Sweltering river monitoring Set to be the hottest day of the year so far, I set out early for my regular river monitoring for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. I could feel burning on the back of my neck even before 9am as I walked along the bank of the Cam. Along the way, I pulled some Himalayan Balsam – a token effort given it has taken hold there. If we ever do manage to establish a community group to monitor the Cam, then we need to look strategically in starting with Balsam at the top of the catchment.
2025 GWT conference The annual volunteer conference today with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Taking place this year at St Edward’s school in Charlton Kings, the agenda was a series of talks in the morning, some lunch and then a visit to a nearby farm in the afternoon. We started off with a message from the CEO, who couldn’t be there, and then an interactive session on what gives us hope for wildlife in Gloucestershire, and also what additional skills volunteers can offer the trust. This was a good opportunity to interact with others attending.
Stock proof pond fence Been a while since I had been to a Friday session at Fromebridge with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Only a few of us today, but the task was to start on the stock proof fence that will surround the new pond. The vegetation around the pond which we planted back in May was looking pretty impressive, especially given the drought and the exceptionally low water levels in the pond. We took quite a while to get going, mainly by measuring exactly where the end posts would go on the first run. We need to allow 3.
Possible vole sighting It was predicted to be a warm day, so I set out early to do the raft monitoring for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. I hadn’t seen much of anything in the last few weeks, but today there was a probable water vole latrine on one of the rafts. I haven’t seen water vole signs here for quite some time. The banks are covered in thick reeds, ideal habitat for them. Sadly there were no prints on the cartridge, but is was quite dry in the heat so not picking up too much.
Last orchard guard Went over to Fromebridge for the monthly orchard work party with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. While walking over, we stopped to look at the pond, where we were putting vegetation in April. It was looking excellent, despite the recent drought and the low water levels of the pond. We also stopped to make a temporary repair to some fencing near the canal which the cattle had breached and accessed the towpath vegetation. There were quite a few tasks to look after the tree bases and remove some encroaching thistle from the grassland.
Water safety training A training course today with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The DEFRA Module 1 on Water Safety awareness in a four hour session up at Ebley Mill. The instructor, Jordan, was excellent. He trains in a variety of topics, but has also volunteered for the last ten years as a first responder for water incidents. So he brought a lot of practical knowledge to the material. I spend quite a bit of time in rivers, and working by waterways.
Dismantling a corral Another Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust first for me again today – a work party in the Stuart Fawkes grassland reserve. Vicky picked me up and we headed over to Box to meet with the rest of the team at 10am. The first task was locating the very rare Meadow Clary, a plant on the brink of extinction in the UK. It is present in the reserve and a lot of management with grazing has been undertaken to encourage it to spread.
Scything away undesirables The regular monthly Orchard work party this morning with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The focus was on the ground, rather than trees as the pruning season is now over. The management plan is to create a species rich meadow in the orchard. We’ve spent a number of years removing scrub and brambles from the main grassland, and there is now a planned cattle grazing regime in place. But patches of larger leafed vegetation such as docks and nettles still persist, as well as creeping thistle. I took my scythe today, which is the ideal tool for this task.
Talking about rivers First task of the day was to complete the small mammal raft checks for the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. On the way to the sites, there was a wall of birdsong, where I picked up Song thrush, blackcap, greenfinch, chiffchaff, wren and blackbird all competing. Although we’ve had little rain in the last fortnight, there were no signs present on either raft (sometimes they get washed away). So just a reset of the cartridge to see what happens in the next fortnight.
Last plants in the pond The final day for the pond planting project at the Fromebridge reserve with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. It’s taken most of April, and been a huge volunteer effort, but the results are already starting to show. The smaller pond was completed a couple of weeks ago, and has been left undisturbed. The planted vegetation has shot up already, giving a glimpse as to what this habitat might look like in a few months. We focused today on filling in gaps around the big pond.
