NEWS – Page 8 – Prospects

Wind turbines at St Nicholas’

Posted on 4th January 2024Posted in Outdoor Learning

In the last week before Christmas Sonja visited St Nicholas’ CE Primary School in Church to run a session on sustainable energy with the Year 5 class, which fits into their natural resources project. The students worked in small groups to make model wind turbines and went outside to try them out in the wind. They also learnt about Hyndburn Windfarm and were surprised that it can power 68% of Hyndburn’s dwellings! We finished with a discussion over whether St. Nicholas’ should have a wind turbine, with some very practical and insightful arguments.

Thank you to St. Nicholas’ for inviting Prospects to run a session. Hopefully the class will be able to visit Hyndburn windfarm in the summer to build on their learning. We run sessions with schools and community groups across Hyndburn. Please contact Sonja (sonja.bottomer@prospectsfoundation.org.uk) to get in touch.

Sustainable Christmas craft sessions

Posted on 4th January 2024Posted in Outdoor Learning

For the past month Prospects have been running free weekly Christmas craft sessions to encourage the local community to have a more sustainable Christmas. These were organised by the Outdoor Learning officer, Sonja, with support from different Prospects project officers. All the sessions were fully booked and hugely popular.

In the first session Robert joined us to make beeswax wraps, which are a reusable plastic free substitute for cling film and make a great Christmas gift. These are very easy to make at home too and make a fun holiday craft. Next was wreath making, led by Helen, the Community TreeACTION officer. We used locally sourced willow, Scots pine, Leyland cypress, holly, and ivy, making a sustainably door decoration.

The week after we made a selection of plastic- free Christmas tree decorations to showcase sustainable decorations, but also to help decorate our entry to the Ernest Street Babtist Church Christmas tree festival. The festival featured local charities and organisations who decorated their trees with a ‘who we are’ theme. Our wood cookie baubles and popcorn garland definitely stood out!

This week we finished off the sessions with Brandon leading a wooden reindeer making session using hazel coppice from Hyndburn’s woodlands. The attendees used handsaws, power drills, whittling knives, secateurs, and loppers to make their reindeer from scratch and they all looked brilliant!

Thank you to everyone who came along to the sessions and joined in with the festivities! And to Ernest Street Baptist Church for inviting us to the Christmas tree festival. Watch this space for more session next year. Seasons greetings everyone!

St Wulstan’s stand against soft plastics

Posted on 4th January 2024Posted in Outdoor Learning

St. Wulstan’s year 5/6 class have been collecting clean soft plastics to take back to supermarkets. They pack the single use plastic packaging in bread bags to compress the plastic as much as possible which saves space when the plastic is transported to the recycling plant. Outdoor learning officer, Sonja Bottomer, has been working alongside the students and Bob Turner of the Laudato Si Movement to write campaign slogans on the bread bag blocks to encourage others to take action.

Last week eight students from the St. Wulstan’s eco-committee took these bread bags to Morrisons in great Harwood to be recycled. They stopped off at Turtle Bee zero waste shop in the high street to experience a plastic-free way to shop and helped refill a customer’s groceries!

Some of the bread bag blocks that the St Wulstan’s pupils have made, and instructions on how to make them, are currently being displayed at Turtle Bee to encourage recycling. Keep up the good work St Wulstan’s!

You can find your nearest soft plastic supermarket collection point here on the recycle Now website: https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/plastic-bags-and-wrapping?postcode=BB6%207JQ#locator

Happy Holidays from PROSPECTS!

Posted on 22nd December 202321st December 2023Posted in Uncategorized

We hope everyone has a wonderful festive season and a happy new year.

Here are some of our highlights from 2023, see you in 2024!

Over 700 Trees Planted by the Community

Posted on 5th December 2023Posted in Community TreeACTION, News

This year’s National Tree Week (NTW) was celebrated by dedicated volunteers from across Hyndburn by helping to plant 720 trees at designated sites in Accrington and Oswaldtwistle.

A series of four community tree planting sessions were held from Sunday 26th to Wednesday 29th November, facilitated by the PROSPECTS Foundation.

In honour of the 50th anniversary of the famous ‘Plant a Tree in 73’ campaign, this year’s NTW introduced the ‘Grow a tree in 23’ initiative. 18 members of the local community planted the trees at well-known local greenspaces including Bullough Park, Woodnook Vale Local Nature Reserve, Peel Park & the Coppice Local Nature Reserve and Harvey Street in Oswaldtwistle. A huge variety of tree species were planted such as English Oak, Hazel, Hawthorn and Spindle.

