To see last year’s work go to Diary 2021
December 2022
Working parties in December were supended due to illness.
November 2022
Poets’ Walk – some sea views along the coastal path are improved by mechanical and hand trimming of overgrown shrubs and small trees. Work to be continued later.
Six shade-loving Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) are planted out in Quinney’s Wood. Invasive brambles are cut out from the top hedge.
One woodland step in Salthouse Woods is replaced & the whole flight & nearby paths tidied. Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus) and shade tolerant ground cover plants are planted beside the stone steps, newly restored by Clevedon Civic Society.
October 2022
Two steep slopes on Poets’ Walk are mown in autumn to improve the grassland. Nearby, the half-term team trim brambles and assist in the removal of a few sycamore saplings.
The Millennium Community Orchard – mowing & raking up round the edges and scrub clearing an overgrown corner to create more available space for planting or amenity
September 2022
Wain’s Hill rampart slope (Poets’ Walk) has been strimmed and partly raked by contractor Green Mantle. The Woodcutters take the arisings into the woodland for habitat piles. Sycamore shoots are cut out along the woodland edge to allow in more sunlight.
Mowing under apple trees in the Millennium Orchard to facilitate harvesting – our first chance to work on site since the start of the building of a new school next door.
Late summer mowing and raking of the south-facing slope on Dial Hill and of less accessible patches under trees. Brambles and ivy are cut back along a nearby path.
August 2022
Dial Hill – the hilltop is mown by contractor. Less accessible areas are brush-cut by the Woodcutters and the newly planted trees mulched with dry grass and watered regularly.
Poets’ Walk – cutting out invasive brambles & wild damson suckers at the top of Salthouse Woods and at the margin of the grassland. Mowing nearby above the zigzag steps.
After weeks of hot dry weather, non-native everlasting pea still flourishes on Dial Hill and is pulled again. The restored viewpoint over Clevedon Bay and beyond is worth a visit.
July 2022
The woodland steps in Salthouse Woods repaired & tidied and the path cleared
Dial Hill – new or re-grown ragwort plants are forked out every July before they can set seed. The population has decreased markedly since the first big ragwort pull in 2014. Invasive everlasting pea has to be pulled repeatedly throughout the spring and summer.
Clevedon School – the neglected seating area is weeded to prepare it for use again by students as an outdoor teaching area. Brambles and nettles are pulled from the surrounding newly tree-planted area and the woodland trail is reopened by clearing new bramble and nettle shoots.
June 2022
Contractors mowed most of the paths on Dial Hill this year while volunteers mowed a few more and also mowed again the area above the recently restored viewing corridor.
Dial Hill – mowing and raking up vegetation under the walnut trees and a nearby oak tree to enhance the area for visitors and promote a variety of habitats
Pulling non-native & invasive everlasting pea among wild flowers and grasses on Dial Hill
Poets’ Walk – with young helpers, cutting back spring growth along the path to Wain’s Hill and restoring access along the informal path behind the Town Cemetery Allotments
May 2022
In Quinney’s Wood a dense growth of tree suckers needs controlling.
Dial Hill – mowing & raking to control bramble, feral raspberry & lilac shoots in grassland and to control nettles at the viewpoint; clearing brambles along an informal trail
April 2022
Strawberry Hill Woods (the Fir Woods) – clearing encroaching brambles, nettles, feral raspberry, and sycamore & Holm oak shoots from the sides of the main path. On Dial Hill, grassland was not mown last autumn and so fresh bramble shoots are cut back by hand.
March 2022
After more bramble grubbing, the Woodcutters help Clevedon School students to plant trees donated by the Woodland Trust.
Clevedon School – cutting back & grubbing out brambles from the seating area & along the trail to restore access after missing last year’s working parties due to Covid restrictions
February 2022
Dial Hill – the view is further enhanced by a bit more clearing; encroaching brambles are pulled or cut back; invasive tree shoots are cut out from the valuable grassland area.
Shrubby vegetation above Marine Lake is trimmed to improve the view from the path.
Hazel coppicing in Quinney’s Wood. Logs are saved as firewood & brash is burnt on site.
Brambles are cut out from the trimmed hedge; new tree labels are fixed & others adjusted.
January 2022
Quinney’s Wood – a third of the top hedge will be trimmed this year, the rest left to grow. Stiles at either end of the Right of Way across the wood are mended, a third blocked off.
Poets’ Walk – restoring good access along the coastal path in the mist on Wain’s Hill
Seven ash trees, planted in Quinney’s Wood in 2002 but now suffering from Ash Dieback, are felled to make room for replacement species. Three birch & three beech are planted.
ClevedonConservationVolunteers 