Volunteering – Page 2 – Hreod Burna Urban Forest

Ah, nuts!

The latest addition to HBUF’s tree collection went in on one of our recent volunteer sessions.

A lot of people have discovered HBUF for the first time during lockdown. It’s easy enough to walk along the cycle path in the Venny without realising that all that Hreod Burna loveliness is just off that path.

Luckily for us, one such person was Charline, who lives within a short walk of HBUF but had only recently learnt about us.

Charline and her family joined us to plant a couple of walnut trees that had originally been bought for their own garden. They had come to realise that the trees weren’t suitable.

Daughter Heidi was first into action, hefting the mattock to remove the turf

Steve was on-hand, as always, to supervise the planting

Bedding in the first of the new arrivals

The walnuts will fit in nicely with a new feature we are planning at the moment. Both trees are on the edge of the wildflower meadow, which already has a small orchard at one end.

In keeping with the existing orchard we’re looking to create an edible ‘Miyawaki’ forest, with a mix of fruiting trees and bushes. A Miyawaki forest is an area of dense planting, with the trees planted much closer to each other than would normally be the case.

Watch this space or subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest goings on at HBUF.

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HBUF Volunteers

Events, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

At the end of last year we started our work parties, getting together once a month to tackle all the major jobs that needed doing. It worked brilliantly, with new areas cleared and trees & wildflowers planted.

We did have some volunteers that were unable to join us on the chosen weekend, and others who are keen to do more. So now that spring has well and truly sprung we’ve decided to meet every Sunday. So if you want to pop in every week or once in a blue moon, you can now pick a day that suits you, and we’d love to see you.

There’s plenty to do, so we’ll be meeting every week as the weather allows to maintain the existing planting and prepare and plant new areas.

Lots of jobs, from litter-picking and refurbishing the covers on our younger trees through to a bit of clearance work.

If you have any questions you can email Andy at “contact (at) hreodburnaurbanforest.com” or get in touch on our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/HBUFSwindon

We meet every Sunday at 10am by the container in the picnic field.

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April Powers

Events, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

Your superpower? Creating a wildlife oasis in the centre of Gorse Hill and Pinehurst for generations to enjoy.

We’ve got a lot to do again this month, with a wide range of jobs that we need your help with across the site. Please join us on our usual outing on the 3rd Sunday of every month between 10 and 12, next event on 25th of April.

Photo of purple and white fritillaries in the grass of the wildflower meadow — Fritillaries in the wildflower meadow

While you’re there, be sure to visit the wildflower meadow, where the fritillaries that we planted last year have started to come up!

As well as the familiar clearance and planting jobs that need doing we have unwanted visitors to evict! The Himalayan Balsam growing along the banks of the stream is an invasive species that’s crowding out native plants and has to go.

Checkout the event for more details of exactly what we’ll be up to and where to meet.

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March On…

Events, Posts, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

Our work party this month sees us tackling a wide range of jobs. We’ve got chipping, strimming, planting, and all sorts planned. There are even some trees that need to be freed!

We’ll be spread out in a few areas across the site, so everyone can keep distanced. Please RSVP so we know how many are coming and can plan accordingly.

We’re giving our new chipping attachment for the tractor it’s first outing. To make way for our new birch grove we’ve removed a big pile of brambles that need to be chipped.

In the picnic field the trees have outgrown their supports and need to be freed from the rubber bands holding them. In many cases it’s now the trees that are holding the posts up rather than the other way around.

And in the areas that we’ll be clearing there are new trees to go in, as well as the ongoing task of making sure our 2019 plantings are looked after.

Please RSVP so we know how many people are coming and can plan to keep you all safely distanced. We’ll send you details of exactly where to meet and what you might need to bring for the various jobs.

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We’re back..

Events, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

We’re restarting our work parties this month with some more tree-planting.

We will be doing this in a covid-safe way by avoiding meeting as one big group. To help us plan this please register for the event so we know who’s coming.

We will be doing some new planting to replace trees that have been damaged or removed and giving a bit of TLC to our younger saplings. Depending on numbers we may also be doing a bit of litter-picking in some areas.

The planting will be happening on 21st February.

If you’d like us to keep you up to date with the latest events and goings-on at HBUF, why not subscribe to our mailing list? We’ll send you a maximum of one or two emails a month with event details and other news.

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Cancellation notice for Jan 17th Work Party

Work Party Suspended

Events, News, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By Andy

Sorry folks…

The trustees and have agreed to cancel January’s session, and we will review when we can start up again on an ongoing basis.

Even before the lockdown, when we were at Tier 4, it seemed wrong to go ahead. With the national lockdown now in place our decision seems even more justified.

Technically there might have been a way we could work within the restrictions, but we would prefer to act in the spirit of the measures being taken, rather than trying to work to the limits of what we can get away with.

Thankfully, Hreod Burna Urban Forest remains a fantastic place for people to come for their daily exercise. An oasis in the middle of Gorse Hill and Pinehurst.

We’ll be back up and running normally just as soon as we can. In the meantime we are looking at ways that you or your family group might be able to ‘adopt’ an area to look after on an individual basis, without the need for us to all meet up. For instance, maybe you could adopt an area of planting and keep the saplings staked and protected. We’ll be exploring the practicalities of that over the coming week.

