Beale Wildlife Park - 30th September
It rained! And Alasdair told us everything we had never wanted to know about pallets!
Waterloo Meadows - 23rd September
We were removing nettles and bindweed to maintain the Harvest Mouse habitat on this urban site. We went for a walk around the site in the afternoon. The blackberry & apple pie at lunch was delicious!!
California Country Park - 16th September - Richard W
Photos by Maurice & Richard C
For those of you not in possession of an OS map of Berkshire, California Country Park is situated to the south and slightly to the east of Reading, and not on the west coast of the USA.
| On arrival, the workplace was readily identified by the presence of a group of BeC volunteers contemplating an area of rhododendron buhes, a native of the Himalayas and not northwest Europe. The purpose of the task was to cut, chop, and remove these evergreen shrubs and burn them, a task which is afforded the technical term 'bashing'. Other than my mum's car I have never bashed anything before, so yet again I was letting myself in for a new experience. | |
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I soon joined the contemplating group armed with a suitable instrument to bash the living daylights out of the rhododendron and set about the enjoyable task. |
| For those of you who are in the slightest bit interested, Rhododendron ponticum (to give the full botanical name) is an evergreen bush introduced by the Victorians back in the 19th century both as an ornamental shrub for young ladies to "ooh" and "aah" at in admiration of their male folk who ventured into such inhospitable and far flung, disease ridden extremities of the British Empire, and as cover for game of another Asian introduction, the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) for male folk to shoot and "ooh" and "aah" at, depending on if they managed to "bag it". Fortunately such activities are no longer commonplace within California Country Park (at least legally); thus we were able to carry out this task without undue hindrance from pseudo-Victorian gentlefolk. |  |
With several, nay, many people bashing away, it was inevitable that a large and cumbersome pile of rhododendron was cut and a group of volunteers set about dragging it to the fire site. Now for those unfamiliar with conservation tasks involving fire and brimstone, it might be prudent to mention that this usually involves a group of grown adults all arguing as to how best to light, maintain and stoke the fire. There are some unwritten ground rules passed down from generation to generation.
| There may be several regional variations to these rules but by and large any conservationist from Orkney to Cornwall will recognise these rules. |  |
We were joined by a couple of professional wardens from Wokingham
District Council and with some deft diplomacy and wrist work, a match
was struck and a fire started
(It's worth noting here that the
diplomacy was obviously around classing Lucy as an honorary male for
the duration of the fire lighting exercise in order to circumvent rule
1. This after all the men folk had had to 'retreat in abject
humiliation' in accordance with rule 4, having failed to light the fire
with their single match (rule 3)! - Ed).
A tea break was soon upon us
(it took a little longer for the rhododendron pyre to get going).
Having refreshed ourselves on another Asian introduction (tea and
coffee), more rhododendron was removed and dragged to the fire site.
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Lunch was called and we all set about unravelling our sandwiches (so called because a Victorian gent called the Earl of Sandwich wanted to eat a piece of meat without getting his hands sticky) - is there a theme here?? That is all except Dan who opened and ate a WHOLE can of baked beans - COLD!! |
The afternoon came and went, chopping down rhododendron and burning it on the fire which by now had grown sufficiently large enough to allow everyone to chuck it on with abandon except on occasion when the order went out to stop and allow the individual leaning on the long handled instrument to momentarily come into action and poke the fire with carefully aimed prods before returning to lean and contemplate the embers. At some point in the afternoon Dan went home early, possibly due to excess flatulence!
| By the end of the day a considerable amount of rhododendron had been bashed and weary troops gathered round the embers of the fire in the traditional end of task circle. |  |
A group of us headed for a pub in Arborfield to have a meal, and another thoroughly good day was had by all.
Greywell Fen - 9th September - Neil Frankum
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A return to start putting up a barbed wire fence along the fenceline we cleared last month, along the edge of the new extension to the reserve. On the lower part of the reserve the posts went in relatively easily. On the upper section, which consists of chalk landfill over the fen, the large lumps of chalk in some of the holes impeded progress somewhat. Unfortunately, the very soft ground on the lower area struck back when we tried to strain the barbed wire we were putting up, with one of the main straining posts deciding to pop out of the ground. |
| Although we did try to put it back in and firm the ground up around it with some of the bits of chalk and flint from the upper part of the site, as it was getting rather late by this point, we eventually had to abandon any hope of getting the wire up and completing the task. We had a slight scare mid afternoon as Phil thought that he had dropped the van keys somewhere in the long grass on the reserve. About 2 hours later as everyone was leaving, a rather sheepish Nigel walked back from his car, having just found the 'lost' keys in his pocket! |  |
Warburg Reserve - 2nd September - Mark Clay
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This was a return visit to a favourite BeC site of old. It was raining when we got there but it stopped by the time we got to the worksite after a fairly long walk. The site was a woodland glade where we were cutting down the larger scrub invading the clearing. A lot of people turned up late as they had trouble either finding the site, or getting out of bed! |
Langton Herring, Dorset - 24th - 27th August - Richard Wilson
Having only recently moved down south from Leeds, I decided that the best way to get to know new folk was to spend a three night sojourn in deepest Dorset in the wonderfully named village of Langton Herring based on the advertised promise of constructing a dry stone wall but also in the hope of building new friendships....
