Thanks for your help!

The wildflowers along the edge of the rides were cut last week ready for the working party to rake up and put into heaps among the trees.
A small group of 7 retired, over seventies (except one ), managed to rake up most of the debris and heap it  into piles along the rides.

But the dark clouds were looming  ---  time was running out and energy was  ebbing away!

So the  piles still need to  be moved off the rides and heaped between the trees.This will  encourage more wildflowers to grow next year

Strong winds are forecast for Tuesday night, so if anyone has some spare time PLEASE head into the wood with a fork and complete the work that the golden oldies started !!

Lots to see and great to be, in Buckle's Wood

So many Wild flowers!

and birds

and butterflies and moths!

Buckle’s Wood’s 
Report for the Parish Council’s AGM. 2017

The trees are growing well and it is beginning to feel like a “real” wood. Dutch Elm disease has attacked a few trees, but they seem to have survived and have started to make new growth lower.

We have two dog waste bins.  A few dog owners still do not clear up after their pets. This is unpleasant and a health risk, especially for children.

The bird nesting box has been used by Kestrels and Jackdaws, but not Barn Owls.

The school children have planted wild flower plugs, helped by Catherine from Shrublands Nursery.  Last summer, each class spent part of a day in the wood with Becs, from the Green Light Trust. Under her guidance, they did lots of exciting eco- activities.

The children who helped to design our woodland, wanted a pond. James Buckle’s men used a digger to create our pond. As with all other “natural ponds”, it will take a while to seal itself and become established.

We have held working parties, to manage the wood in a way to increase its bio-diversity: raking the grass off the rides, trimming the hedges, making wood piles.

Sadly, there has been some damage. Beastly Towers was set alight. The logs in the school’s seating area were trashed. Large sticks and other items thrown in the pond.

We have paid Alan Smythe to cut the paths and Colin Goodchild to cut the length of hedge that we couldn’t manage. We need to raise funds, so that we can develop and manage the wood for the community.

Our thanks to James Buckle and everyone who has supported and helped our community woodland to thrive and develop over the years.

Sue Mackie

www.facebook.com/BucklesWood

We have a selection of garden tools and other items that were bought for planting our trees which are no longer needed

We are asking for a donation of £5.00 or more for the border spades, forks, lump hammer and long handled rakes-- great for collecting up leaves and long grass.

We also have spare canes, wooden stakes, ridged plastic and spiral tree guards and would just like a donation for these.

Please contact me-- suemackie@tinyworld.co.uk if you would like to inspect the goods and live locally.

Next working party

There will be a short, two hour working party on Saturday 27th Feb.starting at 10 o'clock.

You will need strong gloves, seqateurs and loppers as we shall be continuing  to tidy up the hedgerow and trees along the ride near the pond.

Newcomers will be very welcome.

Sadly this volunteer for out last working party missed it totally!

We have a new email address 4buckleswoodgmail.com

AND 

a page on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/BucklesWood

Early days in the wood

From Potato to Planet

The busy natural world.

This is a lovely time of year.  The wood is  brimming over with wildflowers, bees, birds and insects.  Not so many butterflies about this year, Lots of Hover Flies and other flying beasties.

Hover Flies

Cardinal Beetle

Six-spot Burnet moth on Yellow Rattle Seeds

 The logs that can be used as an outside classroom, have been  tipped over. Let's hope that this will be the only thoughtless prank during long  summer evenings!

The re-arranged children's seating area

Teasel flower heads in the sunset.

After heaving the logs back into their original upright position, I took this photo ofa very prickly teasel plant. I wonder why?

The wood's looking good

The rides have been given a second cut, avoiding most of the clover and other wildflowers.The bees, butterlies and moths are emerging.

