Volunteers start the New year on their knees

Volunteers start the New Year on their knees 10th January

 On Thursday Diego and Marcus were glad to get out and get moving again even though removing tree guards is not the most exciting of work jobs to do. Crawling around on your hands and knees taking the guards off is not what people think about when they are happily planting young trees and protecting them with plastic spirals, but someone has to get them off years later. It is satisfying though to see so many trees that are now sturdy enough to go it alone.

 

 

Luckily there were a few old trees to saw up and drag about and that always keeps volunteers happy.

When you are doing conservation work you can never get it right for everyone and everything and we did upset one local resident as it was just too cold for them to move out of the way.

 

This Common toad was burrowed in at the bottom of a spiral where the sapling had died. It was none too pleased at being disturbed but once it had done its photo shoot it was covered over again with twigs and leaves and should be fine until the warmer weather puts it in the mood for mating. I love their Latin name ‘Bufo bufo’ and it will be good to make a record for toads which are very under recorded in the valley. In conservation terms the Common toad is on the IUCN red data list but in the category of ‘least concern’ so although not immediately in danger of extinction it is struggling to maintain good population numbers.

The volunteers did a great job with good humour and enthusiasm as usual and it is good to see a lot less plastic down the Windrush Path section of Langley Lane on the approach to the nature reserve.

If you would like to join the LWVP volunteers please call the Project office on 01865 815426 or email lwvp@oxfordhsire.gov.uk.