Low Barns Volunteer Task Force: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

Milkwellburn Wood: Tree Felling (Wed 22nd Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:26:52 GMT

]]>Second day clearing rides Milkwellburn Wood. A good team of volunteers braved the very poor forecasts to enjoy a dry but windy day. The rides through the woodland are being opened up to allow more sunshine in which, in turn, will allow more ground flora to develope. The rides will become corridors and habitat for invertebrates (hopefully including the white lettered hairstreak butterfly). Fran gave us an introduction to the site over lunch spent by the site of a new pond. Thanks everyone.

Milkwellburn Wood: Tree Felling (Tue 21st Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:56:18 GMT

]]>The first day of our two weeks tree felling in Milkwellburn Wood. Fran gave us a great introduction to the reserve and a look-see at the new ponds she has been busy digging! Loads of trees felled to open up a ride for sun loving species such as butterflies and woodland plants. Welcome to our new volunteer Maxey but a sad goodbye to John.

Stanley Moss: Brash Burning (Fri 17th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:49:20 GMT

]]>Stanley Moss brash burning, the group made quite a hole in the left over brash it’s lovely to burn as it has dried out while it has laid on the ground. The usual baked potatoes expertly prepared by Christine went down a treat at lunchtime. The hardest part of the day was not letting the fire get too big that it started to burn the surrounding grass and heath, good job though thank you everyone for your hard work this week.

Stanley Moss: Scrub Control (Thu 16th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:40:35 GMT

]]>Well todays team finished cutting all the scrub on the bog! Just some growing in a wet rushy area that require wellies - we might leave that to next winter! There is a patch of conifers (some chainsaw sized ones) on our new section of the reserve that require cutting and burning mind before the end of March. A great day culminating in a trip to see the turbines up close. Tomorrows team will burn brash all day - woo hoo! Finally, welcome to our new volunteer Kelvin!

Moss Wood Treatment Works: Hedge Laying Training Day (Wed 15th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:45:54 GMT

]]>After an introductory talk by Sarah Edwards on the art history and tools used in hedge laying, 15 volunteers ventured out to have a go. Certainly not as easy as it looks at first hand but by the end of the day a reasonably good looking laid hedge started to emerge. Thank you to Maurice Bates who was also on hand to give advice and guidance.

Rabbit Bank Wood: Tree Felling (Tue 14th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:42:25 GMT

]]>We spent a pleasant day felling holly, beech and the odd sycamore at Rabbit Bank Wood. A large team made light work of the felling and brashing and soon had a massive area cleared. During lunch we were joined (and amused) by a local chicken, who took a fancy to Brian and enjoyed Helen’s apple. I can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s Day! Thank you, everyone!

Stanley Moss: Scrub Control & Brash Burning (Sat 11th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:01:35 GMT

]]>Change of plan again due to the icy conditions: spent the day on Stanley Moss clearing cut scrub and old conifers. A large fire kept us warm and we managed to clear lots of the old timber left on site when the conifer plantation was harvested. The cleared areas will help the process of regeneration of the raised peat bog. Thanks to everyone and a warm welcome to 4 new volunteers: Ewa, Jenny, Sam & Andrew.

Moss Wood Treatment Works: Hedge Maintenance (Fri 10th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:01:50 GMT

]]>Change of plan for task today due to the freezing conditions: our Heart of Durham task with Sarah changed from tree planting to hedge maintenance. We trimmed off side branches on a row of hawthorn & blackthorn to about chest height in preparation for the hedge laying training day on Wednesday. All the brash was then gathered into habitat piles. Thanks everyone.

Derwent Reservoir: Gorse Control (Thu 9th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:32:26 GMT

]]>Unfortunately, due to the icy conditions, we had to revise the planned task for today and head to a more accessible site. We spent the day cutting and clearing Gorse from an area at Derwent Reservoir. A lovely mosaic of features was created which should provide good habitat for a number of different species. Welcome to our new volunteer, David!

