Hedge laying at Hill Court Farm

Last month members of the Hill Court Farm volunteer work party got stuck into the task of clearing / laying / coppicing a long length of hedgerow.  The weather was kind to us & in our beautiful location, surrounded by bird song & watched (rather suspiciously!) by rabbits we had a great day. Massive thanks to all those who helped!

Clearing the hedgerow was a job in itself as it was pretty choked by thick bramble in places, but thanks to a determined and enthusiastic team the bramble was defeated and the hedgerow was liberated! We were then to have a go at laying the top end of the hedge and I think the results are looking good - well worth the toil. 

Clearing the hedge ready for laying

The start of the hedge laying - looking good

There is still much work to be done, so if you have a couple of hours spare and fancy lending a hand at this month's work party on this Saturday 30th November we'd love to see you. There will be plenty to get stuck into at whatever pace suits you and the opportunity to learn the art of hedge laying for anyone who'd like to have a go.    Although the work seems almost brutal at times, the hedgerow will be enhanced as a habitat when it grows back thicker, healthier and stronger next year and this in turn will be beneficial to wildlife for shelter / nesting, as a food source and as a 'corridor' across the Reserve.  It should prove to be one of those tasks which gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside as you see the results over time. 

Contact Naomi or Rob for further details on 01905 754919.

Sara, Hill Court Farm warden

New work party at Hollybed

Sunday 3rd was our Taster Day at Hollybed Reserve. We had a strong turnout in beautiful weather and got to work putting up bird nest boxes. Our new volunteers managed the smaller ones really well but the huge owl boxes tested even the most experienced of us. By lunchtime we had them all in place.

After lunch we did a tour of the reserve led by myself, the volunteer reserve manager and I described our plans for our future development of the reserve and explained some of the work we have already completed.

We spent the rest of the afternoon coppicing an area overgrown by blackthorn trees to let more light into an area on the edge of the reserve.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who took part in the day, including many who have already completed valuable survey work and know the reserve quite well. Please come back and join us for our next day at Hollybed in Sunday December 1st when we will be planting new fruit trees in the old orchard.

Andrew, Hollybed reserve manager

Work party fun

As a rookie volunteer, Claire suggested I blog about the recent taster days I’ve attended, so here goes...

For my first practical experience of conservation work I learnt all about coppicing on a near perfect, sunny day at Trench Wood. Loppers and band-saws in hand, we made the most of the glorious autumnal sunshine; cutting down scrub so that it will grow back denser and create a better habitat for the wildlife. Having greatly enjoyed the day, I then went for a second helping at Devils Spittleful where we cleared more scrub from an area of heathland, this time with the focus on uprooting many of the unwanted saplings. Not only did I discover the difference between Aspen (long, thin, pointed buds) and Silver Birch (short, fat, rounded buds), but I had a very satisfying time learning how to swing a mattock!

It’s hard work – I’ve discovered muscles I didn’t realise existed – but knowing you are making a practical contribution to the preservation of these important habitats more than makes up for a bit of pain!

I’m happy to say I’m hooked and looking forward to getting involved in more work parties for the Trust.

Alison, rookie volunteer

Roving Volunteers

The first time the Tuesday Roving Workparty visited Lower Smite Farm this autumn we joined forces with the Smite farming volunteers. Some 400 new blackthorn and other shrubs and trees were used to plant a new hedge between the gate and the field edge at the top of the hill. The field will host a new project including lavender and wild bird seed production units. The second visit had us taking out old gateposts that had been very deeply entrenched, with the added bonus of being bell ended and encased in water.

(The team discovering the depths that a gatepost goes to)

We marked out the new footpath ready for the Smite team to lay another new hedge and helped with the new fencing alongside the road at the back of the house and garden.

Last Tuesday the team visited Long Meadow to undertake coppicing and clearance. The ground was wet and having navigated with map and compass we all gathered and took instruction from Claire.

