The website is on holiday and there will be no new posts this week.
SCPLNR
The school holidays have started
Continue reading “SCPLNR”Stinking Willie and marefart
Another post about a plant that has many common names: ragwort.
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It’s buttercup time!
Continue readingOrchard Blossom Day
by David Feather
Today, April 28th is designated Orchard Blossom Day but, sadly, we have no event scheduled for that Sunday in or related to our heritage orchard.
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War with the invader
Every year, the Friends take to the reserve’s bluebell copses to hunt down and pull up Spanish squill, an invasive alien that is threatening the future of our native bluebells.
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Fallen goat willow
A combination of waterlogged roots and high winds brought down an old and decaying goat willow (Salix caprea) on the edge of the Arboretum, near the oak with the chestnut paling fence. Last week, the Wednesday work party spent the morning cutting back the branches and using them to build wildlife sanctuaries.
Continue readingBin binned!
by Sarah Marsh
This week we hit the reality of English weather. There were doubts about the working party continuing to tidy up in the Arboretum because of the gusting wind and heavy rain so we were quite surprised with the turn out in the awful weather.
Continue reading “Bin binned!”Wednesday Work Party
by Ian Bushell
As agreed with the Countryside Team, we started coppicing the Hazel in the Arboretum.
Continue reading “Wednesday Work Party”Great British Spring Clean
Have you joined The Great British Spring Clean yet? This is a yearly event, happening this year between the 15th and the 31st of March. Already, just two days in, individuals and groups have pledged to collect almost 360,000 bags of litter.
Continue reading “Great British Spring Clean”No motorbikes, please
by Clive Knight
Last weekend the Friends received information that motor bikes were heard on the reserve late one evening in one of the copses.
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Recycling cans
by Sarah Marsh
Wednesday morning’s work party began with members of the Friends of Southwick Country Park loading up Patrick’s trailer and his car with sacks of flattened aluminium cans to take to Shanley’s our local scrap dealer. On their way, they paused to collect more sacks from Jim’s house.
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Occasionally, while we are clearing the undergrowth in the reserve’s copses, we find the secret places, among the ivy and blackthorn, where somebody has hidden their plastic bags full of dog poop.
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Weather report
The weather was so wet and the water level so high on Wednesday that the work party was cancelled. Nobody can remember the last time we had to do that. Go carefully out there.
Header image by Peter White, other images as attributed
Named Storms
Hot on the heels of Storm Isha comes Jocelyn, the season’s tenth named storm.
Continue readingTree felling
by Ian Bushell
After Alan and Sarah had set off to litter-pick their way along the Lambrok, the rest of the Wednesday Work Party made its way to the hard path by the tributary stream where a hanging branch on a dead Ash tree had been reported as a possible danger to visitors.
Continue reading “Tree felling”All clear!
We have cleared the fallen tree from the School Lane entrance. Well done the Wednesday Work Party!
Fallen tree
Facebook message from Barb: Thurs 08:48
The way into the Park from School Lane, Southwick, is completely blocked by a fallen tree.
Please don’t do this…
Every winter we get reports of people leaving food, presumably for our wildlife, somewhere in the reserve. Please, don’t do this.
Continue reading “Please don’t do this…”
Season’s Greetings
from FoSCP
The website team will be taking a few days away from its keyboard. Have a great Christmas and we’ll be back on the 27th.
We have fixed the path over the new bridge at Studley Close.
Well done everybody!
A gift
By Ian Bushell
idverde, working in partnership with Wiltshire Council has donated 250kg of ‘Woodland Mix’ daffodil bulbs to Parish councils, schools and community groups. idverde are the contractors who help the Countryside Team and the Friends maintain the reserve; you have probably seen their vehicles in the reserve.
Continue readingA seat by the pond
by Ian Bushell
The Wednesday work party was slightly rained on but on the whole we were in a window of better weather. The business of the day was installing a new seat by the pond.
Continue reading “A seat by the pond”Wingnut
There is a Chinese wingnut tree (Pterocarya stenoptera) in the Arboretum.
Continue reading “Wingnut”Work party
There is a problem at the wooden footbridge into Village Green.
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Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 