Wildflowers are sprouting

We had our first working party this year, to cut back the hedge that runs alongside the public footpath in the wood. We removed a lot of the brambles that were rampaging in the undergtowth and generally trimmed back branches.
All the hedges surounding  the wood are old and have  mature and coppiced trees dotted along them for added interest. Sadly the hedge that we were working on today is atarted to have gaps in it where animals and people cut throught from the meadow.Ways of restoring the hedgrow was discussed as we worked and we decided to block an expanding gap at the back of the play equipment, to encourage the children to use thenearby bridge acess into the wood.
Those people who use Facebook might like www.facebook.com/BucklesWood
or you might like to see more people at work on Flickr 

Help from B.T.S.

B.T.S -- the company of tree surgeons that keeps the elctricity cables free from overgrown trees, has trimmed back  the hedge at the rear of the wood. Usually they shred and clear away the cuttings, but as you can see in the photo-- they piled the offending overgrowth into neat piles for us to cut up and use to make small animal habitats amongst  the trees (brilliant)! THANK YOU B.T.S.

Frozen asset

The Green Light Trust--Celebrating 25 years of bringing people and nature together .

 The Foundry, Lawshall.Suffolk 

On Saturday 13th September the Trust marked the occasion with a birthday party at their headquarters in Lawshall, Suffolk and invited people and organisations that have been involved in their projects over the years.

The Birthday party itself was a great success! Over 80 people joined the Founders, Trustees and Staff at the Foundry to review our work during the last 25 years, listen to presentations from the Founders of GLT, Ric Edelman and Nigel Hughes, and to learn about the ambitious plans for the Charity’s future work from CEO Ashley Seaborne.

Over the previous 8 months staff planned for ‘Legacy Legs’; an idea that connected 47 WildSpace and Environmental Education projects together. In total, 121 miles were covered by 22 staff and colleagues of GLT; with partners, family members and pets either running, riding or walking to, from and around a WildSpace or project location. This sponsored event raised £500 for the Charity’s work and will help fund a ‘Woodland Minds’ course for young people. Ashley ran the length from Babergh Disrict Council to Buckle's Wood and presented us with a commemorative plaque Management group, which will be displayed in our notice board.

Following a wonderful hog roast and buffet for lunch, we were guided round Frithy Wood, an area of ancient woodland and Golden Wood. There was  artwork on show  by Artheads (a Bury St Edmunds Charity),  as well as storytelling,  exhibitions showing how Community WildSpaces have flourished, Forest School training, green crafts and demonstrations of bodging techniques.  To end the day guests were offered some of the beautiful birthday cake made by Sarah from GLT.

We hope their ideas and trees will flourish 

and grow over the next 25years!

Old Knobbley the Oak Tree read on BBC Radio 2

If you missed part of my biography being read live on BBC radio 2 a few weeks back it's here plus pictures minus most of the technical problems!

A message from Old Knobbley's Publicity Office.

In England's First Tree of the Year competition Old Knobbley came second place missing the top title by just 465 votes.

The winner was the Major Oak of Robin Hood fame.

Loyal supporters of Old Knobbley have asked on Old Knobbley's facebook page that the Major Oak undergo a drugs test claiming that the Nottinghamshire tree has been using unnatural substances for years.

Old Knobbley quickly came to his distant cousin's defence saying in his deep slow voice “My old friend, that you know as the Major Oak, has in his past struggled with humans filling his trunk with concrete, cladding branches with lead and then fibre-glass all in an effort to help and support. But now the humans know better and are helping to wean my dear cousin off these unnatural substances. The Major Oak can hardly be blamed for their use.”

Other Old Knobbley fans in a letter to the East Anglian Daily Times have cited the fact that Old Knobbley does not have a USP as his failure to win the competition, implying that he needed to be linked to historical figures to be taken seriously in a competition featuring such culturally significant trees as Robin Hood's Oak or Newton's Apple.

Old Knobbley's biographer, Morag Embleton, spent a long time explaining unique selling points to Old Knobbley and after pause of a day or two Old Knobbley said “I don't understand this need for fame. Many trees have succumbed to it. There are many Apple trees that claim to have inspired Newton and as for Robin Hood? Whether he did indeed live will remain a secret amongst us trees. If the Major Oak isn't going to tell, then neither will I. If you need stories of me and Boudicca or the Witch Finder General then please find them or create them (although the Boudicca line will be a bit of a stretch – I'm told I look good for my age but I'm not 2000 years old!).

