Some of the volunteering events in the park in 2022
Above: 27 Nov. 2022 Scything and raking by volunteers. Judy Webb did some tree-popping and fungi collecting. Photos here
Above: 6 November 2022
A small group of volunteers achieved a surprising amount. Judy Webb wielded a Tree Popper, Rod d'Ayala did his usual great work with the mower and Ellen and Steve Lee continued their non-ending attack on unwanted dogwood. Another Friend of Milham Ford Nature Park, Gersine, came for a chat but was recovering from an arm injury, so couldn't join in the work. An attractive pale mauve wood blewitt fungus, Clitocybe nuda, was found among the leaves. Photos here
A small group of volunteers achieved a surprising amount. Judy Webb wielded a Tree Popper, Rod d'Ayala did his usual great work with the mower and Ellen and Steve Lee continued their non-ending attack on unwanted dogwood. Another Friend of Milham Ford Nature Park, Gersine, came for a chat but was recovering from an arm injury, so couldn't join in the work. An attractive pale mauve wood blewitt fungus, Clitocybe nuda, was found among the leaves. Photos here
7 July 2022 Judy Webb tweeted:
'Working with other Oxford City Council volunteers at Milham Ford Nature Park, scything and raking greater horsetail and rank grass near ponds, leaving swathes of wildflowers - and all with the wonderful scent of meadowsweet and both small-leaved lime and caucasian lime flowers on trees. Black knapweed fully open, along with spiny restharrow. Common fleabane just starting. The whole place alive with insects! As things should be... Very happy to think I and regular volunteers and [Oxford] City Council made all this happen, starting from the early 1990s'. |
27 June 2022 Judy Webb tweeted about the problem with the vigorous and dominant grass, Tall Fescue, Schedonorus arundinaceus. Attempts at removing the seed heads are likely to prove ineffective, as the plant is already too widespread - as Judy said 'We did not notice it getting frequent early enough. Likes our heavy wettish clay. Favoured by late meadow hay cutting, when it has already started to drop seed. Left the hay late because of all the flowers and orchid seed pods not yet split. Trying digging out/cutting patch early'. Judy's photos are here'.
25 June 2022 Judy Webb tweeted: 'Milham Ford Nature Park meadow areas are looking great, but discover it is already time to collect yellow rattle seed, lots ready, also oxeye daisy. Some hours' picking later, feel like a medieval peasant after a day's gleaning'. Judy's photos here 30 June 2022 Volunteers scythed back the overgrowth of rushes around the ponds. A heron was standing by the ponds, waiting for something to catch, but was not in a position that made it easy to photograph. All photos here
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24 April 2022 Oxford Conservation Volunteers came to help with dredging invasive plant growth from the ponds to re-establish areas of open water - necessary, not least, for the local dragonfly population. They also helped with digging out hard-rush tussocks from the ponds' banks and margins and with improving the flow of the stream feeding the ponds, plus uprooting unwanted willow saplings. As always, they did a splendid job, as did the other volunteers who joined them. There were no signs of moorhens taking up residence in the park this year. Photos here
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17 March 2022 Oxford City Council Thursday volunteers, led by Carl Whitehead, then Coordinator of volunteering for Oxford City Council, came to scythe and rake the bank by the Oxford Brookes buildings, which is too steep for machinery to tackle. They also cleared the big branch that had fallen off the oak tree in this corner of the park and did some pond maintenance. Photos here Pond photos by Judy Webb
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23 January 2022 Clare Newgass, seen here with her Austrian scythe, cutting down long grass and some of the rank vegetation prior to raking by other volunteers, followed by mowing by Rod d'Ayala. (Clare is also one of the volunteers that help to maintain the churchyard of St Clement's Church (Marston Road). A lot of work was done. In total, nine volunteers attended, some staying for part of the time, others for the whole session. Photos here
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16 January 2022 Volunteering this year got off to an excellent start, with a mild, sunny, day, though some ice still remained on parts of the ponds. Brambles and female willow wands were hacked down, Rod d'Ayala did his usual excellent mowing job keeping rank vegetation in check in the meadow areas to prevent the smaller wildflowers being suffocated when they emerge in spring. Judy Webb put in plants of pepper saxifrage, Silaum silaus, which she'd grown from seed. For photos, click here - they do not include volunteers who did an 'early shift' or arrived after the photographer had left, including local City Councillor Barbara Coyne, who helped with collection of purple loosestrife seed for sowing on other wildlife sites.dit.
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