All tasks cancelled

Due to the Coronavirus epidemic we have no more tasks for this season. Normal service should resume sometime in September. Watch this space.

11 March Bramble bashing

Next task we will be continuing to cut back a path in the bramble at the western end of the site. This path was badly overgrown making access difficult last summer. As well as improving access, wider margins between the bramble patches will provide a fire break in the event of bramble fire. On Google Earth you can see this part of the common was very open in 1999, with just a few patches of bramble. Over the years these have grown and joined up. We should be burning up the bramble and having a fire.

First FONC task Wednesday 5th February

Better late than never. We are finally ready to start conservation work on Wednesday 5th February. Meet at 10:00 in the car park which is on the A27 almost opposite Netley Firs Close. We will be removing scrubby regrowth, mostly birch from in and around the heather. There will be a fire for burning the birch and cooking potatoes.

Thanks to a grant from the Chestnut Fund, we have bought nice new loppers and other tools. There should be more popping than lopping going on, as we now use tree poppers for removing the birch, roots and all. This should save a lot of time in future years as the previous practise of cutting and treating has been only partly effective.

Tasks will continue every Wednesday in February and March.