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Since writing my last report I have been beavering away in the background laying
the foundations for the Wyeswood Project such as sourcing and buying
equipment, co-ordinating baseline surveys and - by some cunning act of
stealth on the part of GWT senior management - getting drafted into the
Trust’s Health and Safety Working Group – aaaargh!! So the last couple
of months have whizzed by in a flurry of purchase orders and risk
assessments interrupted only by daily offerings to the sun gods in the
hope it would stay dry long enough to get the hay cut at Pentwyn!
By far and away the most exciting purchase I have made
for the project was a brand new, shiny, red Honda Quad bike. The Trust
use Quad bikes, (ATVs) to carry out regular management work on the
reserves, from bracken rolling and mowing to towing loads and seed
harvesting. All reserves staff are required to have an ATV certificate
before we are allowed to use them on reserves. I was very grateful
for the excellent tuition provided by the ever so pleasant (and
patient!) Peter Hewitt of Holme Lacey College as he endeavoured to teach
me (and my colleague Tim) how to use it!
There is the art in riding a quad bike, shifting your
body weight (or more precisely one’s derrière) around the seat of the
bike as you ride around corners and over obstacles. This process,
designed to prevent the bike from rolling over, is called “active
riding” – a seemingly harmless little phrase which utterly beguiles the
pain and tenderness that follows after engaging in this practice, owing,
in my opinion, to the distinct lack of seat padding supplied by the
manufacturers!
Unfortunately it is a sensation I am going to have to
get used to as I put the quad to good use on Wyeswood. Following the
second silage cut, which is happening as I type, I intend to use the
bike to harrow a small trial plot on the Common where we will sow some
wildflower seed recently gathered from the meadows at Pentwyn. In the
mean time I’m eagerly awaiting for the results of a busy summer’s
surveying and looking forward to some more hands-on work this autumn.
I am most eager to build up a regular group of volunteers
to help me look after the site so if you have some time to spare I would love to
hear from you whatever your interest!
Annette Murray, Wyeswood Common Project Officer
Phone: 01600 740358 or 07810 853794. Email:
amurray@gwentwildlife.org.
Read Annette's first
Wyeswood report. |
