Path Widening

Although there are some wonderful paths in Childwall Woods it’s a continuous battle to keep them open. Nettles and brambles reach across them constantly making walking difficult and occasionally a tree will drop a branch making it impossible to pass. All of these hazards were the focus of the Maintenance…

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Himalayan Balsam Bashing

Himalayan Balsam is the pretty purple and white flower that now floods the lower fields, growing through bramble and nettle and under the trees on the plantation. It is phenomenally invasive as the seeds can be flipped 5 metres from the 2.5m high parent by a clever explosive spring mechanism.…

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Bramble Clearing

An amazing crew of 18 volunteers turned out on Sunday 16th April, even under grey skies and damp conditions. The invading brambles in the main entrance field were tackled again to expose the struggling bluebells that used to thrive here. A large portion of the cuttings was piled to define…

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Dead Hedging

It was a beautiful bright day for cutting back the Rhododendron ponticum in the southern woods and using the unwanted branches to shield the woodland areas where thousands of bluebells and daffodils are on their way through. With 26 volunteers Ian led the way. Rhododendrons were planted more than a…

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Rhododendron bashing to start the New Year

Sunday 15 Jan saw an impressive 20 volunteers assemble at the Lodge gate entrance for our first monthly Conservation event of 2023.  Undeterred by the (accurate) forecast of heavy showers, the group split up into teams which battered brambles, cleared paths, lifted litter and cut back invasive rhododendrons near the…

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Weeding the New Orchard

Sunday October 16th saw an intrepid group of more than 25 volunteers of all ages bravely tackle the ‘jungle’ of the Middle Field. In the spring we planted 20 fruit trees on the Middle Field.  Months later these have almost vanished under a profusion of nettle, bramble and goose-grass. It…

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The Wildflowers and the Champion Tree

This was an event of two halves, beginning at the wildflower beds on the top field and finishing by the Champion tree, the variegated oak.  Both areas needed attention and a fine gang of volunteers turned up to do the job. The wildflower beds had been beautiful earlier in the…

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Maintenance and Conservation on The Top Field

We have a problem at Childall Woods and Fields. The fields are slowly turning into woodland. We have to strike a delicate balance between a wild place and a managed space in order to achieve the varied habitat that is so important to the fauna and flora of the site.…

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Path Clearance

17th July 2022 A special event was scheduled to take place in the woods and fields this week. There was to be a special event with children from Henshaws, an organisation supporting people with sight loss and a range of other disabilities. To ensure the safety of this group, our…

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Plug planting – the last 600

Maintenance and Conservation Event, Sunday 19th June 2022 With the planting season coming to an end a final push was given to get the last trays of wildflowers into the top field. Our wonderful volunteers showed up as usual with dibbers and trowels and the last trays of wildflowers were…

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