Friends' Work Parties
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07 Apr 2012A cloudy but dry morning found us working at the west end of Sally's Glade. This is the area where the Community Payback team did some work last month. There are some wonderfully shaped willow trees here, but around them lots of saplings had grown and were spreading into the broom along with bramble. Our aim is to let the broom establish itself in this area.
03 Mar 2012Some early spring sunshine after some overnight rain and we were lucky enough to avoid the showers with the hail arriving just after we had enjoyed our coffee and biscuits. We were pleased to welcome two new faces as we cleared bramble and saplings from the slope above the steps from entrance E. This is an area where broom is re-establishing itself after we have removed a lot of bramble over the last few years. The cuttings will be removed during the week using the gate that the payback team fitted last month. At the same time a team of offenders on the ‘Community Payback’ scheme were clearing saplings and bamble from the west end of Sally's Glade near the top of the steps down into the woodland. This work is funded by the Big Lottery as pert of our Stepping Forward Project. Over the next two days the team will be removing some of the gorse above entrance E.
04 Feb 2012After a very cold week, we were lucky to get this work party completed before the afternoon snow arrived. We cleared bramble and saplings from the edge of the heathland near Greendown. At the same time one of our members did a litter pick over the hill - as she does regularly between work parties. While we were working near Greendown a team of offenders on the ‘Community Payback’ scheme installed a new gate post at the second entrance up the hill on Troopers Hill Rd. This gate will allow our park keeper easier access with tools and will also make it easier to remove cut bramble etc from the hill. This work is funded by the Big Lottery as pert of our Stepping Forward Project.
07 January 2012
After storms during the week, we were pleased to have a sunny spring like morning to prune the Greendown hedge that we planted in January 2006. There was a good turnout and we produced many more cuttings than last year for Bristol Parks to collect later in the week. One of our members also carried out a litter pick over the hill.
07 Dec 2011
A 'nice sunny morn' after a wet night. It was also mild, even feeling warm in the sunshine - a complete contrast to this time last year. We returned to complete the work we started last month, with a particular focus being the removal of some cherry saplings.
05 Nov 2011
After a wet couple of days it was good to see a dry and bright morning, it was also very mild. Today we tackled bramble and saplings in the area above the lower chimney that got burnt in Spriing 2010. There are a lot of new broom plants growing here and we hope to keep the bramble at bay to give them a chance to establish. A litter pick by a couple of the group found surprisingly few firework remains, but unfortunately we did recover the molten remains of another wheelie-bin.
01 Oct 2011Bright sunshine on the warmest Saturday morning for a work party of the year had at least one of our regulars wishing for cloud and drizzle. We again spent the morning in Sally's Glade with two of our members completing a litter pick concentrating on Troopers Hill Field. The well deserved coffee and biscuits was taken sitting in the shade, where we found a lot of different fungi.
03 Sept 2011Another morning working in Sally's Glade clearing bramble. We were very pleased to see two more new faces. We also cleared some isolated gorse that had appeared in the main area of bell heather on the south facing slopes and a small amount of litter from the top of the hill. During coffee and biscuits we presented Oscar with a card for his tenth birthday and a certificate to thank him for completing 25 hours of work for us on Saturday mornings.
06 Aug 2011A cloudy morning but dry apart from the occasional spot of rain. We continued the work in Sally's Glade that we were doing last month and also cleared saplings from the grassland area to the east of the glade. This is an area where trees were cleared in 2007 to recover an area of lost grassland. At the end of the session and prior to our well earned coffee and biscuits we put up our new Green Flag and posed for photos showing our '5 in a row'.
02 July 2011
A hot sunny morning in Sally's Glade with the shaded areas being the most popular spaces to work. We cleared a lot of hawthorn saplings and low lying bramble. Two of the group also went on a sapling hunt in the grassland over the top of the hill.
4 June 2011The weather was very sunny for the majority of the work party, an excellent start for the two new members. We cleared saplings and bramble from Sally's Glade which will allow the broom to spread and grow. Meanwhile two of the party were clearing bracken and brambles at the top of the steps which lead from Troopers Hill Road.
The showers began at 11.45 which signalled the end of the work party, however we spent the last few minutes tidying up and disposing of waste, this was followed by a well earned cup of tea on the flat section by the Green Flag.
