Hedge Laying Day

Following a week of horrible weather, we had a lovely sunny day for our hedge laying workshop, bright and not too cold. Bob Howe and Geoff Kistner spent Tuesday preparing the next length of overgrown and unmanaged hedge, which made the task a little easier for the volunteers.

Although thinned out, the remaining growth still needed to be unravelled and trimmed, before the skilled work could start.

After a short break for a soupy lunch and cake, the team continued laying and then fixing the new hedge with stakes and binders.

Next year the new growth should be thick and strong , a good habitat for birds and other wee beasties.
They resulting bit of hedge looks good, with another section to the right that will be tackled later on. Our thanks go to Jim Wallden from Haskett Ltd, who was an expert guide and kindly left some binders for our use, the refreshment team and all those who helped before and on the day.

Peter Berry

Members of the group were very sad to learn that Peter Berry, Babergh District Council's Countryside Officer, had died suddenly last week.
He has helped and supported the development of our new community woodland scheme and will be missed by us and all people that knew him and shared his love of the countryside.

National Tree Week 25th November--6th December

People who are concerned about the future of our planet know that planting trees will help to slow the damaging effects of climate change.

If you are unable to plant trees yourself then you could support The Woodland Trust or The Green Light Trust. Both organisations are planting new areas of woodland. So sponsor some tree planting today and hope that it's not too little, too late.

Hedge laying Workshop and Working Party Day Our last working party and hedge-laying workshop

We shall be holding another workshop on Saturday 6th. December. Our expert guide, Jim Wallden, will be on hand to help newcomers acquire this ancient skill, and remind those who worked on the above stretch last year, what to do!

This will also be our last working party this year and there will be plenty for everyone to do, not least, tidying up the debris from the hedge layers!

Soupy refreshments will be available and a few extras, with Christmas in mind.

Sunny Sunday

Last Sunday was the first time in ages that I've been able to linger in Buckle's Wood, with my camera.

Lots of butterflies, especially little brown ones, that were very mobile and difficult to photo

These two were the best of the rest

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly on thistle seeds Lovely to see this as they have been rather scarce over the last few years.

Painted Lady. I've never seen one before!

I spotted this in the vegetation by the side of the footpath that leads to the wood. A spider guarding its web.

Blanche's Bench

Blanche was always part of the steering group. She was determined that our trees would get planted and she would have many years to enjoy watching them grow. Sadly, that wasn't to be.

We thought that the most appropriate spot for her bench would be in the middle of the wood, with the trees growing all around, but I think that we shall have to cut down of the nearby vegetation, before we have her total approval. She was a bit prickly about thistles!

Photos from Alison Grant

Bird Track

Had a message from the RSPB, as follows:

BirdTrack is an online bird recording scheme that allows you to store and manage your birdwatching records from around Britain and Ireland.

Taking part couldn't be easier - just register as a recorder (it's free), then start to enter your valuable bird records.

From casual records, to full species lists for a site, all the collected information helps fill gaps in our knowledge of numbers, distribution and movements of birds, which in turn feeds into conservation decisions made by organisations like ourselves.

As well as providing a comprehensive record of what you have seen, with your permision all submitted records are also made available to your county bird recorder.

Animated maps are available through the BirdTrack pages and show the arrival and departure of migrants, as well as the seasonal movements of birds at both a local and national level.

In partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and BirdWatch Ireland, BirdTrack was launched in 2004 and has since gone from strength to strength. With your help we can continue to gather unique and fascinating information on Britain and Ireland's birds.

Click to sign up here.

Summer Days

The PTA Fete was enjoyed by lots of people and the rain kept off until almost the end, in fact it arrived just as the rescue helicopter left and all the stall holders started to pack up and go home.
Many thanks to the people who helped on the day, or provided items for the "raffle"

The lucky winners were:-
Marion Brown (bird Table), Mr Sissons (basket of fruit), Jean Lawrence (Buckle's Wood Bag full of eco-goodies), Duncan McLennan (Intelliplug), Joy Sillitoe, Mac, Mrs Ratcliffe, Mr Knights,Simon Bishop, and Liam Glennam (pack of 4 low energy light bulbs).

