Working Party - Sunday 18 October 2009
As a follow up to last Sunday’s workparty I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to all the people that took part and made such a difference in one day! There were 18 volunteers and four rangers that made up the team on the day. The volunteers were recruited from the Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group, keen birdwatchers (who had been invited or seen the invite on the CWP bird Blog) and also from the Cotswold Water Park Estates and Rangers volunteer group. Starting around 8am until 3pm we all managed to clear an area of dense and quite large willows which I have estimated to be 50m by 20 m. All the trees were felled and burnt on the same day with the stumps treated as well. It certainly felt like one of the most rewarding days that we have had on L68d since we started the coppicing program in 2002-3.
As I write this there is a group of students from Wiltshire college, Lackham, working on an area close by, and last week the workparty season was started with a corporate group from Npower. So with all this help we will be well on the way to completing our target amount for this season.
I realize that there were plenty of willing volunteers that could not help on the day and I am grateful for all the messages that I received from these interested parties, I will try and pick a day that you can make next year!
So once again thanks for all your time and efforts!
Ali Swainston, Cotswold Water Park Estates and Rangers