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November’s volunteer morning was one of the most attended for quite some time! Around 20 people were onsite, tackling many different small projects, all to create a better environment. One of the annual tasks is to dredge the pond. This year, the pond has been often below its water capacity.

This can create the environment for plants that normally live on the pond’s edges to take over the central areas. This has made the annual event even more important so that the grasses don’t choke up our precious water resource. We were fortunate, once again to have Lieve Reckers to volunteer her time and to put on the waders and gloves. As the photos show, the water level is quite low, but this helped Lieve’s task of removing the vegetation that’s quickly growing in the centre of the pond.

Another ongoing project is the creation of some steps in the interior of the woodland. The steep slopes have previously made access difficult for tree maintenance. Under the supervision of committee member Don Albrecht, more progress can be seen.

The wood has been previously donated. It’s great to see this being put to good use.

As ever, weeding, notably of aggressive bramble plants took place. The soil and open environment seem to create perfect conditions for the plant, with stems growing so thick that even secateurs can’t cut these plants back. We were very fortunate in having several volunteers from the local “Good Gym” onsite to help with this.

According to one of the Good Gym regular volunteers, Marta Campos, it’s been 4 years since the first Good Gym visit, quite a milestone!

Our latest Early Autumn Open Day at Westcombe Woodlands took place at the start of the month. Once again, we were blessed with good weather and a large crowd of regular visitors and new visitors. The event began after the morning’s volunteer session.

The committee members were onsite organising children’s activities as well as manning our much-loved refreshment stall where homemade cakes and hot drinks were available. Committee member Andrew Slade had his area dedicated to showing to visitors glass cases of bees.

All committee members were available to showcase the beauty of our small woodland as well as our commitment to conservation and community engagement.

Over £100 was raised through donations and from our refreshment stall, all of which goes towards the ongoing maintenance of our hidden gem.

The next volunteer morning event is scheduled for this coming Sunday, the 5th of October with a start time of 10 o’clock. Then, following a short break, we will continue from 2 o’clock with our early Autumn Open Day event. Expect tours and activities with the committee members, home-made cakes and refreshments.

Our latest Westcombe Woodlands volunteer morning took place a few days ago. As seems to be common these days, we had perfect weather for the event, lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze. Readers of these newsletters will know that earlier this year, we planted lots of wild flowers in the upper areas. The warmth and our regular watering has really helped them to grow, but as usual, more aggressive plants such as bramble, nettles and green alkanet can quickly take over.

So once again, we delicately weeded around our wildflowers to allow them the space and light they deserved. This year has also seen much more than usual saplings sprout from root suckers from the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees we have in the woodlands.

Although classified as pioneer species, their aggressive nature, their tolerance of a wide variety of soil types and general hardiness means these trees can quickly dominate an area.

Other activities included creating new steps to allow better and safer access to internal parts of the woodland. We are always grateful for the regular volunteers and those who come from the local “Good Gym” for helping out with their freely donated time.

And, of course, no volunteer event is complete without a mid morning tea and coffee break with a biscuit or 2!