Penorchard survey

Spring and summer may be a relatively quiet period for the  volunteers as we cannot carry out our regular blackthorn scrub clearing work (which may otherwise disturb nesting birds and damage the flowering plants) but it does give us time to see the meadows at their best and to carry out flora and fauna surveys. The annual plant survey at Penorchard Meadows has been carried out and initial results show the meadows to be in good condition but this is only our fourth year surveying on the nature reserve.

We still have some management work to carry out, however, and one problem we had to deal with was discovered soon after arriving at the reserve for our first day of recording. Fly-tippers had dumped two dozen car tyres into the drainage ditch running alongside the roadway just outside the reserve boundary. A quick call to Worcestershire County Council that same afternoon and the tyres were collected and safely disposed of within 36 hours.

If you are thinking about visiting Penorchard soon, the next few weeks will see the meadows at their very best. The reserve is open every day but visitors are asked to walk around it following the marked public footpaths.

John, Stourbridge Local Group