Work Day 24th July

Carrying on with bracken trampling from 2 weeks ago and clearing around new trees.
All welcome. 10 am. start. Contact Paul for directions if 1st time.
07870 780522 paul.antonelli@rocketmail.com
Can offer a short tour of other activities happening this year after lunch.

13th july

Small copper

6 spot Burnet

Soldier beetles

Thanks for IDing these Graham

Small flowers blooming in gateway of 3rd Meadow gateway ???

Worries about ever growing numbers of rabbits took a slight turn on noticing this rabbit scrape that seems to be in use by bees. 3 or so holes being used and about 6 arrivals/departures per minute.

End of June

Fungus growing on old gorse in green lane ???

Thanks for photo Tim

After the rain

First look round after the end of the dry spell.
One Buzzard chick struggling to keep up with it's parents
Caterpillar below feeding on new sprouting chestnut leaves. ID???














Amphibian below had moved in under plastic mulch sheet where bracken and wind had lifted it and folded it over collected rainwater. ID ???.














The tree guard below had been unwound off tree and ends were covered in rabit sized teeth marks













Some Ash trees that had been left too long in nursery were have successfully been transplanted this winter. The tree below was left as thought to be a sycamore, but definitely not. ???

In the Nursery all trayed seedlings moved into inner enclosure. Over grown Ash dug out and replanted as a stand in 2nd Meadow. Germination crates to be moved into new 2nd inner enclosure in February, possibly with on a layer of slate, slabs.

2nd Meadow area laid out. To be interplanted in front with Elder and behind with Ash. Remainder of space filled with Alder and Birch. Just Birch with a little space around 4 yr old Plum trees.

Cutting back willow near car park for use as markers in new tree planting areas in 2nd Meadow, Stone Field and Little Stitch.

Hole in from adjacent warren was 20 inches underneath the fence burrowed above a layer of gritty soil. Noticable that the hole started to rise where it came under the fence. Trench cut across and lined with roof slates and filled. Undergrowth cleared away from cornish hedge open warren entrances up to predators.

Finding a completely striped ivy branch in the tree nursery was a clue to why so many seedlings missing.

Snow on ground covered in rabbit droppings reveals just how high rabbit population has grown and damge to trees whereever they can get to bark.

Tree Nursery

A busy half term, opening up an access into the Green Lane and 2nd Orchard to establish a tree nursery.

View through foot opening to Green Lane and 1st Orchard beyond.

A couple of days of Blackthorn clearance and a couple of boulders later. Big thanks to Darren and Alex.











In amongst that time to walk in 300 young trees lay out a mulch/self watering system. Thanks Sian.

Nursery started off with various woodland collected seedlings and year old chestnuts grown from last years Greenwich Park harvest and this years for germination.

Apple blossom in the 1st Meadow where the trees in the shelter belt had been badly hit by frost the previous week.

In the Car Park fascinated by a particular flying insect that appeared dropping eggs from the air onto the car roof!

3rd Oct
The sky was clear this morning, so drove to Greenwich Park to see how the chestnuts were doing. Quite a lot of nuts on the ground were not fully grown, but found a few trees that they had matured and some where they were a reasonable size. As it was a windy day the technique of finding a good, unpopular tree and waiting for them to drop proved fairly successful. Recommended to me by an unusually chatty chinese guy of few english words and a jade buddha on a chain round his neck. He actually stayed in one spot, but I collected twice as much by checking out lots of the good trees from last year. Was also able to pick off a few trees. Looks like there will still be plenty for next w/e and an earlier start will help. Rough count for today 700.
PaulA