Well done everyone

Buckle's Wood in June

The trees are growing well and look good, although we have lost a few over the winter. Most of the wild flower plants that were planted and protected by wire netting are also doing well, although I expect they are looking a bit battered after last night's storm.

These photos were taken a few hours before the hail started! Red Campion and Ox-eyed Daisy.

We shall have a stall at the PTA Fete again this year.

BARGAIN, BAGS AND PRIZES!

Watering the Wild Flowers

All the wild flower plugs have been planted in the woodland and the school's tree nursery. The rainy days, following a dry period, came just in time!

Pam Oldroyd has been sorting out her plants and has given us some large clumps of wild primroses, which originated from a wood in Essex, many, many years ago. I'm sure they will thrive in Buckle's Wood. Thank you Pamela.

Bees and Wild Flowers

The Wild Flower plugs, especially selected to attract bees and other nectar loving insects, were planted last weekend by members of the Management Group.
One hundred plants were given to school, for the pupils and staff to plant in their empty tree nursery. The children will be able to watch them grow and learn to identify the flowers in the summer. They plan to collect seeds in order to sow them next spring.

We should be worried by the global decline of the bee population. The Varroa mite has spread from Asia to to all parts of the world except Australia and has a debilitating affect on bees. The use of chemicals by farmers, loss of habitat and adverse weather conditions are all thought to contribute to this decline.
There is plenty of information about bees on the web, but Breathing Spaces is a good place to start

Wild and Watery

Work in the wood was almost cancelled today as the weather was foul! Even the ducks that visit our garden looked dismal.
However, a sturdy group of woodlanders, donned wet weather gear and woolly beanies and set off over the bridge, with a promise of hot soup and delicious cakes to follow, when the work was finished.
Why the urgency?
Well, with thanks to the Green Light Trust, we have received another Tree Council grant to buy more wild flower plugs and they have to be planted next month. To help the bee population, we have ordered nectar producing plants from British Wild Flower Plants in Norfolk.
The pupils from Elmsett School will put some of the plants into their tree nursery and then collect the seeds in the Autumn.
Thank you to everyone who helped today, to Jackie, Pam and Diane for the refreshments, and the super soup makers

Hadleigh Green Fair

Well, here we are, displaying out wares at the first Hadleigh Green Fair, organised by the local Green Party. Plenty of people came to enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

Mac, Maria, Fiona and Morag (the willing volunteers) did a great job looking after our stall and deserve a BIG THANK YOU giving up their time to help. They were able to spend their spare moments looking round and chatting to other, like-minded, stall holders. Bags and books were sold. Nathan Gregory won the Buckle's Wood bag which was packed with eco-goodies.

Although we didn't make a fortune, it was thought that the event was well worth supporting.

Photo: Morag Embleton

Beacon for Bees

People are worried about bees. A lot have been dying because of disease, poor weather conditions, loss of habitat, use of pesticides and other unknown reasons.

As they pollinate some of our crops, fewer, or no bees at all would have a bad impact on the country's food production.

Last autumn we planted loads of wild flower plugs around our woodland, in an effort to encourage insects, butterflies and moths. Not all the plants will grow--the rabbits have made sure of that!

The children at Elmsett School will be growing more wild flowers plants for us this year, as there is space in the tree nursery. If they are quick they could apply for a free packet of

"be good to bees"wild flower seeds from Blue Peter .

What a good idea!

Hadleigh Green Fair

We shall have a stall at the Hadleigh Green Fair,
which is being held between 10am - 4pm at The Guildhall
on Saturday 14th March We shall be promoting Buckle's Wood
and Elmsett School's Community Recycling Centre.
Our bags will be on sale and there will be other eco-bargains to buy and win.