26 May 2011Following the loss of the work party on 7th May we agreed at our meeting that week to try an evening work party. Unfortunately the weather again wasn't great but the showers cleared so 8 of our regulars braved the wind and cleared some saplings from various parts of the hill. Afterwards we relaxed in a sheltered hollow with a couple of glasses of wine.
07 May 2011After over a month of almost unbroken dry weather in one of the driest springs on record, heavy rain on Saturday morning meant that unfortunately this work party had to be cancelled. 02 April 2011
The morning showers cleared in time for a small group to clear some scrub from the side of Sally's Glade. There are lots of green shoots but but with the sapplings not yet fully in leaf we were able to ensure that we did not disturb and nesting birds. We also completed a litter pick through the gully but had to leave the burnt remains of a wheelie bin for our park-keeper to remove next week. Our thanks to the residents that called the fire service and prevented this fire from spreading further.
05 March 2011A dry morning with the occasional glimpse of the sun but a cold wind. With the dry ground we were able to work on the steep slopes above the steps from entrance E where the rain prevented us from working last month. A few years ago the bramble on these slopes had choked the broom but since we started regularly clearing the bramble the broom has regenerated. We also removed bramble from the grassland around the area to the west of here leaving the thicker bramble to be cleared by our 'parkie'. Meanwhile two of the group cut some large saplings in the area of bracken towards the bottom of the slope and tackled bramble in another area of broom. The coffee and biscuits afterwards were very welcome!
05 February 2011
A very blustery and showery day with the ground being very wet after overnight rain. The slippery ground conditions meant that we had to change our plans and work in a relatively flat area; so we cut back some of the bramble from the 'ant hill' area at the top of the hill between the path and the allotment fence.
08 January 2011
The hedge that we planted in January 2006 grew very well this year so we were pleased to have our best turnout for several months to help with the annual pruning. As in previous years the cuttings were placed in bags by the gate for our Park Keeper to take away next week. It was a cloudy start to the morning but the sun came out in time for well deserved coffe and biscuits at the end of the session.
04 December 2010
A low turnout on a cold morning with the threat of showers after a very cold week. We managed to clear a small amount of bramble and saplings from Sally's Glade before a heavy shower meant calling an early close.
06 November 2010
We were again lucky with a dry Saturday after a wet Friday. The rain had reduced the number of people celebrating the night before so there was less fireworks litter to collect than we expected. We cleared yet more bramble and saplings from the area of broom above Sally's Glade. Some of the group also helped Gynormous Rawkus set up for their kite making event.
02 October 2010
On a dry morning following a very wet Friday and before more rain forecast for Sunday we returned to clear more bramble from the area of broom above Sally's Glade. Two of the team repaired one of the steps on the 'DOE' path in Troopers Hill Woods before joining us in the bramble.
04 September 2010
The main focus for the day was bramble and saplings at the top of the area of broom above Sally's Glade. We also cleared some litter as we walked up over the hill, much of it from a party last night.
07 August 2010A heavy shower at 10am reduced the turnout this morning and meant a late start but the rain stopped to allow five of our regulars to fix the new Green Flag to the flag pole. With the new flag flying we turned our attention to some saplings in the grassland and also cleared the small quantity of litter from the area of the hill around the chimney and adjacent to the allotments. When Friends of Troopers Hill first started we spent a lot of time litter picking. Thanks to the help of our 'parkie' Julian; dog walkers who regularly clear litter in the mornings and everyone who uses the hill and takes their litter home, our litter pickers now have much less to do. The morning finished with coffee and biscuits on one of the benches near the chimney.
03 July 2010
Another warm summer morning, the main focus for today was bracken where it is spreading into areas of heather and broom. The bulk of the bracken is strimmed by our 'parkie' working for Bristol Parks, but we can remove the growth at the edges amongst the heather and broom. If the bracken is cut regularly during the growing season the root stock is weakened so that eventually it does not regrow. We also cut some saplings in the gully and cleared some litter from the hill and Troopers Hill Field.
05 June 2010
On a very warm morning the day's task was a sapling hunt. Working across the grassland starting from entrance E we cleared many oak and hawthorn saplings from the south west section of the hill. If these saplings are allowed to grow unchecked the grassland and heathland which is the most important habitat on Troopers Hill will be lost.
01 May 2010
It has become a tradition that for the May work party we head for Sally's Glade where the broom always looks good at this time of year with its yellow flowers. This year we removed lots of bramble and also some quite large saplings. There is more to do here so we may well return in June.
