SMAWL Update – May 2012

May 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

Good progress has been made on the Highworth Road site this year. We have built the foundations for the bridges and done lots of planting, including a Jubilee oak tree and hedging plants from the Woodland Trust, some wildflower seeds, and over 500 bluebell bulbs. At our last work day on May 12th, the sun shone and we made progress on clearing around the new plants and digging the beds ready for more wildflower seeds. We also had a wonderful donation of some native plants, including lots of foxgloves. Plans for the coming months include the completion and installation of the bridges, the siting of a memorial bench, further work on the pond, and more planting.

We hope to have a stall at the Village Fete on July 7th, where there will be displays about work done so far and future plans, and we will be running a competition to decide the name for the Highworth Road site. Come along and see us there!

The next working day is on Saturday 9th June, from 9:30am to 4:30pm with a break for lunch from 12:30 to 1:30pm. All volunteers are very welcome, for as little or asmuch time as you can spare. There is always a range of tasks from the fairly gentle to the more strenuous, so please do come along, either to help out or just to see how the site is progressing. You can enjoy the fresh air, good company, and learn about conservation at the same time.

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For further information, please call Barry on 826697 or Susan on 824957, or email barry@capital-planning.co.uk. You can also read more about the group on the village website, www.southmarston.org.uk.

 

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SMAWL Conservation Project

March 26, 2012 by Leave a comment

 March Update.

The shuttering for the foundations for the two timber  bridges was completed and ready mixed concrete was ordered and volunteers worked well on Saturday 24th March. After the concreting was completed one team worked on the central bed to plant a selection of wild flower seeds which should produce flowers this year. Other members started to clear the ground adjacent to the road to allow planting to be continued at a later date. Photographs are attached showing the activities.

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St Julians Woodland Opening Photos

November 27, 2011 by Leave a comment

On 29th September, St Julians Woodland was officially opened. This event included the unveiling of several specially commissioned items.

  • A mural created by Annette Andrews, in collaboration with pupils from South Marston School
  • Benches made with wood from Hagbourne Copse
  • Plinths with Brass Rubbings
  • A bench and table created by local blacksmith, John Beavis.

For those of you who have not made it down to St Julians Woodland, here are some photos of the artworks created. Click for a more detailed slideshow.

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Conservation area working day – 5 Nov 2011

October 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

With the clocks changing this weekend and several people preferring morning start times we will be starting work next Saturday 5th November at 9.30 until 1 pm.

Some news, we have been given to new bird boxes by Alfie and Donald Jones (thank you very much) we now need a fit volunteer to climb into the tree to fit them into place.

Please bring a spade/fork plus wheelbarrow (if you have one) to the work day and we will allocate jobs dependant of the weather at the time.

Enjoy the sunny weekend to come

Take care

Barry Thunder

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Conservation Site News – Sept 2011

September 16, 2011 by Leave a comment

Last Saturday’s September 10th) work day turned out to be an excellent afternoon despite weather warnings. We were able to concentrate on clearing the area for the open air teaching space. We also moved so much soil that we filled a large part of the ditch where a new fence will eventually go. We also welcomed some new hard working volunteers in the afternoon who helped clear so much of the new space. Welcome to Sue and Des and to Cristina’s two sons who worked tirelessly with shovels bigger than themselves. Our thanks to everyone.

The dates for the rest of 2011 are as follows. Saturdays, moving to 10am to 1pm when it gets to dark to work in the afternoon from 2pm to 5pm.

  • Saturday October 8th
  • Saturday November 5th
  • Saturday December 3rd.

To date we planted 95% of the new hedge row (with more to follow in 2012 via the Woodland Trust, we hope). We have placed the pond liner in the ground after much hard digging and are starting to landscape it. DONATIONS of flat natural stone are hoped for so that we can make the pond edges look more natural.

The central island bed has been cleared despite the current crop of natural plants growing in it! We have planted many of the donated plants in temporary beds beside the ditch.

Plans have been drawn to construct the two sets of bridge supports utilising money donated by the F and E Harris Memorial Trust. We are to have the oak seating via Wiltshire Wildlife Trust using money donated by the Nationwide BS.

Some of our future jobs will include the building of willow hides using willow donated by Rupert Burr of Roves Farm and landscaping the ditch to allow rain water to flow into the new pond as well as replacing natural plants alongside the ditch.

Verity is also organising wild-flower seeds for volunteers to grow over the coming months ready for Spring planting.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US WITH?

SURELY THERE IS SOMETHING FROM THE ABOVE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO FOR THE VILLAGE ?

For additional information please call Barry on 826697

Thank you to everyone who has given support to us since the project started.

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Conservation Group Update – SMAWL

August 17, 2011 by Leave a comment

The working day on Saturday 13th August was used to install the pond. A couple of photographs of the installed pond liner are shown below. We still need volunteers to help with future work. If you are interested contact Barry Thunder 826697 or Brian McGlone 826243 to register your interest.

Pond Liner

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Conservation Site News – June 2011

May 27, 2011 by Leave a comment

On 19th May we worked on tidying up the new season’s growth. The newly planted hedgerow is growing well with only a few plants lost to the lack of rain. There are a few meters of hedge still to plant next year.

The new path foundations are settling well and we hope to add the finer top layer of grit after the summer. The design for the two bridges is being worked on and we hope to have enough funds to build these toward the end of 2011. Work on the pond sitting is going well and we hope to be putting it in place over the next few months.

We are still looking for native plants to use on the site and welcome any contributions from the village. Any donations, please call Brian on 826243 or Barry 826697.

We always welcome new volunteers and help them in any way we can. Please come along and see what is going on, between 2pm and 5pm on18th June.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

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Conservation Site News – May 2011

May 2, 2011 by Leave a comment

On 16th April we completed the majority of the hedgerow planting. There are a few metres still to plant once the ground is cleared of the snowberry growth and roots.

The path foundations and access to the two bridges has been laid and planning is in hand to mark the outdoor teaching and seating area. Many thanks to Hanson and Sansums for the donation and safe delivery of the aggregate .

The pond liner is also on site and we have almost completed the digging work for its new home in the bottom of the ditch. Some native plants have been donated and these have been temporarily planted pending clearance of the areas surrounding the new path.

We are now considering what to plant and looking into the cost for the two bridges. If any one who has native plants that they would like to donate, please call Brian on 826243 or Barry 826697.

The next working dates are Saturday May 21st and June 18th. Please come along and see what is going on, between 2pm and 5pm on both dates.

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Conservation Site Update – April 2011

March 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

The sun shone on a few hearty volunteers on Saturday 19th March. We had two new volunteers for the morning (Karen and Julie). Many thanks to everyone who was able to turn out.

We were able to empty all the bags of stone to build the new path area that Ray has finished laying out. It’s looking really good now and will soon be walkable from the pavement. Read more of this post

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Volunteer work day 5th March 2011

March 13, 2011 by Leave a comment

We made good progress on creating the pathway. Most of the main run of sub-base layer has been placed and just needs toping up before compacting. The remaining pathway areas that need to be completed are the top circle, bridge entrances and the main entrance. We were lucky with the weather and thanks to all who made the day a success. The other main activity was to dig out the hole for the pond, still work to be done here.  Here are some photographs taken on the day.

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The next working day is 19th March.

 

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