The full News article from Hyndburn Borough Council can be found HERE

Budding young tree planters Haris and Iris at Bullough Park on Sunday 26th November 2023

If you would like to help with future tree planting activities or get involved further, contact TreeACTION Officer Helen helen.earnshaw@prospectsfoundation.org.uk

Peel Park Pollinator Survey Results 2023

Posted on 24th November 2023Posted in News, Peel Park Pollinators at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

Throughout the year, PROSPECTS has been carrying out pollinator surveys on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR. Measuring the abundance and distribution of species is vitally important for monitoring species health, climate change, and the effectiveness of conservation actions. Nationally, surveys provide data which allows climate scientists, conservationists, and insect experts to get a greater understanding of the situation across the UK. Locally, the surveys have laid the foundations for what we hope will be a continuous study at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR. In the short term they will show us the current biodiversity of the site; in the long term they will show us how effective conservation efforts on the site have been.

The surveys have been open to the public as a way to engage people in citizen science and inspire people to take an interest in the environment.

Weekly Butterfly UKBMS transects were started in June 2022 by Chloe Jameson. Monthly moth trapping events and BeeWalk transects were started in April 2023 & July 2023, respectively, by Robert W.S. Gabryszak. All surveys are set to continue until at least June 2024 with the butterfly transects and BeeWalks going on hiatus during the winter.

Overall, the number of butterfly records has gone down from 2022 to 2023. This could be due to a number of factors. In particular the weather this year and last year may have played a big part, high heat last August was suspected to be detrimental to pollinators this year, and the hot, dry, June this year may have also affected butterflies. A difference in recorders may also play a part with all of 2022 and early 2023 records having 2 recorders whilst later 2023 records mostly having 1 recorder. June records also usually show a large amount of Ringlets, preliminary data from UKBMS shows that Ringlets have had a huge decrease this year.

The moth and bee records can't tell us a lot as they are the only first year, however many have not been officially recorded in the past so it lays a great foundation for survey work in the future.

Moth data is severely lacking with the last species list for the site only containing 6 moth species. We now have plenty more to add to that list including at least 30 species that have not been officially recorded in the Accrington area! (Lancashire Moth Atlas 2020)

Moth surveys will continue throughout the winter months to catch the odd winter-loving moth, but butterfly and bee surveys will be on hiatus until spring 2024! If you're interested in participating or would like more information, email robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk, call 01254 230348, or pop into our Environment Centre at 54 Broadway, Accrington, BB5 1EW.

The survey results can tell us what sort of management might be beneficial and what sort to avoid. For example, with the appearance of Holly Blue butterflies on the site, we can take extra care when working around their larval foodplants: Holly and Ivy. A lack of data can also help, Green Hairstreak has been recorded in the past but has not been spotted this year, we can continue our heathland management to promote Bilberry which they depend on. Dark Green Fritillary butterflies can be spotted across the Accrington Bypass on Hameldon Hill but haven't been found on the Coppice. We could plant violets, their larval foodplant, to encourage them to visit the site and boost their population.

Certain moth species like the Grey Shoulder-knot are uncommonly recorded in Lancashire so it is exciting to know that they are on the site! These moths overwinter as adults so require plenty of brash material to hide away in on particularly cold and rainy days. So by continuing to leave dead wood on the site in the form of brash piles and dead hedging we can support this species and other pollinators with similar behaviours as well as solitary bees who use brash for creating their nests.

We will use the results to tailor our management plan for the site in 2024, stay tuned for more information.

If you're interested in assisting with conservation management or would like more info on surveys, email robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk, call 01254 230348, or pop into our Environment Centre at 54 Broadway, Accrington, BB5 1EW.

Here are the following macro moth species that have been recorded.

Naming explanation, for example we'll look at "03.002 - 2023 07 15 - Common Swift"

03.002: The ABH number is a 5 digit code which, put simply, allows them to be ordered taxonomically. Therefore showing how closely related each species is to one another.
2023 07 15: The date the photograph was taken and/or the moth was recorded. In this case, we were unable to take a photo before the moth flew away.
Common Swift: The common name of the moth as opposed to their scientific name.