This is the first event of its kind to be organised by The Green Party in Hadleigh and there will be lots to to see and enjoy. These are some of the planned attractions

Acoustic Live Music ~~The Mad Hatters Tea Garden

Craft Stalls & Green Woodworking ~~ Local Environmental Groups

Café Green for Homemade Cakes & Spring Broth
Energy Saving Exhibition
Admission is FREE

Enquiries to: Ian St.John. Tel: 01473 823729

Green woodpecker

Taken in Elmsett by John Gillies, this photo has appeared in the Evening Star and the East Anglian Daily Times.

The green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain. This looks like a female.

Main events for this year

We have planned three main working parties for this year. Others may be fitted in if needed!

March 28th, for general tidying up and sorting out.

June 13th, when we shall be preparing the wood in readiness for the School's Village Fete.

June 20th. The P.T.A.'s Village Fete. We shall have a stall to promote the woodland and raise funds.

September 12th, which will probably involve rakes and sunshine!

December 5th, which is a tentative date for a second hedge laying session. If we have a late spring, we hope that there will be time to fit another one in then.

At the last meeting of the Management Group, we decided to remember Blanche by placing another seat in the woodland, similar to the one on the left.
Like many other dog walkers, she loved the wood and the fact that she and the community could look forward to watching it grow and develop. Alas, it wasn't to be.

RSPB Homes for Wildlife

The RSPB has a new website about providing homes for wildlife in your garden. Register for lots of ideas.

For Blanche

It was Blanche's funeral at St Peter's today. The Rev. Gerald Harrison, in his usual gentle way, reminded us of Blanche's four-legged family - the dogs, cats and rabbits. They were family to Blanche, who used to refer to individual animals, like my dog, as this or that "little person".

I thought it was apt that, while the congregation sang "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small", a very determined creature, almost certainly a rabbit, was trying to dig its way into or under the church; the scrabbling noises were quite loud.

It was also apt that, unbeknown to the congregation, one of the bearers who carried Blanche into the church was Ron, a retired RSPCA inspector. I think he may have met Blanche, years ago. The collection was for the RSPCA, in Blanche's memory. If you'd like to contribute, and didn't get a chance to do so at the funeral, you can send cheques to The Co-operative Funeral Service, 47 St Helen's Street, Ipswich, IP4 2JL, saying it's in memory of Blanche Seager, for the RSPCA. Otherwise, you can donate online.

Blanche will become part of St Peter's churchyard, where the rabbits, owls and other creatures will keep her company, year in, year out. The West Country poet Thomas Hardy wrote about such a place in his poem "Transformations":

Portion of this yew
Is a man my grandsire knew,
Bosomed here at its foot:
This branch may be his wife,
A ruddy human life
Now turned into a green shoot.

These grasses must be made
Of her who often prayed,
Last century, for repose;
And the fair girl long ago
Whom I often tried to know
May be entering this rose.

So, they are not underground,
But as nerves and veins abound
In the growths of upper air,
And they feel the sun and rain,
And the energy again
That made them what they were!

Our thoughts are with David, and his four-legged friends, at this sad time.

Illustration: 19th century copyright-free wood engraving

Buckle's Wood in January

It might not look like it, but this will all spring into life soon.

Click on the picture to see it large.

Blanche

We were all saddened to learn that one of the original members of our woodland group, Blanche Seager, had died suddenly, just after Christmas.

She was a much-valued member of our Steering Group, who was determined that our plans for new community woodland would become a reality. Always reliable, she pursued this aim with a cheerful enthusiasm, whether it was organising the refreshments or manning our EGGS stall in inclement weather. We know that she was looking forward to spending her retirement years watching the trees grow.

Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time. We shall miss her.

A Winter's Activity

We hope to have another hedge laying session in the new year and will have an instructor to hand, to remind previous participants and help novice workers!