03 April 2010
Following Friday's morning rain that led to the Good Friday service being moved to the church we were pleased to be able to complete this work party before the rain came down again - the coffee and biscuits were served sitting in a car. We cleared lots of bramble from the area of broom by the steps from the lower chimney.
06 March 2010
Some welcome Spring sunshine but with a cold wind. We kept ourselves warm by clearing bramble from the steep slopes near the gorse at the top of the steps from entrance E. This is an area where a lot of bramble has been cleared by the Bristol Parks team over the last few weeks. We concentrated on clearing bramble from amongst the broom. The bramble was left in large bags by the fence for Bristol Parks to collect next week.
06 February 2010
The main focus for today was the pruning of the Greendown hedge that we had planted in January 2006. There is plenty of last year's mulch left and the thicker hedge is discouraging weed growth so we have decided that there is no need to mulch the hedge this year. After so many work parties over the last few months being impacted by the weather it was good to have a dry day, though there was a cold wind.
09 January 2010This work party was cancelled due to the snow and ice. 05 December 2009
Something different for this month. We took part in a tree planting record attempt as part of the official opening of the new play area on Troopers Hill Field. 07 November 2009
This work party became a dash to get some daffodil and crocus bulbs planted on Troopers Hill Field before the forecast heavy showers arrived. The bulbs were planted on the bank alongside the track that leads across the Field either side of the red bench by the path into the woods. We were just planting the last of the bulbs when the first shower arrived at 10.45.
03 October 2009
Although five of our regulars braved the wet weather, further rain meant that we had to call a halt after only an hour of clearing saplings.
05 September 2009
In some morning sunshine we cleared several saplings from an area of grassland near Sally's Glade. We were fortunate to see a common lizard on some heather at the edge of the broom and there was also a green frog hopping around.
01 August 2009
Despite the forecast rain a small group turned up and took advantage of a dry spell to clear some bracken and saplings in the gully.
04 July 2009
This work party focused on areas of bracken where it was growing amongst the heather. Our resident parkie, Julian, has been cutting some of the large areas regularly and we are able to do our bit by covering areas where it needs to be cut or pulled by hand.
06 June 2009Due to the morning's heavy rain this work party had to be cancelled. 02 May 2009
With the broom looking magnificent with its yellow flowers the main group, including our DoE pupils, did some more work in Sally's Glade. We also removed some cherry saplings from near the path to the lower stack and did a litter pick.
04 April 2009
Under warm spring sunshine we cleared some bramble and saplings in Sally's Glade. Our DoE pupils also carried out further work on the steps on the 'Doe' path on Good Friday and on the evening of 22 April.
07 March 2009
Having pruned the hedge last month, the main task for today was weeding and mulching. We also cut down a large holm oak sapling and cleared some bramble and other small saplings from near the path parallel to Troopers Hill Rd.
21 February 2009
This work party was postponed from the 7th February due to the snow and ice (see photos here). Two weeks later the contrast was amazing with a warm spring like day. Our main task was to prune the Greendown hedge which we had planted three years earlier.
10 January 2009This was another very frosty morning at the end of a long spell of very cold weather. We completed the work we started last month clearing bramble from the area of broom.
06 December 2008A cold but sunny morning, most of the group concentrated on the area of broom to the left of the path up from the lower chimney. We have worked in this area several times and have prevented it from becoming and area of just bramble. We also removed the old sign at the entrance from the Field following the installation of the new sign in October and cleared some bramble from the ant hill area at the top of the hill while we were there.
01 November 2008A very cold but dry morning with the rain again holding off until we had finished. We continued clearing the bramble and some saplings from the area above the steps from Troopers Hill Road that we worked on last month. Our resident 'parkie' Julian had also cleared the large area of bracken here since last month.
04 October 2008This Work Party marked exactly five years since our first litter pick which was organised by Sally Oldfield in October 2003.
06 September 2008Although the rain stopped and there was even a brief burst of sunshine just before 10am the heavy overnight rain had left the hill too wet for us to work safely and therefore the Work Party was cancelled. 21 August 2008A lovely evening – we sat on top of the hill setting the world to rights drinking coffee after doing a good bit of work tackling encroaching bramble and saplings from an area of ant-hills near the top.
02 August 2008A cloudy morning but at least the showers had passed before our 10am start. Our first task was to put up the new 2008/9 Green Flag. We then moved into the gully to again cut bracken from the edges of areas where it is spreading into the heather and grassland and to cut some of the small saplings and bramble in the grassland areas.