Stanley Moss: Scrub Control (Wed 8th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:03:34 GMT

]]>Today, we spent another day at Stanley Moss and made a massive dent in the re-generating scrub that is present on the bog. Again, we cut plenty to fuel a fire for hot baked spuds at lunch time. YUM! Chris and Sacha headed over to Baal Hill to carry on some of the tree felling in the SSSI area. Thanks to everyone for your efforts!

Stanley Moss: Scrub Control & Brash Burning (Tue 7th Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:35:54 GMT

]]>A fantasic team of volunteers spent the day burning brash and cutting scrub from Stanley Moss. We cut down a lot of conifer saplings that were growing on the site and we used them to fuel a fire for our baked potatoes. A very big welcome to Sandra and Eric!

Baal Hill: Woodland Management (Fri 3rd Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:49:39 GMT

]]>Final day tree felling at Baal Hill for a little while. A large group spent the day sweeping through the woodland clearing sycamore and beech. A beautiful day out in the sunlit woodland.
Thanks to everyone and a warm welcome to Kathy on her first day.

Baal Hill: Woodland Management (Thu 2nd Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:36:50 GMT

]]>We spent a pleasant day felling trees in Baal Hill woodland. Chris used his chainsaw to fell the larger trees while the rest of us used some muscle to tackle the rest with bow saws. Welcome to Steve!

Baal Hill: Woodland Management (Wed 1st Feb 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:04:34 GMT

]]>More tree felling in Baal Hill Wood: a large team cleared lots of smaller sycamore. Sycamore is being thinned out as it dominates woodlands and forms its large leaved canopy early in the spring which impacts ground flora. More large trees were also felled by Sacha with a chainsaw away from the main group. Thanks everyone.

Baal Hill: Woodland Management (Tue 31st Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:51:03 GMT

]]>Today's task was spent in the epic woodland at Baal Hill. We carried out tree felling tasks in line with our woodland management and removed a good section of Sycamore. A very big welcome to our newest volunteer, Jason!

Low Barns: Scrub Clearance (Fri 27th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:32:04 GMT

]]>Our small but determined group spent the morning moving logs to the kiln site. After bait we tackled the willow growing around the western end of Marston Lake. Clearing this will improve the habitat around the margins of the lake by encouraging reeds. Thanks everyone.

Derwent Reservoir: Gorse control (Thu 26th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:50:16 GMT

]]>Sarah and Anne led an enthusiastic team clearing gorse in order to create a better habitat for adders. Anne told us beforehand how important it is we help adders as much as possible as we are in a good area for them in terms of numbers, and wish to keep it so. We welcomed two new volunteers, Malcolm and Glenn who slotted right in to the team. Thanks to all who came out on this task and cleared a huge area.

Coppicing Training Day (Wed 25th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:38:13 GMT

]]>Today was our coppicing for butterflies Training Day at Witherslack Hall Woods, Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria. Dave Wainwright from Butterfly Conservation lead the day with a talk about one of the top sites in the country for butterflies. Both teams came together and got loads done before stopping in Barny for fish and chips. The chip shop did very well to serve all 37 of us! A big thank you to Dave and im sure we will take up your offer to come back when many of the butterflies are on the wing!!

Low Barns: Scrub Clearance (Tue 24th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:49:56 GMT

]]>Today, most of our volunteers helped Graeme and Jamie tackle the scrub, which is growing on the islands in front of the Northumbrian Water Hide. These islands should be solely reedbeds with no young trees growing in them. Sacha and two others tackled the young trees which were growing in the reedbeds around the boardwalks. Thanks for the brilliant effort today!

Malton: Scrub Clearance & Habitat Piles (Sat 21st Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:02:58 GMT

]]>Under a bright winter's sun, we spent the day clearing scrub from an area of heather at Malton. This included clearing patches of small saplings and areas of regenerating gorse. Many thanks for all the hard work everyone and thank you Sue for the doughnuts!

