Friday, November 26, 2021

Town Trail - Balfour Beatty join in.

 We had another good session on the Town Trail on Monday morning - see the before and after photos. We had some extra help from three wonderful Balfour Beatty volunteers and we hope they'll be able to join us again in the new year.







 Balfour Beatty encourage all their employees to do some voluntary work every year and we are delighted that they chose to work with us.

For the first time we had to think seriously about ivy growing up trees. Ivy has many benefits for wildlife, but if there is too much of it on a tree, it can cause the tree problems. We try to get the balance right - cutting back enough so that the tree thrives, but leaving enough to support wildlife.

We also found a tree that needs some serious attention and have reported this to the council.

The team is growing - see the group photo. I'm so relieved that I'm the one taking the photos! New volunteers are always welcome. If we continue to make good progress, it won't be long before we can think about planting woodland flowers and shrubs.

Monday, November 22, 2021

Council considers ambitious new recycling and waste plans - Herefordshire recycling and waste collections may change for a greener future


Changes to the way Herefordshire Council provide the county’s recycling and waste collection and waste disposal services are set to be considered at a cabinet meeting to be held next week (Thursday 25 November).

With tough new environmental standards on the horizon, keeping things as they are now is not an option for them, after they received over 3600 responses to a consultation earlier in the year. In response, 86 per cent said ‘more needs to be done to reduce rubbish and increase recycling’; while 60 per cent acceed ‘the need to change the current rubbish and recycling system’. Over half (56 per cent) of residents favour a separate food waste collection.

If agreed, from late 2023, the changes will see a new weekly food waste collection service and a fortnightly seasonal garden waste collection service. Currently 40 per cent of the contents of the county’s residual waste bins could be recycled and residents have told us more needs to be done.


Read more about this on the Council website here











 https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/news/article/1259/council-considers-ambitious-new-recycling-and-waste-plans

Monday, November 15, 2021

Town Trail, ground reappears!

On our second session working on the Town Trail, we were pleased to see that temporary barriers were in place by the broken fencing. Our clearing work will make it easier for the repairs to be carried out.



We worked up the slope to the road but have left some brambles along the top edge.





Hopefully this will discourage litter - we collected another two bags full.




Our next session is on Monday 22nd November from 10. 30 a.m. If you'd like to come and help, please contact us on sustainableledbury@gmail.com

If you're out walking that way, do stop for a chat and let us know if you have any memories of the Trail and how it used to be.

Monday, November 1, 2021

Town Trail - conservation work begins.

Supporters of Sustainable Ledbury have recently spent a couple of mornings cutting back an overgrown area of the Town Trail, near Bye Street/Bridge Street.






The 'brash' is being left as 'dead hedges'. This will maintain the natural cycle of material rotting back into the ground and provide habitat for insects and invertebrates. 






The team have so far removed 2 bags of litter per session. This work is a first step in the plan to increase the range of woodland plants in the area, making it more attractive for the town and providing greater biodiversity for wildlife.