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Introduction
One cannot believe, in days like this, that in the middle of winter we had our last volunteer party. I have told you about the loss of the chainsaw certificate. Mind you, one brighter aspect is that we gained a grant for our First Aid training. So, it was suggested that we should try the new“tree poppers" which we “borrowed”from the SWT. A useful tool in the right circumstances. At one end there is a mouth with which one can grab a tree at the bottom and then one can pull a tree out of the ground, root and all. It sounds complicated when I write this, but it is really simple. However, at the bottom of Jordan Hill the ground was so soggy that the popper disappeared into the ground. End of working party. This tool works very well on solid ground but not on the lower parts of Whitmoor. It can also be used to extract unwanted scrub, woody plants, trees and ragwort -roots and all, avoiding multi-stem regrowth or herbicide treatment.The occasional call out when a tree has blocked a path still happens. The tree is down, thus no felling. We just clear the patch and area in a safe manner. It is surprising how, when one leaves the cut timber in the area, it disappears in no time! The photos below show a tree which had fallen recently across a path and needed our attention.
We did not sit still, however. We organised the Christmas tree harvest in aid of St Joseph’s School. It seems to get busier every year. When all those years ago, with the first harvest, families and their children used to come to collect their tree, the same people return now with their grandchildren. Great.The kids love it and so do the parents.The PTA of St Joseph’s has told us that the money raised for the school has been put towards an ongoing project - current redevelopment of a grass area with a large willow tree at the front of the school site. This area has a lot of potential to be a great space for all of the children of St Joseph’s but also for parents and visitors to the school to enjoy some shade, prayer, sensory fulfilment, sitting space. It is in the design stages currently. However, it will be a large project so all funds are being directed into this area currently. Having said all that, I admit that the WCA is not what it used to be. Yes, we help on the common where we can and where we are allowed to. After the loss of our chain saw tickets the sense of the usefulness of the group seems to have come to an end. The common is tinder dry. We did not think it a good idea to have a picnic/BBQ, which was scheduled for 30th June, in these conditions. It will re-appear at the end of September/early October and the date will be published in due course.
Report from Adam Bolton, Conservation Manager (West)-Surrey Wildlife Trust
At the time of writing this report, it seems like we may be in for another year of record high temperatures across Surrey. Unfortunately, we have already suffered a 26ha fire on Ash Ranges along with a couple of smaller ones and expect this to be a busy summer of activity for our fire services. We are working hard at the Trust and with our wider partners to raise awareness of the risks associated with wildfire on our heaths. We are also trying to move our management towards a more resilient model that will allow more places for the fire service to fight fires and help make future fires smaller and easier to manage. Staff at Surrey Wildlife Trust have received wildfire management training to help us work better with the fire service to reduce the chances of large-scale wildfires on our sites. The risk is nevertheless continuing to grow and we appreciate everyone at the WCA, and all our other volunteers and associated groups keeping an eye out for any antisocial behaviour that could lead to wildfires. Minor antisocial incidents can be reported on the non-emergency police number or if a wildfire is starting or has started, call 999 immediately.
Away from the threat of wildfire, Surrey Wildlife Trust did a lot of scrub removal on Jordan Hill last winter, opening up the heathland for the benefit of our rare, specialist species. We are also continuing with our conservation grazing programme, with Belted Galloway cattle grazing at Jordan Hill at the time of writing. We decided to start with Jordan Hill this year to target some of the fresh regrowth from our scrub cutting in the winter. One of the rarest insects in the UK, the Window-Winged Caddis Fly (Hagenella clathrata) was previously thought to only be found on Whitmoor Common and Chobham Common in the entire south of the UK. The good news is that this rare species has been discovered at two new sites, Frensham Common and at a site near Fleet in Hampshire. We are planning to do work this winter to try and benefit this incredibly rare insect on Whitmoor Common. At SWT we are looking forward to working closely with Paul and the WCA volunteers to plan volunteer parties for the winter season. A huge thank-you must go to all the volunteers that put so much work in on Whitmoor Common and provide valuable reports and feedback. You really are very important to the work we do and everyone at SWT appreciates all your efforts. To view Adam Bolton's complete presentation
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Finally, please do come the annual AGM on 6th July 7.30pm in the Worplesdon Memorial Hall, Walker Room. Especially, when some of our local representatives from Surrey and Guildford have agreed to join us.
With best wishes,
Paul Rijbroek
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Heathland Management in an age of fire / Adam Bolton
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