Low Barns: Scrub Control (Fri 20th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:51:17 GMT

]]>Managed to clear small trees from the west pasture and cleared a large section in the reedbed by the boardwalk. This work was to maintain the areas as meadow and wetland habitat. Another small team spent the day sorting logs and brash on the edge of the reedbed: after the tree felling earlier in the week. Thanks to all and a warm welcome to Jason on his first day.

Low Barns: Fence Removal & Log/Brash Piling (Thu 19th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:38:55 GMT

]]>The team had a two-task day today. Firstly the old fence was removed from the mound near the Blue Butterfly meadow. This area is now complete and when fenced in can be grazed. After lunch the felled trees from by the reedbed were piled into logs for charcoal burning and brash piles in the woodland for habitat. Thanks to all who came out, a very productive day.

Low Barns: Scrub Control (Wed 18th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:06:04 GMT

]]>Cleared more gorse from the Blue Butterfly meadow and removed some old fencing. This will enable the Exmoor ponies to graze this grassland in the future as part of its future management and thus maintain an ideal habitat for the butterflies. Meanwhile Graeme, Patsy and Sacha felled larger trees near the boardwalk reedbed. A good team and fine weather made it a very good day. Thanks to all.

Low Barns: Scrub Control (Tue 17th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:54:57 GMT

]]>Despite the frosty start, a good turnout got through a tremendous amount of work clearing gorse from the Blue Butterfly meadow. This will enable the Exmoor ponies to graze this grassland in the future as part of its future management and thus maintain an ideal habitat for the butterflies. Meanwhile Graeme and Sacha felled larger trees near the boardwalk reedbed. The team welcomed our latest volunteer, Jonny. Thanks to all.

Low Barns: Scrub Control (Fri 13th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:33:30 GMT

]]>Another great group of volunteers out today and we spent our time removing various patches of re-growth scrub from around the reserve. Split into two groups in the morning: Graeme with two volunteers worked on the trees growing in the reed beds, Chris and the rest of the team worked in the south hide meadow. Cleared mostly alder and willow to prevent the areas becoming woodland/carr (holding back succession). All of us then tackled the dragonfly pond next to the blue butterfly meadow. Thanks everyone and a warm welcome to Sue on her first day on task.

Burn Hill: Tree Planting (Thu 12th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:51:19 GMT

]]>A keen and eager bunch assembled today for Sarah's task at Burn Hill. Our numbers were swelled by two new volunteers today, Chris and Dean and we welcomed them onboard. The trees were planted to provide a shelter belt for a variety of butterflies, including some of the rarest species in the county. Thanks for a job well done.

Low Barns: Scrub Control (Wed 11th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:56:46 GMT

]]>We had another cracking group of volunteers out today and we spent our time removing various patches of re-growth scrub from around reserve. On the morning we headed out to work in the West Pasture and removed Alder & Willow and after lunch we worked around the lake in front of the Northumbrian Water Hide to aid the marginal vegetation.

Low Barns: Gorse Control (Tue 10th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:51:26 GMT

]]>A very good turnout today, the team tackled the gorse at the end of the Blue Butterfly Meadow. We were treated to an unseasonably warm day, made even warmer by the fire. A welcome to our newest volunteer, John. Thanks to all who attended.

Pics for home page

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:35:41 GMT

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Low Barns: Scrub Control & Gorse Clearance (Sat 7th Jan 2012)

lowbarnsvolunteers@durhamwt.co.uk (Low Barns Volunteer Task Force) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:35:17 GMT

]]>First Saturday task of the New Year and the end to the first week back, It’s been great catching up with everyone again after the holidays so thank you everyone who came out this week. Today we cleared the scrub on the mounds around the blue butterfly meadow and not being content with that continued on and started the gorse clearance at the back of Low Barns by the river Wear. I think when this area is finished it will end up being a really nice part of the site. Of course with gorse comes fire and even in just a half day we managed to get a good fire going, I had forgotten just how much fun they are!! Good news for next week though we should be good for Baked Potatoes!!!