03.002 – 2023 07 15 – Common Swift

03.003 – 2023 07 15 – Map-winged Swift

54.009 – 2023 06 24 – Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

66.001 – 2023 10 27 – December Moth

66.010 – 2023 06 24 – Drinker

69.003 – 2023 05 20 – Poplar Hawk-moth

69.016 – 2023 07 15 – Elephant Hawk Moth

70.054 – 2023 06 01 – Silver-ground Carpet

70.093 – 2023 06 24 – Barred Straw

70.097 – 2023 09 16 – Common Marbled Carpet

70.109 – 2023 10 14 – Autumnal

70.121 – 2023 07 15 – Scallop Shell

70.183 – 2023 06 24 – Common Pug

70.226 – 2023 06 24 – Brimstone

70.236 – 2023 09 15 – September Thorn

70.244 – 2023 10 27 – Feathered Thorn

70.252 – 2023 06 24 – Peppered

70.256 – 2023 10 27 – Mottled Umber

70.278 – 2023 06 24 – Common Wave

70.280 – 2023 06 24 – Clouded Silver

71.018 – 2023 08 15 – Lesser Swallow Prominent

71.021 – 2023 08 15 – Coxcomb Prominent

72.002 – 2023 09 16 – Straw Dot

72.024 – 2023 10 27 – Ruby Tiger Caterpillar

72.045 – 2023 07 15 – Common Footman

72.061 – 2023 09 16 – Pinion-streaked Snout

73.015 – 2023 08 19 – Silver Y

73.045 – 2023 06 24 – Knot Grass

73.063x – 2023 08 15 – Copper Underwing agg

73.123 – 2023 09 16 – Rosy Rustic

73.147 – 2023 06 24 – Small Dotted Buff

73.158 – 2023 05 20 – Rustic Shoulder-knot

73.162 – 2023 06 24 – Dark Arches

73.169 – 2023 08 15 – Common Rustic

73.176 – 2023 06 24 – Middle-barred Minor

73.190 – 2023 11 18 – Yellow-line Quaker

73.202 – 2023 10 27 – Grey Shoulder-knot

73.210 – 2023 10 27 – Satellite

73.216 – 2023 08 15 – Dun-bar

73.247 – 2023 04 13 – Powdered Quaker

73.249 – 2023 04 13 – Hebrew Character

73.254 – 2023 08 15 – Antler

73.291 – 2023 07 15 – Common Wainscot

73.293 – 2023 06 24 – Smoky Wainscot

73.301 – 2023 06 24 – Shoulder-striped Wainscot

73.317 – 2023 06 24 – Heart and Dart

73.328 – 2023 06 24 – Flame

73.333 – 2023 07 15 – Ingrailed Clay

73.338 – 2023 08 15 – True Lover’s Knot

73.342 – 2023 06 24 – Large Yellow Underwing

73.343 – 2023 07 15 – Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

73.345 – 2023 08 15 – Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

73.357 – 2023 08 18 – Square-spot Rustic

73.361 – 2023 07 15 – Double Square-spot

73.365 – 2023 09 16 – Autumnal Rustic

04.045 – 2023 04 12 – Stigmella aurella

45.030 – 2023 06 24 – White Plume

49.110 – 2023 07 15 – Agapeta Zoegana

49.156 – 2023 06 24 – Marbled Orchard Tortrix

49.294 – 2023 06 24 – Notocelia uddmanniana

63.038 – 2023 07 15 – Mother of Pearl

57.005 – 2023 07 07 – Small Skipper

57.009 – 2023 06 23 – Large Skipper

58.003 – 2023 06 23 – Orange-tip

58.006 – 2023 07 19 – Large White

58.008 – 2023 08 03 – Green-veined White

58.007 - 2023 08 03 - Small White

59.003 – 2023 06 06 – Speckled Wood

59.005 – 2023 07 13 – Small Heath

59.010 – 2023 08 08 – Meadow Brown

59.011 - 2023 08 08 - Gatekeeper

59.023 – 2023 06 26 – Red admiral

59.024 – 2023 10 10 – Painted Lady

59.026 – 2023 08 22 – Peacock

59.027 – 2023 07 13 – Small Tortoiseshell

59.031 – 2023 07 15 – Comma

61.004 – 2023 07 19 – Purple Hairstreak

61.004 – 2023 08 10 – Small Copper

61.012 – 2023 08 03 – Holly Blue

61.018 – 2023 07 07 – Common Blue

2023 08 08 – Honey Bee

2023 09 21 – Common Carder

2023 07 13 – White-tailed Male

2023 07 13 – Tree

2023 07 13 – Red-tailed Male

2023 05 12 - Orange-tailed Mining

2023 04 25 – Tawny Mining Male

2023 08 08 – Buff-tailed

Welcome to our new Outdoor Learning Officer

Posted on 22nd November 202323rd November 2023Posted in News, Outdoor Learning

We are pleased to announce that Sonja Bottomer has joined the Prospects Team as our new Outdoor Learning Officer.