We had positive feedback from our first two workshops and the growth along the new hedge is thick and strong, making a good, protective habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Please contact the management group if you are interested in joining us, before Christmas, if possible.

Flutter by, Butterflies

Mark Nowers, the RSPB Warden at Wolves Wood, has suggested that we should monitor the number and species of butterflies that have been attracted into our woodland. The best way to do this would be to carry out a butterfly transect between the Months of April to October next year and he has given us the link below for more information.

http://www.ukbms.org/(S(ercfnombnc1w0cuekhhlzm55))/methods.htm

The survey is done once a week, so we are looking for some volunteers, with sufficient knowledge, or willing to learn more about butterflies, who could undertake this. Mark has offered to advise us and help set this up, so please contact me if you are interested.

Ready for winter

This year has been rounded off with the completion of a number of projects.
Hilary Furlong liaised with James Buckle, who offered to lend us a couple of his men and some logs to create our outdoor classroom in the school's planting area.
The small areas of ground that we prepared earlier in the year were filled with a large selection of wild flowers.
The school's tree nursery was emptied, to make room for seeds and small saplings, to be garnered this later this term. The sturdy trees from the nursery were used to replace dead trees in the wood and the remainder will be heeled in, to over winter in our vegetable patch.
We have done a bit of tidying up. Everything is looking good AND the barn owl is back!
Thanks everyone for your help.

Bring rakes and wheelbarrows too.

The plants are ordered. The rides have been cut. The young trees in the school's tree nursery have grown well and the strongest ones will be used to replace the dead trees in the wood.There will be lots to do-- planting the wild flowers, raking the rides and gathering up the cut grass and replacing the dead trees. Members of the Management Group will prepare for all the activities beforehand so that when the helpers can start working when they arrive at 10 o'clock.

Our Next Working Party

On Saturday 8th November we shall have 300 wild flower plugs to plant.
As usual we shall start at 10 o'clock and our Refreshment Team will provide delicious, homemade soups and other tempting offerings to boost our spirits and energy!

The plants have been ordered from British Wild Flower Plants, using grant money that the Green Light Trust gave us earlier this year. We have created bare patches in the wood in shady, semi shady and sunny areas. All we need is plenty of helpers with trowels!

We also hope to raid the School's tree nursery for trees to replace those that have died in the woodland. Other activities are planned, but more about those nearer the day.

Kestrel chick

The owl box erected in Buckle's Wood to provide a nesting site for barn owls has been occupied by a pair of kestrels that raised two chicks. This one was ringed for BTO records.

Photo (c) Roger Horne.

A.G.M

Our third A.G.M will be held at Elmsett School on Thursday 25th September.
The meeting will start at 7.30 and everyone is welcome.

Animal Habitats

The pupils at Elmsett School have always been involved with creating and developing our woodland. In the early stages, they helped to name our scheme and designed the woodland's layout.

They were asked to think about and suggest what they would like in their wood. Many children wanted it to be a safe place, where all kinds of animals can live.

With this in mind, and the fact that many species are struggling with diseases and unseasonable weather, we shall be introducing different habitats to improve the biodiversity in Buckle's Wood.

The photo shows caterpillars on some nettles in my garden. They will turn into Peacock butterflies. We have nettles in the wood , but not many flowers for the butterflies to complete their life cycle, so this autumn we shall be planing wild flower plants, to attract more butterflies, insects, birds, and bees.

Frogs and their plight

Last week, the press covered a news item about the global plight of frogs and other amphibians. The two deadly illnesses have reached the UK and the public are being asked to report cases of sick or dead animals to Froglife so that they can track the extent of the diseases.

A pond was included in our original woodland plan and we shall be considering when, where and how to achieve this in the near future. I hope that there won't be too many obstacles and objections to our plans. It could be a challenging time, for us, the frogs and their watery friends!

Good News for our Environment

It was great to be woken up with good news this morning. The Woodland Trust has bought 850 acres near St Albans in Hertfordshire in order to create a native woodland, the largest of its kind in the country.

