January Winter Worky Day

Almost thirty volunteers joined us in glorious sunshine to help improve some of the habitats here on the reserve. The group split and worked on two different areas, the first clearing an overgrown stream near to the lake.

Everyone worked hard here and soon good progress had been made. Opening up this area will allow more light into the nearby woodland; this will promote the growth of new trees which are going to be planted over the coming weeks.

In the high winds last night several trees were lost on the reserve. This old and rotten Rowan was one of them. Robin worked for part of the morning making these safe so that they can be cleared away over the next few days.

The second team continued work in the coppice block and cleared another large section of willow.

Much of the cut willow was put to one side ready for future projects, including reinforcing a section of the riverbank along Risedale Beck by willow spiling.

During the afternoon the weather turned and we finished the day in driving snow – by this point the fires were going well and kept us warm!

Thank you to everyone who has helped today, it won’t be long until spring returns and we can enjoy all the benefits of your hard work.