Melwood

www.melwood.org.uk

There have been two working parties in Melwood since summer gave way to autumn. Both concentrated on cutting and clearing the dead remains of summer growth and opening up the soil for new seedlings and new plantings. Most of the western side of the wood has been cut and 100 English bluebell bulbs have been planted. The cut will also help expose one of the large areas of snowdrops when they emerge early in the New Year. Areas where, in previous years, primroses and oxlips have flowered were also cleared of tall vegetation that might otherwise have smothered their early growth. The combination of warm temperatures and occasional heavy rainstorms has led to some vigorous growth of both grass and broad-leave plants in the meadow and nettles have spread in many places. These are now becoming invasive and will need some serious effort to contain them. The centre of the meadow was cut in late summer but the edges were left, so these are now due to be cut and the woodland edge was completed by the early October working party. The western edge will be cut later, taking care to protect woodland margin species that we hope will flourish on this sunnier side. The whole area will need a further cut before spring, to ensure cowslips have a chance to grow. We are keeping a close watch on the Ash trees for evidence of Ash die-back disease and one mature tree in the centre of the wood is looking clearly less healthy than those around it. Fortunately, being away from footpaths, it does not pose an obvious and immediate threat to the public but it may need to be removed in the next year or two. It will be replaced with another local native species to help to maintain continuity of woodland in the reserve. Sadly, within hours of the end of the working party, a bush near the seat on the edge of the reserve had been vandalised, apparently by a local young teenager. It will need to be coppiced to tidy up the damage and hopefully stimulate recovery from ground level but ten years of progress towards an attractive resource of spring-flowering and autumn fruiting has been lost or at least put back. Cleaning and repair of nest boxes will be important this year and should probably be tackled before Christmas, as birds often use the boxes for shelter in the worst of the weather in January and February, not to mention the frequent discomfort of working in the wood in those months. More work on trees and bushes is also scheduled for the winter months, when they are dormant. We hope to be able to tackle spring and early summer tasks such as control of cleavers and hedge parsley (after flowering) in 2022 without the interruption of Covid lockdowns.

Jim Reid Melwood Conservation Group