The Outdoor Learning Project has come about as a result of an initiative funded and promoted by the Ernest Cook Trust, and supplemented by the Windfall Fund. Sonja’s role is all about educating people about the natural environment whilst also raising awareness of climate change. the project will run for 18 months until the end of April 2025.

Sonja will work with Hyndburn schools, community groups and individuals to deliver exciting and engaging environmental activities across the borough. She will also be running weekly food growing sessions at Miller Fold allotments and helping schools and groups create green spaces for outdoor learning. Sonja’s role is to inspire the people of Hyndburn to get out into nature and live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. She is a firm believer that if we all make small everyday changes, we can make a massive impact on climate change.

To find out more, get in touch by emailing sonja.bottomer@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or phone the Prospects office on 01254-230348.

First Memorial Park Session

Posted on 16th November 202323rd November 2023Posted in Memorial Park

On Wednesday 15th November we had the first Memorial Park volunteering session! Volunteers used hand tools to cut back and fell Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel shrubs to improve the biodiversity value of Roundwood! The team made a tremendous start! Around 6 shrubs were cleared with the arisings being moved closer to the road for later collection.

Now that the initial ‘break in’ has been completed more of the woodland has been opened up for future sessions, making it easier for more of the non-native shrubs to be removed.

Rhododendrons put a type of poison in the ground which eliminates other plants thereby reducing competition, promoting it’s own growth. Cherry Laurel produces a fruit which while toxic to humans, is edible for some birds, meaning they can spread easily around the neighbouring sites via seed dispersal.

PROSPECTS would like to thank everyone who attended the first session! Your work is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you in future sessions, full details are available on our events calendar, or to find out more email brandon.cherry@prospectsfoundation.org.uk

Pleck Meadow 2023 Annual Cut

Posted on 1st November 202323rd November 2023Posted in News, Peel Park Pollinators at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

On Monday 11th, September 2023, Pleck Meadow at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR had its 2nd annual cut!

Annual cut & rakes are an important part of wildflower meadow management as it reduce nutrients in the soil which overtime will ensure that vigourous grasses and invasive species do not overrun an area. A wider variety of short and slow-growing plants can thrive as a result, increasing biodiversity in the meadow as more kinds of plants means more kinds of pollinators!

In a natural ecosystem, plants are removed by herbivores which can spread the nutrients across a landscape as they migrate, creating a range of different habitats including areas of nutrient poor soil that can support wildflowers. In the UK, a majority of our native large herbivores are gone and the ones remaining have fragmented habitats which disrupts their migration. This means that the natural spread of nutrients can not occur, resulting in an accumulation of plant growth in an area that builds up over time and creating an area of high nutrient soil which allows plants like Creeping Thistle, Creeping Buttercup, docks, and Stinging Nettle to dominate.

Habitats like this can still be important for wildlife (Stinging Nettles act as the food plant for Comma, Peacock, and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies,) but since 98% of wildflower meadows in the UK have disappeared in the last century, it's vital we transform areas of high nutrient density into to spaces for a vast array of native wildflowers & pollinators to thrive.

So with a severe lack of grazing animals on hand, we settled with a tractor as the next best thing! The compact tractor we got was able to cut and remove a large area of the meadow over the course of a day. We have left areas of longer vegetation around the meadow to give small mammals and invertebrates areas to shelter over winter as well as provide cover for birds and deer.

Stay tuned for updates on the meadow as PROSPECTS will be sowing wildflower seeds and planting wildflower plugs to encourage a wider diversity of plants to spread. The goal is to perform an annual cut in 2024 as well.

If you would like to get involved in meadow management on Peel Park & the Coppice LNR, then please email robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or call 01254 230348.

A huge thank you to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, LEF, and Windfall Fund for making this project possible.