I was met by the sky blue van and having slung my rucksac in the back and cheerily greeted Neil & Mark who I knew and Fran, Alex and another Richard (driver) who I didn't, set about contemplating the two hour (or so) journey with a group of relative complete strangers. Having picked up David in Reading and Oliver on the way near Aldermaston, we headed on a tortuous route following the sun in a roughly south westerly direction. Fortunately, ample entertainment was provided by Mark's map reading skills which, while remaining consistently bad throughout did mean that we almost got to see Stonehenge and a brief city tour of Salisbury on several occasions! The journey was relatively uneventful save for the fact that I was immediately placed on someone's "list" owing to a comment relating to washing-up and cooking - this seemed an ominous prospect which the others looked forward too; I decided that silence and the offer of a pint might retrieve the situation.....
We (eventually) arrived at Langton Herring (twinned with Royston Varsey) and piled in to the local pub where one pint later, we were met by Dan, Nigel and Phil who had travelled separately using their own mode of transport. With Mark suitably inebriated and some of us well on the way, discussion soon came round to the construction of building walls, BeC residentials ("resi's") in general and the obscure but nevertheless important point of rubber ducks. Being new to this activity, I was left somewhat bemused as to where rubber ducks came in to the picture or even a drystone wall but felt that given time, I would find out sooner rather than later....
Bed proved to be in the small village hall, suitably located about 30m downhill from the pub and with the night drawing in, settled down for the night, only to be woken by what can only politely be described as an evening chorus. I was also woken by Mark (a keen birder) at dawn as he set off for his daily perambulation in search of a rare bird or two, which on his return, if questioned, he would gladly regale as only a birder can do to the throng around the breakfast bar (and occasionally without question)....
The reason for this resi was the construction of a dry stone wall and having been met by the local warden, made our way to the site. We were split in to two groups in order to work on two sections. Now having never built a drystone wall, it was interesting and slightly disconcerting to note that the first action was to reduce the existing wall to slightly below ground level in order to get a firm base. This was done in a relatively methodical way until Alex managed to dislodge a large and impressive stone, at which point the entire section of wall collapsed so this not only saved time but provided the excuse for a cup of coffee or tea to be brewed. On returning to the wall, Neil discovered that a large cavity existed which required a great deal of small stones and rubble to be poured down the hole. This labour under hot blue skies proved both thirsty and hungry work so lunchtime was soon called and the group convened.
The afternoon was spent providing a firm base on to which the large foundation stones would be placed and by the end of the first day, a good portion of the base of the lower wall had been completed. Eleven weary workers made our way back to the village hall though I made a mental note that rubber ducks had not yet made an appearance....
Our resident chef, Alex, provided us with a sumptuous meal of spaghetti bolognese and Richard provided his home brewed wine - both went down well, the latter rather too well in my case which had rather interesting (dare I say, rewarding after effects....). Having completed the meal, some of us including myself, Fran, David and Dan headed off to the local to sample some more drinks of the alcoholic variety where we stayed until closing time.
The following day dawned and through the hazy hungover state that Sunday was, I struggled to make my limbs obey my brain. Needless to say, I was rather incapable of carrying out much in the way of dry stone walling and spent much of it prostrate on the ground dozing off and dreaming of rubber ducks.... Fortunately, my minimal effort was somewhat counterbalanced by the appearance of Rodney who joined us for the afternoon.
It has to be said that much progress was made with respect to the construction of the wall and by the end of the second day, it was beginning to take shape. The early evening was spent on the coast further to the west, having enjoyed the delights of Weymouth the previous day. Richard even took a dip in the sea (of which there is photographic evidence). I was suitably recuperated to enjoy the views and on return, yet again our chef provided us with a fantastic meal of vegetable risotto.
The final day dawned and feeling slightly more energetic, I was able to carry out more energetic tasks. The group, minus Nigel and Rodney (who had returned to Reading), ably built the wall ever higher and upon completion, it looked in a rather better state than what it looked like before.
Before returning to Reading, a brief detour was made to Portland Bill for a cream tea as suggested by Mark. Despite some suspicions that a rare avian specimen had turned up (perhaps a rubber duck?), the decision was a good one and an enjoyable few hours were spent observing a few nutters jumping off a large rock outcrop while consuming cream teas.
This leaves me to say that I had an extremely good time and it would be most appropriate to say a big thank you to Alex for providing several fantastic meals, Neil and Mark who made all the necessary arrangements and to the group as a whole for making such a fantastic weekend.
All that is left to say is that I did experience the effects of being placed on a "list" and survived to tell the tale but never did get to see the elusive rubber duck; well there is always next year....
Editor's Note: Rubber duck ( Duckus plasticus ) - a small yellow aquatic bird shaped creature that has only been spotted in the wild on one occasion, at the Royden Woods Nature Reserve in the New Forest. Its native habitat in the wild is unknown, but its much commoner domesticated cousin is normally encountered swimming around bubble bath filled bathtubs in people's homes.
