Happy New Year from all of us at Bolton North East Wildlife Trail! Our first event of the year saw us back at The Bunk on Leverhulme Park today. We are so grateful for a substantial donation of new tools and equipment from two Newt supporters as these will put us in a very good position for events this year. The donation included: a truck/cart for carrying the tools, planting spades, hard hat, goggles (safety is one of our main priorities), pruning saws (our favourite tools for tasks like today), 3 billhooks, boots, kneeling pads, hot drinks flask and a trolley for carrying provisions. It is great to know that the work that NEWT has already carried out has inspired people to make these generous donations.
Today we were continuing with clearing the area and adding to our dead-hedges and stumpery. These will provide important habitats for invertebrates and small mammals as well as encouraging the growth of fungus on the dead wood. We were joined by Richard, Jon and Zen on the task and they were invaluable in the amount of work they carried out. Well, Zen was there for moral support as he can't quite walk yet! He managed a few squeals of encouragement from his pram.
It was then time for some grub where the new flask came in very handy. Jon's chocolate cake was delish. (It's not a prerequisite to bring food to tasks, but its definitely most welcome!).
In the afternoon we started pulling the silt from the water using the mud rakes. If you fancy a work out, with a sense of fulfilment, this is the job for you. Richard did sterling work here and I wouldn't be surprised if he was fast asleep right now.
I climbed a tree to get some photos from high up, while Simon and Chris were having fun with cameras. It's all go at NEWT, a great variety a huge amount of camaraderie and just fun to be outside.
Here are some before and after photos of what we have accomplished today:
Thank you to everyone who volunteered, those who stopped by to have a chat and take an interest and to our supporters who donated the new tools.