Witchford Village

Open Spaces Group Update - December 2016


Posted on: Dec 15, 2016
Posted in: open-spaces-group news

Sandpit Drove Conservation Area
In early November the pond was cleared of vegetation occupying the open water, thanks to the Littleport & Downham Internal Drainage Board, who carried out the work free-of-charge as a contribution to the local community. The machine used an open mesh bucket that was able to filter out the roots and rhizomes. The dredged material was then taken away courtesy of Howard Palmer and Carl Goodjohn (Witchford farmer and contractor) and their plant.

Work was also carried out by volunteers during November to remove some of the encroaching scrub on the east side of the wild flower meadow. Some of the stumps were removed and then taken away, again courtesy of Howard. Soil from the stumps was carted to the pond to fill in some of the hollows on the bank along the edge of the green.

These were just two of the activities on the Sandpit Drove Conservation Area Activity Plan, which is a list of operations for the maintenance of the Conservation Area. It is prepared annually by the Open Spaces Group in conjunction with Witchford Parish Council, and implemented throughout the year.

Old Recreation Ground Community Orchard
We had noticed that some of the fruit trees in the Community Orchard seemed rather jaded and were not growing as vigorously as expected. We received advice from the suppliers of the trees, the East of England Apples and Orchards Project, who suggested that there might be a small nitrogen deficiency. They recommended maintaining the planting sites by foregoing the mulch mats in favour of a metre diameter deep mulch of horse manure to give the trees a rich supply of nutrients, as well as serving to suppress weeds and keep in moisture.

Again the Open Spaces Group called on the good services of Howard Palmer, who provided and delivered to the Community Orchard a trailer load of horse manure. Volunteers removed the old mulch mats and replaced them with horse manure on about a quarter of the trees during November. Howard has already delivered a second trailer of manure, and we will continue the distribution in a future session.

Volunteers also replaced faded and illegible labels on the fruit trees with printed plastic labels that will hopefully last for a good number of years.

More autumn wildlife
The mild autumn weather had left us by the end of November, but the colder weather didn’t stop at least one small tortoiseshell butterfly from going about its business. It was probably searching for somewhere safe to hibernate, though this species can be seen at almost any time of the year in urban areas. It will readily visit gardens, especially where there are buddleia bushes or nectar-rich borders. Its caterpillars feed on nettles.

The merlin is a small falcon and a relative of the kestrel. In November a female was seen on wires along Grunty Fen Road. Although in spring and summer merlins are usually found in upland areas where they breed, in autumn the birds move down to open lowland and coastal areas for the winter, often joined by northern European birds. So it’s not unusual for one to turn up in Witchford, but sightings are not frequent.

Witchford Open Spaces Group relies on volunteers for its work encouraging wildlife and promoting green spaces and access to the countryside. We need more volunteers to continue working into the future for conservation and people’s enjoyment of the countryside. In particular we would welcome the support of younger members of the community. For more information about the Open Spaces Group contact Richard Braund on 665222 or e-mail [email protected].

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