'Rubber duck hunting' - an outdoor pursuit invented by Andy & Roxanne on the winter resi at Sway, involving disappearing on a long country walk in the woods, and reappearing a couple of hours later with a captured specimen of the said wild rubber duck in tow!
The first section of wall at the start of the weekend
The second section of wall at the start of the weekend
The wall at the end of day one - another net loss of wall, and we carried on downwards until lunch on Sunday trying to find a suitably firm foundation
The effects of Richard C's wine!
Day Two
Our hard working cook creating a delicious evening meal
Day Three
The village hall accommodation
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Another view of Chesil Beach |
| The lighthouse at Portland Bill | 
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The local entertainment involved watching numerous youths hurling themselves into the sea off of the rather high rock at the end of Portland Bill. |
| Three BeC members thinking about joining in the entertainment (NOT!) |  |
Pound Copse - 19th August - Neil Frankum
This task got off to a good start - sitting in the van waiting for the heavy rain to ease off. Fortunately it did, and we spent the day continuing the ongoing battle to contain the rather rampant bramble. The post task barbeque at Richard's went well, with the rain staying firmly over Reading rather than Arborfield.
Dinton Pastures - 12th August - David Fiddes
The job of a task leader involves a number of responsibilities, including being around for the loading and unloading of the van, providing the biscuits and milk, arriving on time, and not poking yourself in the eye with a Christmas tree. In my short time as a leader I've managed to fail on all but one of these (I've always remembered the biscuits and milk!). This week due to a technical hitch (forgetting to switch on my alarm) I failed to get to arrive on time (apologises and thanks to Phil). This together with a long (but not unpleasant) trek to the task site and a troublesome barbed wire fence meant that we didn't get going until about 11:30...just in time for the first tea break! Despite the tardy start, eleven (or it may have been twelve!) of us made an impressive job of clearing a large swathe of willow from some reed beds in the Middlemarsh area of Dinton Pastures. The damp grass didn't prevent us from burning a good part of the cut down scrub.
Greywell Fen - 5th August -
A lovely sunny day saw the bumper turnout of fifteen people. We were working on the new extension to the Greywell Fen reserve, adjacent to the water pumping station on the opposite side of the road to the rest of the reserve. This consists of two separate habitats, a low lying fen area and a higher area which has seen a several foot thick layer of chalk waste from the pumping station dumped on the fen. This has created a nice chalk grassland, that was full of flowering orchids whilst we were there.
In order to manage the reserve, the wildlife trust are hoping to graze the site. In order to do this they need to put a stock proof fence up along the side of the reserve adjacent to the river. Our job today was to clear the fence line ready for the fence to go up. We also did a bit of haymaking in the fen area of the reserve.
Before we went home we went for a short walk around the reserve and surrounding area to show those who hadn't been here before what the reserve as a whole was like.The village pub at Greywell provided the post task relaxation.
Waterloo Meadows - 29th July -
Mark's brief report:"We came, we saw, we raked, we went to the pub!"
The editor's longer report:New volunteer Ana (our latest Spanish recruit) also got her 15 minutes of fame when a photo of her scything the grass appeared in that week's copy of the Reading Chronicle! It's a pity that the related report did not mention BeC. It would have been a good bit of publicity for the group.Duke of Edinburgh volunteer James put the rest of us to shame with his hard work - Keep it up!
Lavells Lake - 22nd July - Mark Clay
This task was a joint one arranged at the last minute with the Friends Of Lavells Lake. The work involved the removal of Crassula, a nasty invasive waterweed. It was growing in carpet style over one of the scrapes, so it was like turf removal, either in rolls or blocks. Everyone, even Neil, got covered in mud, and no-one was in a fit state to go to the pub afterwards!
Beale Wildlife Park - 15th July - Neil Frankum
This was supposed to be a Ragwort pulling task, but unfortunately we seem to have been fairly successful in eradicating this nasty plant from much of Church Farm. So instead we spent our time pulling up a lot of creeping thistle that was invading a rather nice area of unimproved grassland. A reasonable turnout ensured that this was a relatively easy task, and whilst we probably didn't every last thistle plant, those that remain would have had to have hidden themselves quite well! We adjourned to the pub in Lower Basildon for drinks and eats.
Pound Copse - 8th July - Neil Frankum
After the torrential rain of the previous night, it stayed dry for today's annual bramble bash at this nice little wood in Arborfield. Our second post task barbeque at Richard's was a success. How many more bottles of homebrew wine has he got stockpiled?
Beale Wildlife Park - 1st July - Philip Allen
This task was thistle pulling as the ragwort was not in flower (due to the flooded fields in winter?). Used forks to remove the stubborn stems as Alistair did not want us to dig up much turf as the cows were grazing in the field and only had the grass around the thistles left to eat. It was a cool start but the temperature was 25ºC by lunch. We got free admission to the craft fair in the wildlife park. Stopped off at the King Charles Head on the way back. The roast potatoes were not cooked properly and the Yorkshire pud was deep fryed!