Leader Rob
Returning on a regular basis to a site gives group members a chance to see the effect of the work done on previous occasions. The Crickley Hill Country Park is a special site where the GVCV team has been many times and here it is possible to see the blocks or compartments that have been coppiced over the last 10 or so years. The cycle of re-growth is now well advanced and before long it will be necessary to re-coppice the first blocks again.
Although the vast majority of the wood is cut and burned it is satisfying that strong, straight lengths of timber are trimmed up and set aside as stakes for use in hedgelaying. In fact the stakes produced here were used by group members in the subsequent hedgelaying project on the Kemerton Estate.
Sometimes
getting a decent fire going can be a bit of a challenge but although
it had been very wet recently Jeff managed to create a really
good blaze very quickly. This meant that the cut material could
be burnt as quickly as it could be cut.
Considering the uncertainty of January weather we were fortunate, there was a short wintry shower around lunchtime and another rather longer one when we were clearing up. During the day it was surprising how much material was cut down, sawn up and burnt. Overall the work went well and everyone returned home tired but satisfied with what had been achieved.
