Town Trail - Raspberries and Roman salads

Our latest session on the Town Trail was on Mon 21st March. We finally got down as far as the Woodleigh Road bridge - just! We now need to change location as we're into the nesting season and there's a lot of wild life in this section. It felt like a real achievement to get this far and our work has let so much light into the area. We're looking forward to seeing what plants grow through now they've got some light.

The plant finds this time included raspberries! We cleared the ground around them so who knows if they'll bear fruit later in the year. We also spotted ground elder. Did you know that the Romans brought this plant over to use as a salad vegetable? They probably didn't realise how invasive it would be if you get it in your garden!

Our next session is on Monday 4th April. We'll be up where the Trail starts, near the station, where we'll be clearing ivy off some of the ground - to encourage more wildflowers.

The group is growing and new members are always welcome. If you're interested, contact us on sustainableledbury@gmail.com for more information.

Town Trail - Woodleigh Road, wild flowers.

We were back working last Monday (7.3.22) down near Woodleigh Road. The robins joined us again but were definitely camera shy this time and I didn't manage to get their photo.

We're starting to see more wild flowers coming through though. There were Celandine, Lords and Ladies (sometimes known as Cuckoo Pint) and even some Cyclamen. Did you know that the roots of Lords and Ladies were gathered for their high starch content. In Elizabethan times this was used for stiffening the high, pleated, linen ruffs that were fashionable at the time.

We'll be back for one more session in this area of the Trail on Monday 21st March. Then we'll be into the nesting season and will move to the top end of the Trail, near the station. We can clear ivy off the ground along that stretch without disturbing the nesting process.

If you would like to come and help, do get in touch.

sustainableledbury@gmail.com

Town Trail - Robins join in the work!

There were just a small group of us working on the Town Trail on Monday 7th Feb. We 'liberated' some hazel that was almost smothered with ivy.

We are now seeing wildflowers coming through where we've cleared the ground, which is really encouraging. The birds seem to like what we're doing too and a couple of robins came to inspect our work. One of them was camera shy!

As we work down the trail below Woodleigh Road, we know we will have to take extra care. There are hedgehogs, slow worms, frogs and newts in the area. As well as making room for more wildflowers, we want to make sure that the wildlife already there is given the best chance to thrive.

Our next session is on Monday morning 21st February. If you'd like to join us, do get in touch.

sustainableledbury@gmail.com

Town Trail - Signs of Spring, and litter.

We had another good session on the Town Trail on Monday (24th Jan) and have cleared another section. 

We collected 3 bags of litter and an old tyre and left the area looking more cared for. 

We were very disappointed to learn that more litter had been dropped in the area during the week but we'll be back.

The good news is that there are already signs of wildflowers starting to appear - celandine and wood avens. The photos show 'before' and 'after' our work.

 I nearly forgot the 'after' ones. When I went back to the area some 10 minutes later, it was good to see ground feeding birds, including robins and blackbirds, foraging on the disturbed soil.

Town Trail - Brambles and Ivy

We had our first session of 2022 on Monday (10th) continuing to tackle the brambles and ivy. We're back working from Bye Street/Bridge Street towards Woodleigh Road.

Our next session is on Monday 24th Jan. Do contact us on sustainableledbury@gmail.com if you'd like to join us.