On Tuesday 23rd January the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Volunteering were back at Whinney Hill carrying out some Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) management.
This time, we were tackling Small-leaved Cotoneaster which had likely escaped from neighbouring allotments, this shrub has a tendency to spread and grow very large, thus occupying woodland space that native species could occupy. Removal is a large job, that first requires lopping the shrub into small, manageable pieces. Once removed, the extensive roots need to be dug out in their entirety.
A new INNS was then tackled, bamboo, which had escaped from nearby gardens. For now, this involved simply cutting the shoots down as close to the ground as possible. The cut shoots have been put to good use for various activities.
Thank you to our hardworking volunteers who held fast through the poor weather to help keep our woodlands native.
Funding provided by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.
Despite the weather we had a successful walk around Whinney Hill to learn about Winter tree ID. Whinney Hill is one of the woodlands in our Hyndburn Woodlands Project and has an excellent circular walk with a wide variety of trees and views of the surrounding area. On todays walk we identified Hazel, Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Guelder Rose, Whitebeam, Aspen, Alder, Oak, Silver Birch, Willow and Spindle. We run regular volunteering sessions in the woods and will also be holding more walks and training courses in the New Year. For more information contact Roger Plum at roger.plum@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or on 01254 230348. All activities are sent on our mailing list so if you’re not already on it sign up to get details of all upcoming events.