I didn't realise that half of the ancient broadleaved woodland that had survived until 1930s has now been lost and the UK is one of Europe's least wooded countries.

Buckle's Wood Bags

The bags arrived in time and they are super. The weather on Saturday could have been better, but the promised arrival of the Sea King search and rescue helicopter attracted the crowds and despite the drizzly start, the day was thought to be a great success!

EGGS at the School's Fete. Sat 21st June.

We shall be launching our EGGSELLENT sustainable shopping bag at the Village Fete.

Made from the world's best natural jute, printed on one side, by a small company in West Bengal, the Buckle's Wood Bag is fairly traded, sturdy, and will last a long time.

We would like to thank Lesley Mabon for her generosity and her her diligent workers at the Good Bag Company. We asked the impossible and they came up trumps!

Progress report

On a scorchingly hot day, the last working party did a magnificent job in the woodland, followed by demolishing the home made soups and cakes that were provided by our Refreshment Team.

There is a well worn path around the edge of the wood, made by all people who enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Most trees are doing well, although we do seem to have a few non-native ones amongst our oaks and ashes!

As Elmsett School's P.T.A. is holding a Summer Fete for the village on the 21st we decided to abandon thoughts of another Woodland Fayre this year. Instead we are planning to have an eco-friendly stall at the fete, when there will be lots for adults and children to see and do.

Homes for Wildlife

Last Friday, Hilary, Alison and children from years 3, 4 and 5 spent an enjoyable and very productive morning in Buckle's Wood.

They put mulch round trees, planted small plugs of celandine, cowslips, snowdrops and bluebells at the base of the hedgerow near the school's trees and arranged hedge cuttings and logs in heaps, in order to attract more wildlife into our woodland.

We hope that the log pile shown in the photo, will attract Stag Beetles which can be found in Suffolk, but are becoming quite rare.

Our Next Working Party

Everyone is invited to come and join our next working party on Saturday 10th May, starting at 10 o'clock. There will be plenty of homemade refreshments and a soupy lunch to keep your energy levels up! Stay for a short time, or keep going until the work is done--we don't mind.

Please bring a fork and wheelbarrow if you would like to put mulch around our trees, or loppers and and a pair of secateurs for alternative activities.

We have received grant funding from The Green Light Trust to spend on introducing wild flowers into the woodland. We need to prepare small suitable areas, so that we can plant in the autumn. We shall start this work on Saturday as well.

OUr Next Working Party

Wild Flowers

The original plan for our woodland included thoughts and suggestions from the children at Elmsett School. One of their ideas, a wildflower meadow for the insects, butterflies and bees, might become a reality, with the offer of a grant from the Green Light trust. It will involve a lot of work to prepare and maintain a suitable area and it all has to be done this Spring!!
Meanwhile, two Barn Owls were spotted hunting over the wood and everthing has survived the storms and snow.

Another good day.

Men at Work

No seriously, everyone worked extremely hard, got a lot done and had time for refreshments and a soupy lunch.

Jim Wallden and Simon from Haskett Ltd, demonstrated the ancient art of hedge laying and then guided our group of novices. The bench near the Barn Owl box was re-located towards the back of the woodland. Two perching posts were placed amongst the trees, to encourage the barn owls to hunt over and make their home in our woodland. Another sturdy bench ( made by John Lee) was positioned on the west ride.

All the mulch that was donated by Eco -Sytems Ltd. was spread around the trees. The mulch that was donated by Ben Norwood, was collected and left in a couple of heaps, ready for the children to use round their trees.

We now have a seating area, to be used as an outdoor classroom, made tree trunk, which was cut up and donated by James Hitchcock.

So, THANK YOU to everyone who helped, especially James Buckle, who sponsored the hedge laying workshop and to prove that we really did work hard here's a photo that I took when the sun nearly came out!