Ramsay Reaney, Tuesday Roving Volunteers

Working on the Spittleful

I've just got back to Smite from a really smashing day working at the Devil's Spittleful reserve - a great mix of hardwork and spotting trains!

There were 9 of us clearing silver birches and broom from in amongst the heather. We worked hard to clear masses of both - it makes a real difference to the future success of the heathland. I remember the first time I volunteered at Devil's Spittleful - it was more woodland than heathland.

Claire was running the work party today and managed to take us as far as she possibly could from the railway line. Which meant every time we heard a train I had to make a real effort to get to the track to see it. I managed it a couple of times and caught sight of Tornado & N2 - both visiting the Severn Valley Railway for the week. Tornado is a brand new build steam locomotive that's only been finished this year so I was really pleased to see it.

Excellent day with brilliant weather!

Mike, roving volunteer

Raking & Aching

Technically I'm a member of staff and not a volunteer so I shouldn't really be writing on the volunteer's blog. But I spent yesterday away from the computer & out on reserve with a volunteer work party. Despite this morning's aches I had a great time and thought I'd share some of the moments....


Although I've volunteered with other conservation groups, this was my first time out with Wildlife Trust volunteers. We've got lots of volunteer groups working on our reserves all over the county - yesterday the midweek 'roving' group were mowing and raking a meadow near Pershore. Mill Meadow is privately owned but managed by the Trust - there is minimal access to the reserve which makes it a haven for wildlife. It's not been ploughed for at least three generations, is sheltered and remains undrained. There is a rich flora in the meadow including spotted orchid, fleabane and devil's-bit scabious as well as moths, insects, slow-worms, frogs and toads - and much much more!


As the meadow is relatively small yesterday's work was done largely by hand. John mowed - we raked. Hardwork! We pitchforked the mown grass into three or four piles around the site. This gradually composts down and makes a fabulous habitat for slow-worms, grass snakes, frogs and toads. John was great at spotting wildlife that was wandering around in front of mower - we lost count of how many frogs and toads of all sizes we moved out of the way! From my point of view seeing so many toads was brilliant - I've got a registered toad crossing quite close to the meadow and it was great to see that so many made it after seeing so many squashed as they travelled to their breeding pond/s earlier this year.


One of the volunteers suggested that they start to make a log of break-time and lunchtime conversations as they're so varied. Yesterday we chatted about the school that wanted to slaughter a sheep - which led to an interesting discussion about animal husbandry - as well as the culinary delights of noodles and pasta. It's not all hardwork!


I'm not going to tell a fib. If you're thinking of volunteering on one of our reserves, expect to ache a little after the first day's hardwork. I used muscles yesterday that I'd forgotten I had - and I'm aching a little today to remind me. I may write a press release or update our website today to spread the word about we we do - but yesterday I was involved in the 'real' on the ground work of actively managing habitats to help our wildlife survive.


Fancy joining in? Contact our volunteer co-ordinator, Claire Dovey on 01905 754919 or claire@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org.


Wendy, Communications Manager, Lower Smite Farm

Pull it up! Mash it up! Hang it up!

Droitwich Community Woods reserve volunteers stop at nothing to get to that last remaining Himalayan balsam from their section of the River Salwarpe.

Up stream WWT volunteers at the Upton Warren Reserve have virtually cleared it. Webbs of Wychbold have pledged their support but we need more land owners between the two reserves to do the same.

Each plant missed can produce thousands of seeds and disperse them over a 7m diameter area. Dense infestations of Himalayan balsam (an annual) destroy native bankside plant life leaving the banks bare to be washed away by the winter floods - the resulting silts cover gravel beds thus destroying fish breeding grounds. SO DON'T JUST SIT THERE FISHERMEN - BALSAM BASH.

Code of practice: Pull it up, mash it up and hang it up. Otherwise it will live to see another day!

Roger, Droitwich Community Woods