Acorn Picking with Woodnook Primary School

Posted on 31st October 202331st October 2023Posted in Community TreeACTION, News

Last week Woodnook Primary School's Year 3s helped our Community TreeACTION Officer Helen collect acorns from their local Jubilee Woodland.

The children were amazing at picking acorns; they gathered over 1,000! The group kept moving as to not over-pick one area, and any 'duds' (acorns that floated in water and therefore were not viable for planting) were put back into the woodland for wildlife.

The acorns, along with 2,000 seeds from other tree species, were planted by service users of Tinker Brook nursery. Fingers crossed they will grow to be large and healthy oak trees! When they reach 30-50cm tall they will be planted in and around Hyndburn.

Thank you to our funders Hyndburn Borough Council

UKBMS Butterfly Surveys

Posted on 28th June 202331st October 2023Posted in Green Spaces 'Natural Connections', News

The United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) is one of the longest running insect monitoring schemes in the world. Starting in 1976, the scheme is one of the most important resources for understanding changes in insect populations.

As part of this, Chloe from the Green Spaces team has been leading weekly transects around Peel Park and the Coppice LNR in Accrington since June 2022. This involves taking people on a gentle 2km stroll around the site, recording each butterfly that can be seen flying between the months of April and September. The species and numbers recorded varied week to week, with one transect reaching numbers of 345!

Wildfire 2023 – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

Posted on 28th June 2023Posted in News, Peel Park Pollinators at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

After a lack of rain for several weeks, a wildfire started at Peel Park and the Coppice LNR on Wednesday 14th June. The fire spread NNW nearly 300m along the heathland at the top. The emergency service response was fast, and the firefighters quickly contained the fire and prevented its further spread. It took a couple days to fully extinguish, and fortunately we got rain the following weekend.

From aerial and landscape photos, the damage looks quite severe, but in actuality the damage was very superficial and has only affected less than a 1/5th of the heathland on the site. With close monitoring, the heath in this area should bounce back over the next few years. PROSPECTS will be watching and managing the area to prevent coloniser species, like Rosebay Willowherb and Bracken, from taking over and quashing the return of Heather and Bilberry.

If you spot a fire on Peel Park and the Coppice, then call 999 immediately, for official information on wildfire safety advice, you can visit the Lancashire Fire Rescue Website.

We will update on any information on the area as we learn it.

Dead Hedges and Brash Piles – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

Posted on 19th May 202328th June 2023Posted in HEAL project at Peel Park and the Coppice Local Nature Reserve, News

Dead hedges and brash piles are constructed using twigs, branches and other cut vegetation. They form an invaluable habitat for a plethora of species.

Invertebrates like insects, woodlouse and arachnids will use the piles to live in and nest. Some important pollinators like solitary bees will use hollow twigs to create their nests. Small mammals like hedgehogs can use them to hide from predators and to hibernate in over winter. Small birds can also use the hedges for cover and to collect twigs for nests.

The dead hedges can also work as an environmentally friendly alternative to fencing.

If you would like to take part in the construction of dead hedges & brash piles on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then please contact Robert at robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or call 01254 230248.

Invasive Non-Native Species – Japanese Knotweed – Peel Park and the Coppice LNR

Posted on 19th May 20235th June 2023Posted in HEAL project at Peel Park and the Coppice Local Nature Reserve, News

Like many Invasive Non-native Species in the UK, Japanese Knotweed was introduced by Victorian botanists as an ornamental garden plant. Sometimes called "Japanese Bamboo," due to the visual similarites of its stems, but it's shield-shaped leaves and purple speckled stems give it a striking appearance. The small white flowers that it produces in summer are mostly unable to set seed in the UK, but the plant is able to spread via other means. The root of the plant can spread underground forming new stems and even small fragments of the plant can create new roots.

It dies back every winter but a well-established plant can easily regrow to 7ft every summer. This can easily suffocate our native wildflowers which in turn greatly affects our native pollinators.

Japanese Knotweed is an incredibly difficult plant to eradicate as cutting the plant back, digging it up or using external herbicides is not enough to kill it. It requires several consecutive years of treatment with stem injections to remove it entirely.

Unfortunately, there are a few patches of the plant around Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, including the car park, at the top of Plantation Road, and near the Hodder St entrance. Please take care whilst walking in these areas and follow signage. It is also best practice to wash your shoes and your dogs feet before visiting another site to prevent its spread.

