Hello Conservation Volunteers
Thank you to all of the volunteers who came to our work morning last Thursday on what was a lovely sunny Autumn morning. We had 22 volunteers in total spread out across Shepherd Wheel, Wire Mill Dam and Forge Dam, and we also welcomed two new volunteers who we hope will come again.
At Shepherd Wheel, a team led by Chris were using the floating rake, thrown into the dam to pull the weed out and leave it at the side. They also tidied up some of the overgrown brambles around the side of the dam.
At Forge Dam, Ann was planting some more plants whilst a large team led by Peter were hard at work removing brambles on the steep bank above the dam. The bank nearer the cafe had been cleared over a number of work morning before the first lockdown in 2020 and this final area was in dire need of being cleared. It is a tough job and will require another few sessions to remove the remaining brambles and tidy the area ready for the re-opening of the newly de-silted dam.
Over at Wire Mill Dam, Matt, our Ranger, had identified an issue with a large overflow pipe supposedly from Wire Mill Dam (although we now suspect it probably is not from the dam itself) pointing straight down the steep hillside at the side of the cottages and onto the path below causing erosion. Whilst we started to dig out a channel to divert the water from the pipe sideways to the dam overflow stream (which has the small waterfall at the bottom and goes under the path), the two Davids took the wheelbarrow down to Leather Wheel to collect some more stones and bricks which were used to line the newly dug channel. Although this was successful with all the water now going down the actual overflow it needs a permanent solution.
The next work morning is on Tuesday 23rd November. The usual email will be sent out nearer the time requesting volunteers.
Lyndon
A Selection of photos from the work morning
Clearing the Weed and brambles at Shepherd Wheel
A section of brambles before clearing at Forge Dam
The same section of brambles after clearing at Forge Dam
Bramble Clearing in full swing
The bramble clearing team
The pipe at Wire Mill running down the hillside onto the path
Wire Mill Dam "Overflow" Pipe causing the issue
Digging the channel
Nick clearing the bottom of the waterfall!
The completed channel lined with bricks and stones diverting the water
