Whinney Hill

On Saturday 13th October, Hyndburn’s Woodlands Officer Brandon Cherry and Irene, of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, held a fungi walk at Whinney Hill woodland! (Livingstone Road)

The walk was very well attended, with 21 people turning out for the walk! Irene, a professional mycologist, strolled through the woods while attendees scouted for fungi. The attendees found an abundance of fungi which Irene identified and discussed.

The weather, unfortunately, only held for an hour for us after which a downpour occurred and forced an early finish!

Thank you to Irene for leading the session and for sharing her bountiful knowledge! Thank you also to those that attended the walk and made it a lovely afternoon

As always, thank you to our funders for making it all possible

Funding provided by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.

On Tuesday 8th October the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Volunteers were back at Whinney Hill carrying out some maintenance jobs in the area.

Initially, we re-established the information board that had been torn down a few months prior. The information board can now be used to publicize events for the local area.

We then used scythes to clear back the verges on the Livingstone road entrance to the site to open it up more and improve visibility, as well as making the area look tidier. Hand tools like loppers and bow saws were then used to cut back vegetation overhanging on the fence.

Finally a litter pick was carried out along the entrance to help keen the area clean and tidy, we unfortunately did find quite a lot of litter this time!

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who help us carry out this important work

As always, thank you to our funders at Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Grant.

On Tuesday 26th March the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Volunteers were back at Whinney Hill woodland carrying out some INNS (Invasive Non-Native Species) management, in the form of removing Small-leaved Cotoneaster which had likely escaped from one of the neighboring allotments.

Small-leaved Cotoneaster can be quite tricky to remove, it needs to be dug out with the roots which can be quite extensive and sturdy. Volunteers used loppers and bows to first clear all of the above ground vegetation, which was followed by using spades to dig out the root ball in its entirety.

Afterwards, the collection of litter that had been picked over the course of many sessions was moved to a location for removal.

Activity funded by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.

On Sunday 3rd March 2024 the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Volunteers teamed up with the TreeACTION Project to plant a 60 metre long hedgerow bordering between the Whinney Hill entrance ginnel and the Cricket Club.

We planted a Hawthorn hedgerow to act as a barrier for the cricket club, while providing winter forage for birds and small mammals. The hedgerow will be maintained in the future years to continually promote its growth.

In future years, the hedgerow will offer an opportunity for a hedge-laying activity.

Thank you to our volunteers for helping us improve local biodiversity and site security.

Activity funded by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.

On Saturday 24th February 2024 the Whinney Hill Helpers were carrying out a litter pick across the woodland. An extensive amount of litter and fly-tipping was removed from the woodland, including the front bumper of a car. Around 5 bin bags worth of litter were also removed along with the fly-tipping.

Thank you to our volunteers for helping us keep our woodlands clean!

Funded by Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund.

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.