Trail Tales - October
An update from the Warwickshire Country Parks rangers
A huge thank you to all our volunteers!
Over the past month, Ryton Pools Country Park and Kingsbury Water Park have been buzzing with conservation activity, and a big thank you is owed to both our regular volunteers and our corporate partners. Here’s a look at what’s been accomplished:
Ryton Pools Country Park
Orchid bank clearance: Our annual clearance of the Orchid Bank was made possible by the combined efforts of our regular Monday volunteers and corporate groups from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Led by Rangers Courtenay, George, and Ben, the team worked extremely hard and completed most of the major clearance. This left lots of raking and tidying, which was picked up the next day by an eager volunteer group from the exam board OCR! Only some final raking remains, before contractors finish the soil inversion plot. This work will help these beautiful, enigmatic orchids flourish.
Beehive area and hedge restoration: Rangers Courtenay and George have also been busy clearing around the beehives and resetting the bramble hedge. The preparation is vital as bee activity winds down for winter. These efforts ensure the hives are ready to face the colder months ahead.
Floral diversity management: Our Saturday volunteers were hard at work on the Pirate Trail Bank, tackling the challenging second rake-off. This bank, managed for floral diversity, requires regular cutting and raking to remove excess nutrients from the soil. With this year’s wet spring causing extra grass growth, it was necessary to cut and rake the area twice to give our wildflowers the best chance to thrive next year.
Corporate Support from Cambridge University Press: Despite the rain, a corporate group from Cambridge University Press joined us at Ryton Pools to move and burn the foliage from the clearance of the Orchid Bank. Their enthusiasm, even in challenging weather, helped complete a vital step of this conservation work.
Kingsbury Water Park
Hay meadow raking: We were delighted to welcome a corporate team from Allianz Insurance, who spent the day hay raking in one of the flower meadows at Kingsbury Water Park led by Ranger Steve. Their efforts will ensure that this vital habitat continues to support a variety of wildflowers and wildlife.
Wind Lane Creation: Two separate volunteer groups from Waterman Aspen and Grant Thornton took on the task of creating wind lanes along the banks of Bodymoor Heath. Cutting vegetation back in these areas will allow wind to flow across the water, promoting healthier ecosystems and helping to prevent excessive weed growth.
Island clearance and crown lifting: our hard-working regular volunteers have been getting stuck into a vast range of tasks and projects. Amongst these has been clearing vegetations from our islands ready for bird nesting season, and crown-lifting trees to increase the clearance between the ground and the vegetation, also helping wind blow across the water.
It would not be possible to complete this breadth of conservation work without the support of our dedicated volunteers, and we would like to say a heartfelt thanks to all involved.
Wildlife spots: Fungi at Kingsbury Water Park
This time of year is renowned for its fungi, and they’ve been popping up all over the place at Kingsbury Water Park! Here’s a few spotted and identified by Ranger Nelson:
What wildlife have you spotted at our parks lately? Let us know by emailing parks@warwickshire.gov.uk or through our social media channels:
