Through the efforts of a few enthusiastic volunteers on Thursday 11th October and Monday 22nd October a section of scrub was cleared from along the brook letting in light, with the aim of improving the habitat for the water voles and kingfishers.
With a good turn out of volunteers we managed to make 13 bird boxes.
Various different types of boxes were made, including ones for willow tits which have been spotted on the reserve. The boxes will be put in place on the reserve later in the winter to add to the existing boxes. They will be monitored over the coming years to check on the success of the project.
Brambles are a valuable habitat for many species, but some of the brambles were encroaching on the paths around the pool and therefore needed to be cut back to ensure access is maintained across the site.
Grass was growing across the paths making them narrower. The grass was cleared from the sides of the paths to return them to their original width.
Many thanks to the volunteers who worked on the day.
The above areas were amongst those cleared as part of the rotation in October 2018.
A number of people have recently said that they have not seen any water voles in the brook.
However there is evidence of water vole burrows and latrines in the section between Ashbourne Road and Oakamoor Road. A recent survey in the summer of 2018 has located 11 latrines in this section with a further 5 in the area behind Ullswater Drive. A number of water voles have been seen by members, particularly in the middle section of the reserve. Unfortunately there has been no evidence of water vole activity south of Ashbourne Road.
As part of the planning application for the old JCB site a survey also recorded the presence of water voles in this area.
We can now be found on Facebook.
We are looking to enhance the water vole environment by creating ponds and backwaters at various locations along the brook in the near future.
Our newly sown wildflower meadow should be even better this summer after the addition of extra seed sown in 2016 from the Coronation Meadow’s project.
This website has been designed by Adam Hardwick at The JCB Academy. Adam designed the website as part of his website design training which is an option on the academy’s extension activities.