Making Progress

There are work parties every Tuesday at the quarry. The main focus is on controlling scrub in the open areas. The work has continued on opening out the glade adjacent to the playing field. Also, work is now progressing on the slopes of the quarry to control the unwanted cotoneaster and pyracantha to permit the native plants to hopefully prosper!

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Bird Surveying

There has been some opening up of small rides within the scrub, to provide an opportunity for bird surveying. The birds are caught in a fine net, then assessed, ringed and released. This is all done by experts, who are working alongside our conservation volunteers. Over time, this will gives us a much more precise account of what species we have (and don’t have!). We can direct some of our land management efforts into improving the prospects for birds within the reserve.

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A Walk Through Ashlawn Cutting

This video takes you through the entire length of the Ashlawn Cutting Reserve. You will see examples of the natural delights to be found and some of the volunteers who actively maintain and enhance the site.

Credit goes to Ken Monk, one of our dedicated volunteers, for producing this presentation.

November 13, 2018

It has been a bit hit and miss with regards to getting regular work parties running at the quarry site. A well attended session took place on 13-12-2018, under leadership from Brandon. It is hoped that a local work party leader can be appointed early in 2019. Then, we can look forward to running regular sessions at this site

The work on this latest session involved the removal of tall saplings from a glade that is adjacent to the playing field. The cut down material was placed into dead hedging, which provides a beneficial habitat for smaller birds and invertebrates.   The cleared ground then becomes a warm glade within the trees that is especially beneficial to butterflies.

The photographs show the end result and the team taking a well earned break.

October 2018 – SEWA @ Ashlawn

On Sunday October 28th, the regular Ashlawn Volunteers were joined by a large group of volunteers representing Sewa. The official date for Sewa Day was 2 weeks earlier, but that day was a complete washout and we could not have effectively and safely conducted the work in the cutting.

I have directly copied this overview from the Sewa Day website to give the readers a flavour of Sewa:

“Sewa is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive.

Sewa is a sanskrit word and is embedded in the Dharmic traditions of ancient India. It means to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return.

On Sewa Day, thousands of good-hearted people across the world come together to perform Sewa and experience the joy of giving in its truest sense. By participating in this collective endeavour, we hope that the seeds of Sewa are watered so that acts of kindness and public service are performed more often. Sewa Day is a catalyst in making this happen.

Previously, participating groups have organised Sewa Day volunteering projects in old people’s homes, homeless shelters, schools in disadvantaged areas, hospitals and hospices, country parks, conservation areas and city farms – all with an aim of making a positive difference to someone else’s happiness and prosperity”.

For more information, please go to: https://sewaday.org/

Autumn and early winter is the time that we cut and rake off the grasslands within the cutting. This maintains the correct growing conditions for the native wild grasses and flowers, which in turn supports the invertebrate life within the cutting. The largest physical effort is in raking off the cut grass, to minimise the return of nutrients into the grassland. The Sewa volunteers moved a mass of cut material. This ensures that the regular Ashlawn volunteers can keep on schedule with this key work.  Many thanks go to Raj Mistry for organising this day and for the exceptional work that the Sewa Volunteers performed.

The pictures and video clips will give the reader a flavour of the day.

Rake it off………..

……..and carry it away

Ashlawn Update – July 2018

The most visible wildlife on the site this month are butterflies. All species of “whites” have been very numerous. We are also seeing Silver-Washed Fritillaries in greater numbers.

The movie clip shows a frenzy of whites on a mud puddle.

The Silver Washed Fritillary (shown below) gives the volunteer group some enjoyable challenges.

The adults that can be viewed now come down from the tree canopy to feed on bramble flowers. Those same brambles, if left unchecked, would crowd out the Common Dog-violet that is the food plant of the caterpillars. A lot of our work in recent weeks has been in selective bramble control where the violets are growing. It is just another confirmation of the need to maintain a mosaic of habitat within the reserve.

The Fritillaries are most frequently seen between the Ashlawn and Pytchley Road bridges.