Medway and Coastal Wetlands Volunteering Update - Volunteer Week
Medway Wetlands
The start of April meant the focus shifted from scrub cutting to fence repairs. Work started a month earlier, cutting back vegetation that was growing over the fences. This meant we didn’t have to dodge hawthorn and blackthorn whilst we replaced fence posts. We started at Holborough, replacing a section of fence in the northern fields, listening to displaying lapwing and our first nightingale of the year. There were also long conversations on the best techniques for using the sledgehammer and the post knocker, as well as the various names we all used for the tools.
After finishing at Holborough, the volunteers moved to Peters Pit. Fencing progress was slowed by having to dig posts into solid chalk, which proved to be difficult. But with perseverance and determination, new fence posts and strainers were dug in and tampered down. The volunteers did have a break from fencing to distribute reptile mats around Peters Pit, a slow worm was found under one of the mats, hopefully one of many.
The roaming Wednesday team have been working on tidying and reorganizing the backyard at Tyland Barn. Freeing stock mesh and the tractor winch from bramble and nettles, creating new spaces to store spare timber and fencing materials, as well as helping to expose grubs for a very friendly robin. They have also been surveying for water voles and repairing a gate at Holborough, keeping an eye out for Early Marsh orchids and listening to a nightingale whilst we had our lunch.
Our fencing jobs are nearly complete, and then we will be moving on to cutting back various footpaths, followed by ragwort pulling.
Medway Grasslands
The Queendown Team have been busy finishing up the winter work of cutting and clearing away regrowth both at Queendown Warren but also having a few away days at Burham Down. Towards the end of winter they were also busy planting up a new section of hedging at Queendown Warren, which will act as part of an experimental hedge to find the most successful method for establishing a hedge, a disease resistant Elm tree (Ulmus x wingham (FL4943)) was also planted as part of the hedge mix.
The team at Darland Banks have been incredibly busy this winter trying to catch up with missed COVID works, this largely involved cutting two years worth of growth across large areas of the banks rather than the usual small whippy one year regrowth. Along with helping to maintain Darland Banks the team have also been over to The Larches and have helped with cutting the three stage ride and clearing the Plateau. Recently they have begun the survey season with the annual Man Orchid survey at Darland, with over 6,500 recorded so far and still a couple more weeks of surveying to go.
The Nashenden Team have been working hard this winter to repair fencing and horse stiles, as well as a few days spent remove invasive Holm Oak from Shoulder of Mutton Woods. Recently they have begun to remove some of the old external fencing in preparation for a replacement, as well as some internal fencing as part of the reserves Wilding approach to management.
