Ballachurry Reserve, Work Party 7th December 2019.

 Our final work party of the year on Saturday saw leaden skies but light spirits!

 14 Volunteers came along for another attack on those seemingly endless brambles. Brambles are excellent for wildlife but Ballachurry Reserve has plenty of them already and we don't want them to take over the paths and the open areas. We divided into two groups, one to free up the Hazels lining the path which runs parallel to the road, and the other to maintain a demarcation line between the scrub and the damp meadow. We were again indebted to Ian with his dustbins and trailer for making this job easier.

We are also very grateful to Andree Dubbeldam of the Manx Wildlife Trust for giving us a small crab apple tree for the reserve. This was planted during the morning, complete with Tully Tube  (rabbit protection) and a mulch of old carpet to keep the vegetation from overpowering it while it becomes established. It will be a year or so before it produces fruit but will eventually have great wildlife value on the reserve. Thank you Andree!

Being December we thought this work party should have a festive feel so seasonal refreshments were provided in the form of mince pies and hot punch. Lest this should be misconstrued, here is a photo of what we were drinking!

Alcohol obviously doesn't mix with sharp tools, let alone the fact that we all had to drive home afterwards!

     

our new Crab Apple Tree is in there somewhere!

a few action shots from the meadow area.....

..........and among the Hazels

Then a well deserved rest

and the punch certainly made it smell like Christmas!

Cheers everyone!

after a convivial break we resumed the tasks

Unfortunately it began to drizzle shortly after our break and when this became more persistent we decided to call a halt. By this time we had pretty much finished these areas anyway. We'll no doubt be taking up the loppers again in January!

A huge thank you to all who came to help today - we know there are lots of calls on your time  just before Christmas -but also to everyone who has  worked on the reserve throughout  2019. Without you Ballachurry would not be the beautiful and interesting place it has become over the years. 

Thanks too to those who baked mince pies and biscuits for us today, some of whom were also busy in Shoprite raising money for the Wildlife Trust by bag-packing.

 Wishing all our wonderful Ballachurry Volunteers a very Happy Christmas!

P.S. Water Rail heard squealing from reed bed during the morning SC209694

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them