If you have spotted any Japanese Knotweed on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then please contact Robert at robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or call 01254 230248.

Hyndburn’s Woodlands NOW LIVE!

Posted on 14th April 2023Posted in Hyndburns Woodlands, News

The PROSPECTS Foundation is pleased to announce that the ‘Hyndburn’s Woodlands’ website is now live!

The website can be found here: https://hyndburnwoodlands.org.uk/

The website aims to be a resource to map, assess and manage the woodland cover in Hyndburn, with information including; condition assessments, timber volume surveys and Ash Dieback monitoring.

The website will also host artwork, music, poetry, photographs, videos and much more! If you would like to contribute to the website please contact us at info@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or ring the office on 01254 230 348

Hyndburn's Woodland Website — Hyndburn’s Woodland Website

Cubs Community Project

Posted on 5th April 202331st October 2023Posted in Green Spaces 'Natural Connections', News

The Green Spaces Team linked up with the 109 Loyola Scout Group, Oswaldtwistle on the 18th February for some conservation management work. Sixteen Cubs, Beavers and Scouts along with the help of some of the leaders all came along to Spout House Community Woodland in Huncoat to help remove guards from the trees that were planted in 2011.

Members of staff cut the guards ahead of the youngsters, making it safe and easy for the guards to be removed and stacked - they did such a good job that it was almost impossible to keep up with them! Hundreds of tree guards were removed during the 2 hour session, which will be collected at a later date so that they can be recycled.

The children also put their detective hats on and took part in a winter woodland tree identification activity. This had the youngsters running through the woods looking at buds and twigs to try and identify native trees (which can be tricky when they don't have leaves).

Not only did participants learn about environmental conservation and sustainability, it allowed the Cubs, Beavers and Scouts to earn badges such as the 'World Challenge' badge, the 'Naturalist' badge and 'Community Impact' badge.

Thank you to all involved for your hard work!

Pleck Meadow Path Opening with Mayor of Hyndburn, Cllr Abdul Khan!

Posted on 31st March 20236th April 2023Posted in HEAL project at Peel Park and the Coppice Local Nature Reserve, News

On 17th March 2023, a year of planning and development finally came to fruition as the new path and bridge to Pleck Meadow were finally completed!

Local schools and members of the public came for an opening walk and witnessed the Mayor of Hyndburn, Cllr Abdul Khan, perform a ribbon cutting on the new bridge over Pleck Brook.

After this, everyone took part in sowing some native wildflower seeds on Pleck Meadow! This will benefit pollinators like bees and butterflies on the site.

Thank you to everyone who was involved! If you'd like to find out more, visit the Pleck Meadow page.

If you would to get involved in future grassland management on Peel Park and the Coppice LNR, then contact Robert at Robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk or call 01254 230248.

Family friendly self-led Easter Egg Trail in Woodnook Vale!

Posted on 30th March 2023Posted in Green Spaces 'Natural Connections', News

Rewilding Update March 2023

Posted on 28th March 202328th March 2023Posted in News, Rewilding Hyndburn's Green Spaces

The Rewilding Project continues into the Spring/Summer season with lots of hardwork and preperation going into the Commmunity Garden sites.

The Rewilding Volunteers have been busy on GrOwING Wild Community Garden, Baxenden cutting back bramble from the pathways and stairs to aid access on the site.

Woodnook Community Garden has seen extensive brash clearing with Bramble and Snowberry being cut back to make space for more diverse flora. Several varieties of fruit trees have been planted including; cherry, medlar, quince, greengage and fig. Numerous soft fruit bushes and rhubarb crowns have also been planted. Blueberry, Cranberry, lingonberry and pink currant have all be planted on the site.
The site owner Onward supported PROSPECTS with a flytipping clearning day with Onward staff supported by the Rewilding Volunteers removing flytipping from the site into a skip and for collection by Onward’s Environmental Services Team.

Miller Fold Allotment has undergone a winter make over, with the growing beds being hoed, weeded and dug over with organic matter from catch crop Green Manures being incorporated into the soil structure. Seed sowing has begun with onion sets being planted outside and peas, broadbeans, various greens and herbs being sown for the coming growing season.
PROSPECTS Green Team Trainees are assisting the project by applying for funding to replace the raised beds and improve access on site with a renovated pathway to assist wheelchair users and those with mobility issues.