Volunteer task update

Since starting in August, the Wilder Romsey team have achieved a great deal, and I wanted to celebrate some highlights with you!

Over the summer we removed a highly invasive aquatic plant species – Crassula helmsii – from the 4 Great Crested Newt breeding ponds at Abbotswood nature reserve. The WR team turned up in force every time to help Daisy and I remove this suffocating plant from the ponds, taking advantage of a very dry summer which allowed us to enter the ponds. Once this species was removed, we planted native aquatic plants such as Water Mint, Water Forget-me-not, and Brooklime into each pond, increasing the abundance of native plant species which will benefit the pond’s habitat for all species. On the same day we also spread some wildflower seeds on the dry patches of meadow, with the hope of increasing our chances of some wildflowers next year.

​At Mill Lane Meadows (Sherfield English) we had an outstanding turnout of 13 volunteers to help us plant 3 Crab Apple and 3 Cherry trees (which were funded by the Environment Agency). A huge amount of tree guards were also removed from the hedgerow around the carpark. This was a huge feat of volunteer power, finishing the task within 3 hours! I’m very much looking forward to when these trees are mature enough to start blossoming in the spring, the site will look stunning (even more so than usual).

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Finally, we gave Woodlay orchard a good tidy up, fixing the tree pens, weeding and mulching (including the other newly planted trees around the parks and green space). Another fantastic turnout, including Cllr Burnage and Cllr Gwynne – the orchard is set for another year!

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​Huge thanks to everyone who as attended the volunteer tasks to date – you have been wonderfully welcoming to me and I look forward to many more in the future.

​Gemma