All’s well that ends well

We met on a mild and dry morning at West Beckham Old Allotments, a magnificent gathering of 14 volunteers and Ed our tree surgeon. After the safety briefing, we split into two teams to begin the morning’s tasks.

The first group was assigned to assist Ed to reduce the height of our aged boundary Hawthorns that would otherwise be at risk of being blown over. This is an essential task that is being continued from previous years to slowly make our way around the edge of the allotments – by doing this over the course of several years, the disruption to wildlife is minimised. As the large branches were cut down, a team was responsible for hauling away the thinner branches and using the larger logs to infill around the boundary, creating log piles for invertebrates to shelter in. We plan to leave the huge pile of smaller branches to create a wild habitat, which can offer nesting and hibernating locations.

The second team spent the morning ensuring the health of our saplings. This involved clearing around the base of the trees, removing the tree guard, checking that the base of the trees are firmed in to prevent root rock, and checking the stake is stable, and finally replacing the tree guard and mulching the ground. Evidence for the necessity of tree guards was apparent when we discovered several trees with bark damage. Unbeknown to us, a tiny fawn was hunkered down in the copse, just feet from where we were working, and later discovered by Susan when she was trampling down some of last year’s dead thistles – needless to say, we left it in peace.

In addition to the main tasks, a few extra jobs were undertaken. Roger and Val healed in some whips which are to be planted at Stow Heath at a future date, and John went to our nearby site, West Beckham Green, to clear fallen branches from the paths there. Meanwhile, David H was busy studying the wildlife in our ponds – see his separate blog, Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog. David also did some temporary repair work on the Marsh Pond, where a mammal has been gnawing the exposed liner.

Our traditional coffee and doughnut break was put in jeopardy when Peter M’s car broke down in the Morrison’s car park, but Alan saved the day by driving over to collect the morning’s refreshments. The morning was rounded off with a game of hunt the needle in the haystack when Peter F discovered that he had dropped his car keys. We had given up hope when a cry of triumph came as Peter retrieved his own keys.

Nick and Val Stubbs

February 20th 2025