Holyland Wood Report 26 April 2023

Holyland Wood Report 26 April 2023

A small group of volunteers assembled in the car park on a bright, but chilly morning for the spring work party.  After a catch-up and briefing on the state of the woodland we shared out the work and got stuck in.  Quickly the sun’s heat and exertion meant that a layer of clothes needed to be removed! One volunteer (Dave L) had spent a few hours on the previous day using his brushcutter to cut down hemlock water dropwort and encroaching vegetation along both sides of the boardwalk through the reedbed.

In addition he tackled a large area of the car park meadow and the entrance verges, avoiding some areas of winter heliotrope, which we plan to treat with herbicide, as it is becoming an invasive and smothering problem.

As a result of the brushcutter work a team was dispatched to sweep the debris from the path.  Fortunately most dog walkers using the woodland are acting responsibly; a trend I hope continues!

The grass cuttings on the meadow were raked into piles and removed to the compost heap to ensure the meadow continued to grow as a low nutrient meadow habitat.

During Storm Noa a couple of weeks ago, two of our Holyland Wood information boards were blown over. The one nearest the entrance to the boardwalk, suffering rotting legs, was blown over completely, whilst the board at the Jack Skone’s entrance was moved but not broken.

Consideration was given to the methods we could use to reinstate the information boards.  Reinforcing and tamping down the soil around the legs easily straightened the one near Jack Skone’s Lane, but the other one will require new postholes being dug, reinforcing rods inserted and some “postcrete” to give firmer support (thanks for your suggestions Nick) – a job for another day!

Using an extendable pruner we removed a number of dead branches from around the site to ensure visitor safety. Another maintenance job undertaken was giving the Co-op donated bench a coat of weather proofing varnish.  Hopefully this will extend its life. 

Whilst we were at it, a coat of varnish was given to the main noticeboard.

Two areas of Japanese Knotweed have been identified. One on the left as you pass under the arch towards the boardwalk, the other at the rear of the meadow.  “Do not cut” signs have been attached to these plants so that they can be treated by the PCNP Invasive Non-Native Species Project Coordinator (Mat Tebbutt) who is aware of their presence and will spray them at the correct growth stage.

Whilst we were working we counted visitors both local and tourists using the woodland and reading the boards and asking questions.  Some didn’t even have dogs!  All were complimentary of the area and appreciated our work.

In the warm spring sunshine we recorded the following flowering plants:

Lesser Celandine, Wood Anemone, Bluebells, Wild Garlic, Primroses, Cowslips, Marsh Marigolds, Yellow Archangel, Red Campion, Herb Robert, Cuckoo Flower/Lady’s Smock.

Butterflies and other flying insects were seen including:

Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Small White Butterflies, plus Large Red Damselflies, Bumblebees, Iridescent Beetles, Shield Bugs, and a lone Wasp.

Amongst the birds we saw were: Robins, Blackbirds, Great Tits, Wood Pigeons, Jackdaws and a male Blackcap.

As always we are very grateful for the time volunteers spend helping to maintain Holyland Wood for the benefit of visitors and wildlife.

Please look out for future Work Parties, especially the anticipation of summer eradication of Himalayan Balsam from the reedbed!  Your help is much appreciated.