finished hotel

hotels to take home

search for sticks

empty hotels

saw and workbench

open for business

The bugs of Grove Piece would like to thank the children from Wenhaston School for making such impressive bug hotels.

On a rainy day in March, a group of volunteers – teacher and children, parents, carers and a few dogs – trudged along muddy paths to Grove Piece to make one huge bug hotel and individual smaller ones to take home. No stone was left unturned in the children’s search for sticks, from hollow stemmed twigs for stuffing into cardboard rolls to heavy logs and fallen branches.  Children used a saw to cut larger pieces to size.  They drilled holes before piling them up and finishing the hotel off with a cosy thatched roof of dried grass.

Blyth Woods monitor the wildlife in Grove Piece and report sightings on the website.  We wonder what bugs will be checking in to the Wenhaston Ritz…

Last Saturday, when there was still lots of snow about and although it was cold it was nothing like the two preceding days with their arctic blasts, four of us walked over the fields to Grove Piece carrying six nest boxes, a hammer and a pocket full of nails. It was an easy walk with no drifts to negotiate and on the way we saw fox tracks and two hares that sped off into the distance. Even though there are lots of trees in the hedges around Grove Piece it wasn’t easy to find good sites for the boxes and Judy went back to the car to fetch secateurs so spaces could be cleared to give a good flight line into the boxes. Having found good sites it was easy to fix the boxes so we felt satisfied with the morning. Then, just as we were packing up a Woodcock flew low across Grove Piece and pitched down into the bottom of the hedge. As Alan said, a proper woodland bird for our new wood. John.

Blackbird tracks

Recently we have been helping at the Wenhaston Commons Group Work Parties in Merton Wood and Vicarage Grove.
On Sunday 18th February Ann had a wet time in Merton Wood opening up more of the new main ride and on 25th February five of us joined the Vicarage Grove session. The weather was much kinder on this day, although a cold wind was blowing it was sunny and bright. It was rewarding to see a big difference at the end of the day when lots of the invasive holly had been cleared. Bluebell leaves were springing up under our feet and this year there should be enough light for them to flower. – John

Last Tuesday (20th February) four of us set to work with the nest box “kits” that Alan had produced for us and with his help made six nest boxes in the space of an hour or two We were not the best of pupils at times but Alan was very patient and the boxes are now ready to fix in the trees (the old ones that is, not our little saplings!

I have just finished checking all the Blyth Woods planting for February. Grove Piece trees needed some canes straightening and pushing in but apart from that all looked good. At Blowers the seven oaks look fine and they are easy to find at this time of year. Lots of snowdrops beginning to show on the heath near them. On the playing field behind the school the hedge looks great, the hawthorn has lots of buds. The seven oaks on Blackheath are also fine.

In Merton Wood the wood xylophone has rotted and lost its tone. I think it is time to take it down. Amazingly the Becker boards are still covered in charcoal drawings and writing, perhaps a little faded now. I think it might be an idea to scrub and/or sand them this year and start again. Marie

We had our first meeting of the year on 25th January and started making plans for 2018.

Grove Piece is coming to life and the saplings we planted in the cold days of November are showing signs of new life.  It’s worth taking a walk up to Vicarage Grove and crossing over the bridge to Grove Piece to see the catkins.

In November 2018 pupils in year 5 and 6 at Wenhaston Primary School visited Grove Piece to plant and protect the oak saplings raised in the school tree nursery. Several parents joined us and helped to get the trees off to a good start. Plenty of straw was tucked around each tree to suppress the weeds and a tree guard put in place to stop hare, deer and rabbits having a nibble. All these animals have been spotted in Grove Piece but so far there has been no significant browsing damage.

What a beautiful day to plant trees! There was a cool wind but the sun shone and we soon warmed up when we set to work. Some of us got to grips planting the cell grown saplings that the Woodland Trust had donated, Alan andRoger went to work installing the bridge across the ditch into Vicarage Grove and Tim cut the area that the children will plant on Friday with a noisy but very effective brush cutter.

At the end of the morning 420 trees had been planted and the new bridge is in place so that there is now a pleasant circular walk that takes in both the old oaks and hornbeams of Vicarage Grove and the newly planted saplings and mature hedges of Grove Piece.

John