One year of Groundwork in action

Community Woodland at Calderstones

Hi all,

Apologies for the delay in updating the blog (I can’t believe how long it has been!)

Way back on Saturday the 21st of March we held a ‘Tidy up the Woodland Day’, which saw some great efforts from the Friends of Whalley Moor Woodland and the local community to remove some of the rubbish that had accumulated in the woodland over the years. The bird boxes we made in January were also installed and some of them have been put to good use by the local bird population over the last 6 months. Unfortunately I had some difficulties uploading pictures from the clean-up day in March, but I promise these will appear on the blog soon! As those who attended the clean-up will know it was a little bit of a surprise just how much debris there was on the woodland floor. A lot of this rubbish dated back to when the site was used as part of the hospital. As a result the project has slowed down considerably over the summer whilst contractors have been on site to clear all the rubbish and fly-tipping that was too big for a clean-up event. Any void left by the clearance has now been filled with topsoil to make the site safe and usable.

The Friends of Whalley Moor Woodland are meeting tonight to discuss the next stage of the project and I will try and keep the blog as up to date as possible as the project gains momentum again. Bye for now. Suzanne

A big thank you to everyone who attended the bird box making event last Saturday! It was great to see so many boxes finished. If you made two boxes don’t forget to keep one to put up in the wood, (we will let you know when the next woodland workshop is), and don’t forget to put up the other box in your garden so the birds can use it this spring.

I will try and post a short video clip on the blog next week but here are a few pictures of the workshop for now.

Bird box kit

Hard at work

Making a Robin box

The end result! Two finished boxes ready to be bird homes.

We will be holding a bird box making event on Saturday 31st January at Bank End Barn from 10am-12pm. Places are filling up already so if you would like to come along and take part then please contact Alan Green to book your place on 01254 306576.

Welcome to the first …slightly belated blog of 2009! I really hope everyone has had a good Christmas break and you are ready for all the fun activities that will be going on in the woodland in the coming months.

The answer to our Christmas quiz, 

‘Who was the special visitor to the woodland?’

… was a deer! So congratulations if you got it right!

There are seven species of deer living in the UK but the Roe Deer and Red Deer are our only native species. We think the photograph is probably the hoof print of a Roe Deer.

Roe Deer (Capreolus Capreolus) © DenisG 

(image used with kind permission of   www.denisg.co.uk)

Roe Deer often inhabit open woodland which gives them good cover to hide in as they are very shy. Roe Deer are native to Britain and have been around since before the Mesolithic period ca 10,000BP - 6,000BP. Extensive hunting and forest clearance led to it’s extinction in England by 1800AD. The species was reintroduced to England in Victorian times and spread naturally, aided by post war afforestation. If you want to know more about the species of deer in Lancashire then follow the link below to Lancashire Wildlife Trusts Website;

 http://www.lancswt.org.uk/Learning%20&%20Discovery/wildlifeandwildplaces/wildlife/mammals/deer.htm

Dear all.

This is the last Blog before Christmas. Just a couple of things to keep you out of mischief until the New Year!

Be a Nature Detective!

http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/ 

This is a brilliant website hosted by the Woodland Trust with lots of games, woodland activities and crafts to keep children entertained in every season. Check out the Christmas activity page for lots of ideas!

http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog

Another woodland blog website where you can even buy your own woodland! (Not that you would want to as you have a beautiful one right on your doorstep!)

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/view.asp?siteid=3715&pageid=12200&e=e

Take a look at Lancashire County Council’s Forestry Advisory Service website. Packed with information about the Lancashire Woodland Vision and the Lancashire Woodland Project. Well worth a visit. 

http://groundworkaction.org.uk/

Not forgetting Groundwork Action! Get up to date news from the other three projects as they take place across the North West. 

And finally…

When Lorcan visited the woodland recently he noticed there had been a very special visitor!

Can you guess from the footprint below who the special visitor was? 

Special visitor

Use the comments link to send in your ideas and I will let you know in the New Year if you are right.

Well I think that is it for the last blog of 2008. All that remains to be said is that I hope that you have a very happy Christmas and don’t forget to catch up on more blogs in 2009!

All the best Suzanne.

Merry Christmas!

Our first steering group meeting was held on the 20th November 2008 at Bank End Barn. This was attended by Chris Hughes (Community Development Manager for Ribble Valley Borough Council), Alan Green, Lorcan Moriarty and Suzanne Egar (Groundwork). Apologies were given by David Hewitt (Ribble Valley Borough Council Countryside Officer), Cllr Joyce Holgate and Cllr Terry Hill.

