In the Teign Valley
It appears that the hill was gritted at lunchtime, but not by us! I presume that this was a Secondary Route gritting, they never tell me if they are doing it but there was plenty to see coming up just after 2pm. Anne Mayes
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Our thanks to Andy H and Nige, again, for gritting the hill for us this evening. We do still need more volunteers as those we have are not always available and we can’t rely on the same people every time.
Don’t forget though that, after all the rain we’ve had, the possibility of run off washing the salt away is high and hence there could well be patches of black ice. Anne Mayes
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Our thanks to Andy H and Nige for gritting the hill for us this evening. Don’t forget though that, after all the rain we’ve had the possibility of run off washing the salt away is high and hence there could well be patches of black ice. Still on the lookout for more volunteers!
Anne Mayes
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January is a time for new beginnings. We are heading back towards the longer days, the earth rich with autumn’s decaying foliage, ready to spring to life again with the first of the year’s flowers. What better way to celebrate this time than with planting a tree!
We will be giving out free trees from 10am on Saturday 20 January at the Bridford Woodland Park. These trees have been grown as part of the Devon Wildlife Trust Devon Treescapes project. The project is looking to get Devon’s communities, landowners and business involved in combating the threats to Devon’s trees, such as Ash Dieback. There will be a variety of trees available including crab apple, wild cherry, rowan, field maple, hazel, so whether you would like to plant a small hedge or just tuck one in the corner of your garden, please come along and pick a tree up. The trees available are all great for UK wildlife whether this is through its flower’s pollen, it offering a leaf to nibble or nest on, or fruit for hungry birds and mammals.
Trees are available on a first come first served basis, and depending on how many people turn up we may be able to offer up to 20 trees per person. We hope to see you there. There is also a tree hub in Dunsford on 3rd February if you are unable to make the 20th January. If you have any questions, please let us know at wildlifewarden@bridfordvillage.co.uk
A reminder that the Team is meeting up tomorrow and we’d welcome anyone who’d like to see what’s involved and, hopefully, join us. Since my last email we’ve lost another member who, because of his age, wishes to retire from active service. This means that we are two down on last winter. Both were helpers, not drivers.
However, we are seriously short of people who have a vehicle with a tow bar. People aren’t always available to go out – work, family commitments or illness – please consider offering to help to keep the hill safe to use. You never go out on your own, there’s always a helper.
We’re meeting up at Seven Acre Farm on Sunday Dec 10th at 11am for a recap and training session, do come and see if you could join us. Anne Mayes
Tonight it was Dom and Matt who teamed up to grit the hill for us so our grateful thanks to them for doing so. Another member of the team tested the hill for us this morning – at 05.15 and told the rest of us at 05.23! He said it was fine so I didn’t update everyone.
However, we are seriously short of people who have a vehicle with a tow bar. People aren’t always available to go out – work, family commitments or illness – please consider offering to help to keep the hill safe to use. You never go out on your own, there’s always a helper.
We’re meeting up at Seven Acre Farm on Sunday Dec 10th at 11am for a recap and training session, do come and see if you could join us. Anne Mayes
We are extremely grateful to Andy B and Joe – again – who braved the hill tonight to grit it. Those of us who either got up or tried to this pm will know how tricky it was. I left a meeting in Exeter two hours early just after 3pm – as usual much to the amusement of others who could see no reason to do so.
Despite all the grit Andy and Joe have spread, any more snow or run off may well leave icy patches, so please take care.
However, we are seriously short of people who have a vehicle with a tow bar. People aren’t always available to go out – work, family commitments or illness – please consider offering to help to keep the hill safe to use. You never go out on your own, there’s always a helper.
We’re meeting up at Seven Acre Farm on Sunday Dec 10th at 11am for a recap and training session, do come and see if you could join us. Anne Mayes
December’s wildlife challenge – let the ivy grow
Playing second fiddle to holly in the famous Christmas carol and often maligned for causing damage to trees, ivy should not be underestimated in terms of its importance for wildlife. Though ivy can undermine a damaged tree, it should not cause an issue for a healthy one where it grows up and alongside it with the ivy’s roots in the soil. The ivy clings to the tree reaching to the light so that it can flower. The flowers and berries come at a vital time for insects and birds as they are available later than many others, so bridge the hunger gap.
Ivy flowers in autumn after many blooms are on the way out and on a bright day can be abuzz with bees, flies, wasps, hoverflies and late butterflies. The berries that start forming before Christmas are ready to eat in January/ February and are a highly nutritious calorie packed meal at exactly the right time in the year when they are needed by birds and small mammals. Blackbirds, blackcaps, thrushes and redwings will all flock to feast on bountiful ivy. Other than that, has it any benefits? Yes, many! A dense thicket provides great nesting opportunity for birds and also hibernating habitat for insects. Many caterpillars will eat the plant, including those of the holly blue butterfly and yellow-barred brindle moths.
I hope this convinces you of the qualities of ivy and this month’s challenge is if you see it in a tree or a hedge to let it grow, allowing it to provide all these benefits, or if you are looking for a climber in your garden consider planting some. It is also, to my mind, a beautiful plant – if you have a lot of it, maybe celebrate it this Christmas by making a wreath out of some strands of it, possibly incorporating it into a Christmas wreath for the birds.
Tree hub- free trees available!
February’s challenge was to plant a tree. We are now at a good time of year for planting trees again so if you have a little bit of space in your garden, or know someone who does and would like one, why not consider planting a tree that can provide pollen and a food source for years to come. I am pleased to say that we will be running a tree hub on 20th January in the Woodland Park where we will be giving out free broadleaf tree whips. This is part of the Devon Wildlife Trust Saving Devon’s Treescapes scheme and thank you to David Price and The Bridford Trust for agreeing for us to run this from the Woodland Park. There will be further details in January’s Unity.
Winter has arrived and two of our volunteers went out tonight to grit the hill. Our thanks to Joe and Andy H who braved the cold to do this for us. However, we are seriously short of people who have a vehicle with a tow bar. People aren’t always available to go out – work, family commitments or illness – please consider offering to help to keep the hill safe to use. You never go out on your own, there’s always a helper.
We’re meeting up at Seven Acre Farm on Sunday Dec 10th at 11am for a recap and training session, do come and see if you could join us.Anne Mayes