Medway and Coastal Wetlands Volunteering Update
Medway Wetlands Team
Over the summer, the volunteers have continued with fencing repairs, mainly at Peters Pit. Putting the fence posts in proved to be challenging, due to how solid the chalk was along the fence line. Whilst some of the posts could be banged in, some of them had to be dug in using the petrol auger to make the hole before tamping the chalk in around the posts to make them stable.
The volunteers have also been working at Holborough, firstly cutting some of the footpaths in the scrub block and ones which runs adjacent to the railway. They then worked in one of the fields to cut invasive goat’s rue before it sets seed. Goat’s rue is originally from Africa, and forms dense stands preventing other plants from growing underneath it. So the volunteers have been cutting it to try and reduce its dominance, whilst also trying to avoid native wildflowers such as wild marjoram, red bartsia and bird’s foot trefoil.
The Roaming Wednesday also had their summer outing, starting at the church in Godmersham and following the Stour Valley Walk towards Chilham, then having lunch at Badger Hill Farm Café (which I highly recommend). We then walked back to the truck, passed Chilham Castle and through Godmersham Park.
The Thursday team’s summer outing was to Heather Corrie Vale, where we were given a tour of the reserve by grazing ranger Jess and met the cows that graze the reserve. We then had a picnic under some of the trees before having a walk around the “valley section” of the reserve.
With the end of summer soon approaching, the volunteers will be moving on to cutting the reeds around the ponds at Peters Pit. By waiting until the water levels are at their lowest, we can then cut as much of the reeds as possible. This is to prevent them from taking over in the ponds, so the ponds are kept clear for great crested newts.