17 July 2008An enjoyable evening was spent first pruning the Greendown Hedge which has grown really well this year. Once this was complete we moved to the area of grassland near Sally's Glade.
05 July 2008The forecast showers kept away and we even had some welcome sunshine. We split into two groups - the first removed ivy from the rock faces in the gully and then cleared some saplings, bracken and bramble from the surrounding area. Meanwhile the second group worked in Sally's Glade and the nearby grassland again clearing bramble and saplings.
25 June 2008While Susan & Kit were working with the Scouts to prepare for the Trooping the Hill event on Saturday a group of us removed several small saplings and some bramble from the grassland and heathland below the chimney. We also cut a small channel at the side of the path to help reduce the erosion of the path that has been happening after heavy rain.
07 June 2008A warm and sunny morning. One group cut bracken from the edges of two areas where it is spreading into the heather and grassland. Meanwhile a second group was clearing saplings including cherry and oak from beside the path from the lower chimney.
20 May 2008A small group on this evening work party removed lots of small seedlings of holm oak, oak and silver birch from the sides of the gully.
03 May 2008As has become traditional for our May Work Party the work focused on bramble and hawthorn scrub in Sally's Glade. There were also several Holm Oak saplings to remove. We were again joined by two students from UWE who got to explore the hill while doing a litter pick.
20 April 2008A rather grey day for our second Sunday work party this year - but at least it was dry. This work party saw the conclusion of our Duke of Edinburgh's Award project to build steps on the path through Troopers Hill Woods.
The rest of the group cleared some bramble from the grassland near the entrance from Troopers Hill Field and then moved to the steep slopes above the nursery where we cleared some more Holm Oak and other saplings.
05 April 2008While our DoE volunteers from John Cabot Academy continued their project to build steps on the path into Troopers Hill Woods; the rest of the group cut saplings and bramble from various areas on the hill. The areas cleared included the steep slopes above the nursery where there were many holm oak saplings. Since we are now in the bird nesting season we were careful to avoid dense areas of bramble.
01 March 2008While our young DoE volunteers continued their project by building two steps on the path; the rest of the group started the session by spreading mulch along the Greendown hedge. As in previous years the mulch had been delivered on the previous day by Bristol Parks.
17 February 2008This was the first of two Sunday afternoon work parties we have planned for this Spring. Most of us concentrated our efforts on the area of broom to the left of the path from the lower chimney that we had worked on in January. We also cut down a holm oak from the other side of the path and cleared some bramble from the stonecrop. The stonecrop is home to a small fly Phytomyza sedi and Troopers Hill is the only place in the UK that this fly has been found. Meanwhile the DoE project to clear the path from Troopers Hill Field to Troopers Hill Woods continued. Our young volunteers were lucky enough to be visted by a deer that came to see what they were doing.
2 February 2008We were very pleased to be joined by two year-10 pupils from John Cabot Academy who are taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and by two students from UWE. The main group concentrated on pruning and weeding the hedge at Greendown, we also planted some new holly and hawthorn to fill a gap that had appeared. At the top end of the hedge there was a lot of bramble to cut back.
12 January 2008A bright and frosty morning after a very wet Friday. We started with the prize giving for our photo competition. We were very pleased that our young winners Harry and Amy were then able to join us on the work party. We concentrated our efforts on the area of broom to the left of the path from the lower chimney, this area is relatively flat so the wet ground wasn't so much of a problem.
01 December 2007Heavy showers after a lot of overnight rain meant that this month's work party had to be cancelled.03 November 2007Warm or even hot sunshine on a fabulous November morning. Two of the group did a quick check over the hill for litter before joining in with the rest of us in clearing the bramble re-growth from the area at the top of the steps leading from Entrance E. This is an area with old broom that had become completely choked with bramble. It was pleasing to see our efforts of last year being rewarded with new broom plants growing. As well as the bramble some oak saplings were also removed.
06 October 2007With lots of our regulars (including our Chair) suffering from the various bugs that are going around there was only a small group this month, though it was pleasing to welcome a new face. We concentrated our efforts on clearing the bracken at the entrance to the Gully. Much of this bracken had been cut by Julian of Bristol Contract Services on his regular visits to the site with his strimmer. We were able to clear the remaining areas where the bracken was mixed with the heather using loppers. Now that the edge of the heather can be seen we hope to be able to keep next year's regrowth in check and to eventually eradicate the braken all together in accordance with the Management Plan.
