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With the simultaneous arrival of the holiday season and rather mixed weather, there was only a small contingent (four!) of us hardy conservation volunteers in action at Chorlton Water Park today, along with warden Richard.  The day kindly withheld its heaviest deluge until the middle of the afternoon though, just after we had finished. 

Our work was to help with the maintenance of a path through the woods on the southern side of the lake.  We cleared the overgrown edges and re-covered the path with woodchip, to maintain it as an accessible route and to encourage people to explore and enjoy this lovely little piece of woodland adjacent to the River Mersey.  The river, incidentally, was looking unusually high after last night’s heavy rain – higher in the morning than in the afternoon when these pictures were taken. 

This past Sunday SACV members were out at the glorious Tegg’s Nose Country Park, where the work was to help keep a meadow clear of bracken, ragwort and thistles in order to maintain a regionally important population of waxcap fungi and the beautiful mountain pansies.  It was a very hot day, so well done to those who were out!  Here are some pictures, courtesy of Martin the ranger.

Today SACV volunteers were out giving the National Trust a hand at Hare Hill.  We were working at the edge of the woods which surround the walled garden, in a meadow awash with buttercups, where our task was to help with the control of rhododendrons.

Last weekend (Friday 31st May to Sunday 2nd June) some of us headed off into the Peaks for a weekend away.  Our work over the Saturday and Sunday was to help the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers to improve a footpath in the village of Wensley through the construction of some steps.  It was a great location, the sun shone all the time, and the hillside we were working on was home to four friendly goats who took quite an interest in what we were up to!

Conservation volunteers were yesterday in action at Lower Moss Wood, helping out with some woodland management tasks.  It was pretty rainy on and off but that at least gave a chance to take a break now and then and meet some of the current inhabitants of the educational wildlife hospital in the wood!

Today’s outing for us conservation volunteers was to help Ed from the Cheshire East Rangers with work on the Middlewood Way.  We helped with replacing some steps and then the removal of encroaching vegetation from part of the Way, to stop the narrowing of the path.  Lots of walkers, dogs, cyclists and horse-riders passed by to appreciate and benefit from our efforts and – best of all – the rain didn’t put in an appearance until after we had finished!

SACV’s task last Sunday was to help the National Trust at Hare Hill with the ongoing culvert restoration at this site.  We also helped with work to renovate a cattle drinking trough which had been discovered when it was found that the culverts fed into it – before that it had lain hidden for over 40 years!

Today we conservation volunteers were at Chorlton Water Park.  We were at a different part of the lake from where we worked at our task in December, but once again we were helping the Mersey Valley Wardens by removing encroaching trees from an area adjacent to one of the lake’s reed beds.

Today SACV were out, together with the Friends of the Fallowfield Loop, doing preparation work for a new community orchard on the Loop.  Today the planting holes were dug and prepared with compost, and we’ll be back at the site to help with the planting of the orchard in four weeks’ time, on Sunday 17th March.  In addition to the orchard work, preparation for a new boundary hedge on the corner of Sherwood Street and Wellington Road was carried out.  As the pictures show, it was a perfect sunny spring day to be out volunteering!

On a cold but bright winter’s day, what better way to spend it than by getting out for SACV’s first event of the year?   Well that’s what some of us did today – and we were hedgelaying for the National Trust at Alderley Edge.  A very satisfying task, with plenty of interested passers-by, and a warming fire to get us through our lunch break!