon at the North Sturts reserve on Saturday September 24th picking and bagging apples for crushing to make cider.
Lots of hard work and preparation went into making the event a great success, all of which had been done by staff. It was intended as a ‘thank you’ for the work done by volunteers and many parts of the Trust were represented, from branches, reserve work parties, Trustees, reception at Lower House Farm, Wildplay and all the other places that volunteers support the work of the Trust.
A local farmer brought a mobile crusher to the event and was nearly overwhelmed by the amount of apples that were retrieved from the ground after exuberant shaking of the trees to bring the apples down.
Everyone enjoyed a delicious barbecue prepared by staff and a variety of fruit wines and cordials. Colin Cheesman thanked the volunteers for all their work, reinforcing the Trust’s appreciation of their efforts. Although cloudy most of the time, it very fortunately stayed dry.
Annual Fritillary Guided Walk
Saturday 14th April, 2012
It’s a nice thought to look forward to next April when the Trust holds its Wildflower Fritillary Guided Walk around Lugg Meadow reserve.
In 1962 the Herefordshire and Radnorshire Nature Trust was formed which then became the Herefordshire Nature Trust, so 2012 will be the Trust’s 50th anniversary. For that reason, a bigger and better event is planned in celebration of that event. There will be the usual guided walks to see the fritillaries and hear about the history, natural history and geology of this nature reserve, but there will be more displays, information about the Trust, and a chance to see over Lower House Farm. There will also be more stalls to show what the Trust has achieved in 50 years and light refreshments. More details will be in the Spring Wildside.
Directions. Herefordshire Nature Trust, Lower House Farm, Ledbury Road, Tupsley, HR1 1UT. Head out of Hereford towards Ledbury on the A438, take the small turning to the left opposite the Cock of Tupsley (sign-posted Herefordshire Nature Trust) and Lower House Farm is down the lane (GR: SO 536404).
There will also be coffee and biscuits and stalls selling homemade cakes, books, plants, Trust goods and a raffle.
Hedgelaying Training Event
The Trust is running a hedgelaying training weekend in conjunction with Dave Jackson and Kelda White of Wildwood Coppice Crafts, Malvern. The course will be based at the Trust's Headquarters at Lower House Farm, Tupsley on Sat 14th and Sun 15th Jan 2012. Places are limited with priority given to Trust members so book early!
To book a place on the course at a cost of either £30 for one day or £50 for both days (or £35/£60 for non Trust members) please contact Doug Lloyd on 01432 356 872.
Continuing Support for Wildlife
Some of the county’s rarest species of wildlife have benefitted from a £20,000 grant from Severn Waste Services, awarded to Herefordshire Nature Trust, through the grant giving charity ‘Welcome to Our Future’, to support work on our nature reserves over the last 12 months.
Butterflies, dormice, woodpeckers, rare bats and many scarce wildflowers have all benefitted from this funding. And the great news is that a further £20,000 has been awarded to the Trust to support more wildlife rich habitats over this current year.
The habitat management work we undertake is vital in maintaining our rare and endangered wildlife to give them the right conditions, food and space they require. This work can be expensive and to have this funding is a lifeline for our reserves. The Trust would like to send a big thank you to Severn Waste Services for their continuing financial support towards our work.
These grants, through the ‘Landfill Community Fund’ have paid for physical improvements on the nature reserves such as replacing stock-fencing, pollarding old willow trees, controlling bracken, coppicing woodlands, erecting deer fencing, restoring hedges and providing new kissing gates for visitors. This year this money will be paying for the restoration of ponds, further coppicing and fencing works as well as hedge-laying. Local contractors have benefitted from undertaking some of this work and the funding supports the costs of working with the many volunteers who help manage wildlife habitats with the Trust. Severn Waste Services has been a dedicated financial supporter of the Trust and a wildlife champion since 2003.
Dog Walking on Nature Reserves
In response to the increasing number of dog walkers using our reserves as their main walking site, the Trust has produced a new dog walking policy. The accumulation of dog faeces, attacks on grazing livestock and disturbance to wildlife have posed problems for our nature reserves and additional work for reserve staff. The Policy details our approach to managing dog walking and is available from the Trust either by post, email or via our website. The Trust would urge all dog walkers to view the policy to understand the effect dogs have on wildlife.
Great Lugg Clean Up
Earlier this year Tony Norman, local farmer and Trustee of the Wye and Usk Foundation, organised a litter pick along the whole of the River Lugg, quite a challenge!
But Tony’s determination paid off and between March and May volunteers from a range of organisations, including the Trust, collected a total of 671 bags of litter, and a range of larger items including tyres, feed buckets, chairs, beds, a saddle and even a child’s swimming pool and surf board! It was an epic achievement and will help towards improving the ecological status of the river.
Congratulations to Tony on this mammoth and very valuable task, and thanks to all the willing volunteers who gave their time.
Trust Christmas Cards
There is still a bit of time left to buy the Trust Christmas Cards, several with wildlife themes. The Trust will have a stall in the Butter Market in Hereford on 19th November and cards and other gifts will be on sale at Lower House Farm until Christmas, and at All Saints Church.