01 September 2007On a cloudy but warm morning we returned to Sally's glade to clear some more bramble and scrub. This time we concentrated on the lower part of the glade below the path.
04 & 16 August 2007For both these work parties we returned again to work on bramble, hawthorn and oak scrub in Sally's Glade.
07 July 2007A dry and sunny day after a very wet June saw us working in three areas. One group first flattened some bracken before moving on to remove some saplings including several holm oaks from the steep slopes above the nursery. Meanwhile a second group was clearing bramble and saplings including cherry from beside the path from the lower chimney. A particular aim of this group was to clear the stonecrop which is home to the small fly recorded as a 'first for GB' in last year's invertebrate report.
21 June 2007A small group of us managed to miss the showers on a cloudy summer evening and clear some saplings from the north side of the gully.
02 June 2007A warm sunny June morning meant that we were very grateful for the shade of the broom as we cut the regrowth of bramble from the area we cleared in the winter.
Mon 14 & 21 May 2007Two evening work parties, the first bashing down some of the bracken in compartment 5 at the top of the steps from entrance E and the second cutting more bracken and saplings from areas of heathland.
Sat 05 May 2007A smaller group than recently due to the clash with the Bank Holiday weekend but we were pleased to welcome two new faces. Over 60 people have now taken part in our Work Parties over the past three years, our thanks to all of you. The work focused on bramble and hawthorn scrub in Sally's Glade which is in compartments 10 and 11 in the Management Plan. This is a wonderful spot to work at this time of year with the broom in flower.
Thur 26 April 2007This was a trial to guage interest in evening work parties. We had a very enjoyable evening cutting bramble from wherre it was encroaching into an area of grassland with lots of anthills on the left of the path from Troopers Hill Field in Compartment 1.
14 April 2007This month's work party was delayed by a week because of Easter. In previous Aprils we have carried out a 'Spring Clean'. We were very pleased that this was not necessary this year. A small group did some litter picking, but apart from a large duvet only two bags of rubbish were recovered. This is a real indication of the success of Friends of Troopers Hill and our friends in Bristol Parks in making Troopers Hill look more cared for and encouraging people to treat the site with the respect it deserves. Many thanks to every one who as helped especially all those dog walkers who pick up cans and bottles on their morning walks. These photos show a second group cutting the bramble regrowth in the area we cleared over the winter. We also moved some of the bramble we cut previously so that Bristol Parks could remove it later. A third group covered the site cutting holm oak saplings, they were pursued by a BBC film crew - watch out for 'Nature in Britain' in the autumn. The photos also show the lizard we found and the whole group sitting in the unusually hot Spring sunshine enjoying coffee and biscuits afterwards. Thanks must also go to Zoe from BTCV who came along to audit our Health & Safety procedures to ensure that we were working safely and in accordance with Bristol City Council's requirements. The area where we cut the bramble is part of the area designated in the 2007 Management Plan as Compartment 5. The work we have done during the winter to remove bramble and saplings in this area is in accordance with the 'Work Guidelines' (section 7.1) for this compartment to remove competition with the heathland flora and to prevent scrub from maturing into woodland. These Work Guidlines summarise the work needed to achieve the Aims and Objectives for the site set out in section 7.2 of the plan. In particular our work helps to achieve aim 7.2.2 to conserve and where possible enhance the extent and quality of acidic grassland and heath habitats. The plan sets out objectives that will help to achieve the aims. So that everyone can see how our work relates to the Management Plan we shall list the compartments where we have worked and the objectives that we have focused on under the reports for this and future work parties.
March 2007We were pleased to welcome 3 new faces on a bright sunny morning after very heavy overnight rain 03 Feb 2007We continued with the work we were doing last week in both locations. At Gillian's Glade we have now cut a path through the bramble to connect with the paths in the wood - though it needs a bit more work to make it easily passable. 27 Jan 2007As in December we split between two sites. On Troopers Hill Field more of "Gillian's" glade was cleared in front of one of the new benches funded through Akzo Nobel's Global Community Programme. Alan led the way with the slasher and loppers. 13 Jan 2007The work party on 6th Jan was cancelled due to rain but we made up for it by holding an extra session on the following week.
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Details of earlier Work Parties >> |
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