If you’re not already, please do consider subscribing to our mailing list to be the first to hear of our plans as they unfold.

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Up to Our Armpits in Mud

Events, Posts, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By HBUF

On a cold, greyish, misty-moisty morning, a group of fifteen people came together to work. While twelve chose slipping about in the afore-mentioned mud, trying their hands at coppicing, the rest adjourned to the wildflower meadow to finish this year’s planting.

Coppicing is, basically, clearing parts of the woodland in order to create space for the remaining trees to grow into large trees, thus being able to fulfil their potential. There is, paradoxically, a certain amount of cutting trees to the ground that goes on initially, accompanied by tidying away of undergrowth and brush. These trees will not die, however, but will make new growth from the stump.

This took place last Sunday, 6^th December 2020, in the adjoining area to that which was begun last year. The plan is then to plant under-storey trees in the areas that have been cleared, for example holly, yew, hazel – sometime soon in the new year, we hope. There will still need to be some clearing up of undergrowth to take place at our first work party of 2021 in January.

While this was taking place in one area, in the wildflower meadow a smaller group of three people finished planting up the fritillaries; the First-Sunday work party in November had planted just over half of the thousand bulbs, together with five hundred wildflower plug plants, comprising field geranium, birds foot trefoil, ox eye daisy, red campion, meadow buttercup, cowslip, common toadflax, field scabious and rough hawkbit (hope I’ve left nothing out). So, next spring, we are hoping for a burgeoning forth of an amazing nature!

Juanjo also managed to capture the day on film

So, all our gratitude goes to our stalwart band of workers, including newcomers Gabby, Juanjo (photographer) and Ian, and then Jason (tree surgeon), his two daughters, Dave, Jake, Kate H, Kate R, Sue, Carol, Bob, Steve and Mary.

Some of our merry band:

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Plugged In

Events, Posts, Volunteer Days, Volunteering / By HBUF

For our November work party we had a great morning planting in the wildflower meadow. After a wet week the weather was kind to us on the day itself, and the ground nicely softened up by the rain.

We had a mix of 500 wildflower plug-plants and 1,000 fritillary bulbs to put in, which you’ll be able to lookout for as they flower next year. They’ve been planted in patches across the meadow so we’re hoping for small patches of colour across the field.

It was a fabulous way to while away a Sunday morning.

You can join us on our next work group on the first Sunday in December, when Jason will be leading us in a bit of coppicing. We may also have a few leftover bulbs to put in…

Below are some of the plants we’ve put in so you know what to look for, with links to the rest if you’re interested.

Some of these I recognise from my own garden, I just never knew what they were called until now 🙂

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fritillaria_meleagris_MichaD.jpg

As the fritillary once thrived in flooded hay meadows across middle and southern England, it should be at home in Hreod Burna.

By the time we’re finished, 1,000 bulbs will have been planted, so we’re hoping for an excellent display when they flower in April & May.

Meadow crane’s-bill has hairy stems and saucer-shaped, white, blue or violet flowers about 4cm across. It can be seen in lowland hay meadows, roadside verges and grasslands. It flowers between June and August.

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meadow_Cranesbill_(Geranium_pratense)-_geograph.org.uk-_876517.jpg

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oxeye_daisy-oliv.jpg

Oxeye Daisy, found in traditional hay meadows and along field margins. Its large blooms appear from July to September and are so bright that they appear to ‘glow’ in the evening, hence the other common names of ‘Moon daisy’ and ‘Moonpenny’.

Below is a list of all the plants we put in this time, with links to the Wildlife Trusts and Royal Horticultural Society web sites if you fancied finding out a bit more.

Birds Foot Trefoil	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/common-birds-foot-trefoil
Common Toadflax	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/common-toadflax
Cowslip	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/cowslip
Field Scabious	https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/9742/Knautia-arvensis/Details
Meadow Buttercup	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/meadow-buttercup
Meadow Cranes Bill	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/meadow-cranes-bill
Oxeye Daisy	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/oxeye-daisy
Red Campion	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/red-campion
Rough Hawkbit	https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/75801/Leontodon-hispidus/Details
Fritillaries	https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/snakes-head-fritillary

Wildflower Meadow Plants & Bulbs

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Votes of Thanks

Posts, Volunteering / By HBUF

To all the wonderful young people from Inner Flame who worked so hard last month (November).

They

Dug tree wells round many of the trees in the picnic field and infilled with bark chippings
Learned how to use the mower and the strimmer
Finished mowing the wildflower meadow in the Ballman Field
Mowed the area in readiness for the Celtic Tree Circle, also in the Ballman Field, and cleared some of the brambles there
Cleared the overgrown area beside the brook, on the other side of the orchard
Put up an insect shelter

And thanks to Jason Dilworth who is teaching us coppicing.

Thanks, too, to the people from Twigs, who have been clearing more of the brambles in the Ballman Field this week, in readiness for some tree planting around what will be the Celtic Tree Circle.

More thanks – to Old Town Rotary Club Charity Ball

Who have awarded us funding of £2,400 towards our tractor & accoutrements purchase (oh, how we are looking forward to being able to benefit from our tractor … when it gets here). This will prove of huge worth to us, being able to do in a few hours what would probably take us days or even weeks to achieve.

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