Hedgerows are important for wildlife; you might have noticed them increasingly mentioned because they increase biodiversity and provide habitats for animals and plants. We don’t have a lot of hedgerows at Childwall Woods and Fields, but the one we do have on Childwall Lane is historic. This is one of…
After cancelling two of our winter Maintenance and Conservation events because of rain, it was great to finally welcome in the early spring with an event to extend the flower diversity of our beautiful woods. Snowdrops are a welcome sign of the end of winter and a wonderful food source…
300 crocus corms planted in woods by a team of 8 volunteers
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…