Community workshop results were discussed and endorsed as well as the progress of the management plan. The long term vision and objectives for the woodland were also discussed and will be fed into the management plan. It was also agreed that a Bird Box Making Session would be held in the New Year for those interested in getting involved in the woodland improvements so watch this space for more information!

Chris Hughes, Alan Green and Lorcan Moriarty.

Woodland entrance feature ideas.

More woodland images to get the group thinking!

Visualising visions and objectives!

Now that we have the workshop results the next stage of the project is to draw everything together and create a final sketch design. This will be used to cost the project and also to help get the project ready to put out to tender. This can be quite an involved process and needs a lot of co-ordination. The pictures below are from our first project briefing (lots of paperwork, cups of coffee, pen chewing and  pen waggling!!)

Liz Hinchliffe Programme Manager, Lorcan Moriarty Landscape Architect and Alan Green Senior Project Officer.

Liz talking through some options.

Lorcan writing notes.

On 6th October we held a community workshop at Whalley Village Hall with residents who asked to be kept informed about the project at the initial consultation. We asked their views about the woodland and how they would like to see it enhanced as an informal community recreation space. Local Councilors Joyce Holgate and Terry Hill also attended.

Workshop boards

Residents were shown a draft sketch design of the woodland with lots of ideas to comment on.

Draft Sketch Design

We had some great feedback including;

A NEW NAME FOR THE WOODLAND!

We gave two options for a woodland name, both of local relevance: Common Side Wood, the wood being at the side of the Common and Whalley Moor Woodland as it lies at the southern end of the moor. Whalley Moor Woodland was the preferred choice. We hope you like it!

As well as some natural play equipment in the woodland other features people said they would like to see were; a network of paths, a nature trail, sculptures, natural seating, an entrance feature and information boards.

At the workshop people were asked if they would like to become a member of a Woodland Friends Group. If you are interested in becoming a member please contact us using the link to the right of this blog.

Mario Map (Lancashire County Council) is a great resource to explore the woodland area, without even leaving the comfort of your chair!

Follow the link below and select one of the many map categories to view aerial photographs, historic maps, countryside data and much, much more!

http://mario.lancashire.gov.uk/viewer.htm?point=372245:437682:200&layeron=Aerial%20Photographs

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first ever Community Woodland at Calderstones Project Blog!

The aim of this blog is to document the development and delivery of an exciting new community woodland project in Calderstones, Whalley.

Groundwork Pennine Lancashire is working in partnership with Ribble Valley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and local residents to create a new Community Woodland on the site at Turkey Lane, off Mitton Road.

We are at the very early stages of the project, but through this blog you will be able to follow its progress.

How did the project come about?

Ribble Valley Borough Council held a community consultation in July 2007, when 300 questionnaires were sent to local residents about recreational facilities in the area.

Of the residents who returned the questionnaire 64% identified a need for the woodland to be developed as an informal community recreation space.

http://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/downloads/Report_2_Calderstones.doc

Ribble Valley Borough Council asked Groundwork to become involved in the project as we have many years experience in planning and delivering community based woodland regeneration projects in Pennine Lancashire.

What will the project involve?

· A community-based woodland masterplan.

On October the 6^th we held a community workshop with residents who asked to be kept informed during the initial consultation. Residents were asked their views about the woodland and how they would like to see it enhanced as an informal community recreation space. We are currently writing up the workshop results and will keep you informed as we feed these ideas into the masterplan.

· A woodland management plan.

This will enable residents to enjoy the amenity value of the woodland whilst ensuring the woodland is healthy, sustainable and its biodiversity is supported.

· A ‘Friends of the Woodland’ group

This group will help facilitate the continuing development of the wood. This could involve workshops, learning about wildlife, woodland walks, fundraising for events, the list is a long as your imagination! Again watch this space for updates and if you are interested ring the Senior Project Officer Alan Green for details 01254 306577.

· Fundraising

To enable your ideas to become a reality.

What next?

This blog will be regularly updated so please keep checking for the latest news and developments.

We welcome your views so if you would like to leave a comment, that would be great and we will try to get back to you (although we can’t promise to answer every blog!) If you want to chat to us directly feel free to phone us or e-mail following the contacts link at the side.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Photographs from a site visit in September 2008

Alan Green and Phil Dewhurst (Groundwork) Conducting an initial woodland survey.

Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica)

Pendulous Sedge (Carex pendula)

A Lesser Spotted Tree Hugger (Alanus viridis )

Lords-and-Ladies (Arum maculatum)