River Ouse with ice flows

First of December and the first of the cold weather

he day started with the first frost of the year that meant the car needed to be deiced.  After a nice sunny drive to the reserve it was time for a cup of tea.  Being one of the two volunteer days of the week, the day got off to a slightly slow start with safety briefings and talking through the days planned targets.

Ice on the pond

The objective for the day was to open up a section of path to allow more sunlight in.  The area had become a bit scrubby and trees had grown up so the area was in shade most of the time.  The day was spent brush cutting back the grass and wild flower remains.  Loppers were used to remove the more scrubby growth and a chainsaw and bow saws to remove the tree growth. 

Before the day scrub bashing

At the end of the day, all clear and open

 All the removed biomass was then placed into heaps and “hedging “to rot down and provide a new habitat.  The newly exposed path margins will now be a good area for wild flowers.

At the end of the day some of the ponds surface was still covered in ice as the sun went down.

Sun down and there is still ice on the water