“I prefer that I am loved for being me, a tree that has been growing here in Mistley for 800 or so years (possibly longer, I can't remember). I knew your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, I could go on... I have worked for many hundreds of years to provide timber for your houses, boats and fireplaces. There may be a bit of me still in the local houses or churches. I'm sure you clever folk could do a DNA test to find out. I have provided many homes for other species often sacrificing my leaves and acorns to keep insects, birds and other animals alive. You would not believe what wood boring larvae and fungal mycelium are doing to me! Many of the younger trees in this wood and beyond are my children, all of us taking in your carbon dioxide and giving you oxygen to breathe.

Perhaps coming runner up is a blessing. I would hate for the visitors to me to increase so much that Mistley Parish Council had to worry about the compaction to my roots (that's a big tree killer you know) and then to fence me away from my friends with visiting hours for hugs limited to just one day a year with no chance of tree climbing as has happened to the poor Major Oak. No, the Major Oak can keep his fame if that is what fame does to a tree. I 'll take free 24/7 hugs and careful climbers over winning a competition any day.

I am very happy that my friends thought so kindly of me that I came a pretty close second in this competition. I understand that people put up posters and geocaches and did all sorts of things to support me. Thank you all. It warms my heartwood to know that I hold a special place in your hearts.”

Old Knobbley would like to thank John Lungley, Marian Hill, Sarah Tonks, Susan Anderson, John Bradley, Gerry Donlon and Sue Mackie as he is aware that they worked particularly hard to promote Old Knobbley in this competition..

via: www.oldknobbley.com

Old Knobbley-- a special tree!

I thought that you would like to know that Old Knobbley, the ancient Oak tree that lives in Mistley, is one of ten finalists  in The Woodland Trust’s contest to find England’s Favourite Tree of the Year. They were selected from over 200 trees that were   nominated by the public.

Old Knobbley is special. He has a website, a presence on Facebook and a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the events that he has lived through during his long life.  My daughter Morag is passionate about growing and protecting trees.   This is top of her list of “must do" activities to help our environment,

On your Farm devoted part of their program on Monday to The Woodland Trust. Since then there has been a lot of interest from the  national and local media.

Please support Old Knobbley NOW by voting on The Woodland Trust's website.   You have until  November 3rd.  All you need is an email address.

Meanwhile you can keep up to date with events by looking at his special Vote for Me page on Facebook.

Please share this with your friends and colleagues and encourage them to vote.

Watery delights

These are just some of the photos that I've taken near our new pond.

With thanks to Ispot, this is a Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly (Libellula depressa). It was hovering over this twig and dipping it's abdomen down onto it. Laying eggs!

Another Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly. There were quite a few of these darting  across the water.

A saw one lone swallow and these busy House Martins. Difficult to get them in focus from a distance.They seen to be gathering mud. for  their nest building.

This is the first damselfly that I've seen in the wood. They need water to complete their life cycle.

                                      This male blackbird was enjoying a quick dip.

Just a few scarecrows from the First World War.

 With thanks to Elmsett School's textile bank for lending me the clothes, but not the hat!

 The school's scarecrow is reading a copy of Michael Murpogo's Private Peaceful. No problems with finding suitable clothing for this.

 The Elmsettf and Aldham  Newsletter team sent this village postie.

 These three children waiting to be evacuated to a safer home were the BEST IN SHOW. Well done the Seeley family!

Edith, the nurse was patiently waiting for the next patient, but was so tired that she fell asleep by the end of the afternoon and had to be helped to a spot where she could lean against  tree! (with help from the Parkinson family)
For a number of people, this was the first time that they had looked round the wood since they helped with planting the trees and we received  lots compliments from villagers and newcomers.Some more Buckle's Wood bags were sold-  an added bonus.