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This update seeks to give you a little glimpse into the beauty we have seen in this small local area this summer….

One plant we do not welcome on site is Himalayan Balsam! In areas where this had not been controlled it had reached a height of over eight feet, however, thankfully, it is easily removed. “Easily” that it is, in terms of easily pulled up by the roots, but not so easy when there is a lot of it! A major problem with trying to control this invasive species is that it is continually brought into our conservation area via Moseley Beck. It is rampant on so many local waterways that, although we are doing our best to control it, it keeps gaining new footholds on our site! It is important that this plant is removed before it seeds, as the seedheads explode, spreading seeds far and wide, up to 7 metres distance.

The remaining areas of Himalayan Balsam are being tackled today, (5th September), with the kind assistance of a team from the Environment Agency, who are also planting replacement hawthorn whips which we have grown on site from seed, and planting out young oak trees and beech saplings, also grown on site. Although it is early for tree or hedgerow planting, with the recent wet weather it seemed a good time to undertake the replacement of missing/damaged trees and to utilise the kind assistance of volunteers.

Other than these areas of work, efforts have focussed on species monitoring. Several people who are members of local naturalists groups have helped with this task and we are awaiting assistance from specialists who plan to place moth traps as well as undertaking a full butterfly survey.

We look forward to this if the weather improves sufficiently this year, as we have seen a very large number of butterflies. Gatekeepers have been especially abundant and in an area on the far side of Moseley Beck where we removed overgrown gorse, tormentil has flowered extensively and clouds of gatekeepers have been seen in that area.

We have also identified Commas on site, along with a Common Blue, Painted Lady, Peacocks and Red Admirals, amongst others. Dragonflies were very abundant in the hot weather, including the Emperor Dragonflies.

We are thrilled to have seen water voles on two occasions now, as well as seeing bank voles and a pair of kingfishers on Moseley Beck, with a kingfisher regularly fishing on the millrace and our ponds. Deer have been heard at night in the sensory gardens in the upper conservation area and there are many encouraging signs that an increasingly wide range of species are on site.

This week we have volunteers who are going to do pond dipping and then autumn work will focus on cutting back and scarifying the wildflower bank, in preparation for sowing more yellow rattle seed to inhibit the grass growth which is still holding back wild flower spread. We also have pond maintenance work to undertake, along with putting preservative on the hides and lining them out if possible, then further hedging work, subject to funding.

Nothing stands still in the world of nature, not nature itself, nor people seeking to care for and protect the countryside. There is always work to be done if habitats are to be preserved and enriched. However, here at Caring For Life, our work doesn’t stop there. Whilst seeking to run a conservation project which can be enjoyed and which does important environmental work, we are creating an environment in which vulnerable people can feel safe and free to explore the countryside, learning to enjoy sights, sounds and experiences which have been totally alien to them in an unhappy childhood.

At the heart of our work, we seek to introduce people to the Lord Jesus Christ, the One through Whom all things were made.