Hello Conservation Volunteers
Thank you to all the volunteers who attended our Thursday work morning where we had groups spread from the top of Porter Clough to Forge Dam and down to Ann's at Endcliffe.
At Porter Clough, Peter, Rob and David first of all cleared gullies which had become blocked due to the storms over the past weeks by clearing out the ditches and also rodding one of the covered drains to unblock it. They then turned their attention to restoring the original path line where there are what appear to be large stones embedded in the middle of the path. These stones are actually the south (river side) edge of the original path, the north (field side) has become overgrown, the hard core covered by a bank of soil and turf, resulting in walkers creating another muddy path on the river side. The turf has been removed and placed on the other side of the stones to try and encourage walkers to use the path which has a hard base. The drainage ditch was also restored, although water is still mysteriously seeping up under the path from somewhere.
At Forge Dam, a team armed with mattocks, spades and rods worked on clearing the culverts both upstream and downstream which had also become blocked with debris from the recent storms.
Down at Ann's, the event shelters which are to be used in the upcoming Duck Race needed to be erected and checked over to ensure they had not deteriorated or had bits missing since they were last used three years ago. Two teams, Team Hilary and Team Dave, had the task of erecting three each and repacking them. All the shelters were in good order apart from missing tent pegs and some poles which had become detached from their adjoining sections, creating a puzzle as to which bits went where, but have now been marked to avoid such issues on the big day. For those wondering, Team Hilary were the fastest managing to erect their three tents whilst Team Dave were still working on their second!
The next work morning is on Tuesday 22nd March 2022. The usual email will be sent out nearer the time requesting volunteers.
Lyndon.
A Selection of photos from the work morning
Clearing gullies and drains at Porter Clough
Restoring the path at Porter Clough
Culvert clearing around Forge Dam
Erecting the event shelters
Team Hilary
Team Dave
