Planting a Tree for Jerry

Jerry Dicker spent many years looking after the woods and was instrumental in setting up the Friends of Filnore Woods volunteer group. Sadly, Jerry passed away a little over a year ago and we thought that planting a tree in his memory would be a fitting and lasting gesture.

We decided to plant a Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) as it has lots of white, sweet scented flowers in spring that provide nectar and pollen for bees, while the foliage is the main food plant for the caterpillars of many moths and butterflies such as the Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni). When the small cherries are produced they are eaten by blackbirds, song thrushes and many other birds. Any that the birds leave are food for small mammals such as badgers, wood mouse and dormouse. In autumn the leaves fade to orange and deep crimson to give a flamboyant end to the year. I am sure that this would suit Jerry.

We sourced the tree from a local nursery in Rockhampton which is only a few miles from the woods, and chose to plant it up on the ridge near post 7 where there is a lovely view over the River Severn and the surrounding countryside. From there you can also see the church at Oldbury which is close to the school where Jerry was headteacher for a while.

On the day before the planting Graham and I went to the woods to prepare the planting site. We dug a square hole rather than a circular one so that the roots will grow into the corners and then onwards into the surrounding earth. In a circular hole they can end up going round in circles in the soft earth and not spread out as much.

The planting was on Sunday 9th February which coincided with our first scheduled work party of the month. The path going up the valley to the planting site was very muddy after a lot rain and it would be easy to slip or fall, but as it was a work party day we had time to deal with that before people coming for the planting arrived. 

Ten volunteers had come along, we had a lot of wood chip near the tool store and lots of bags. Very soon a chain of people formed. Some filled bags which were then carried by others to the path and spread over the muddy areas. They worked very hard doing this - carrying wood chip uphill over mud is tiring! The path was made a lot safer and easier to walk up. As you can see above, Cathy, Aiden and Erika took the opportunity for a quick sit down, while Andy and Peter just stood in their wellies.

Once everyone had arrived, there were twenty-five of us to take part in the planting. I took on the job of holding the tree.

With the tree correctly positioned, Jerry's daughter and grandson began to fill the hole using the excavated earth mixed with some tree compost.

More compost and earth was mixed by my helpers and gradually the hole was filled.

The earth in the filled hole was firmed in ...

... and the supporting wooden stake hammered in by Jerry's grandson, with a big mallet and a helping lift.

The weather was cloudy but that didn't spoil the occasion. It was lovely to see so many people come along to show their appreciation of all the work that Jerry did to make Filnore Woods the place it has become. The tree will be a lasting memorial to a wonderful person who will be missed.

Photos by Lorna Price

The Dam Builders

Over the last few weeks we have had a lot of rain and some stormy weather. In a previous post I described how we built some leaky dams to help control the stream flowing down the valley but when I was in the woods a couple of weeks ago I found that our dam construction techniques had not been very good. This is the sight that greeted me.

The poles forming the dams had not been secure enough to withstand the force of the stream after heavy rain so the dams pretty much fell apart. Having said that though, the lower dam was still doing a reasonable job holding back some water.

For the work party on Wednesday 22nd January a repair was the priority. I wasn't able to attend, but seven volunteers did and began the re-construction. As you can see in the following photos the dams were built up with poles and stakes followed by reinforcement with mud and large stones. Fortunately it was a dry day so there wasn't too much water flowing.

There was some heavy rainfall a few days later and I went down to see how the dams were getting on. Passing by the stream near the tool store I saw that the flow was considerable ...

... but when I reached the dams they were all intact and doing a good job of slowing down the water flow.This photo was the only one I got because the ground near the stream bank was very slippery and I found I was sliding down into the stream. I was wearing wellies so no problem apart from getting back up the slope!

 

The woods may be wet and slippery but there are signs that spring is on its way. These primroses are coming out in the grassy patch near post 10 down the valley path.

On her way to the work party Erika saw signs of spring too and took these photos - 

                                

A couple of photos from today's volunteering day. The first snowdrops I have seen in the woods - two patches, and the hazel catkins were bright in places. I heard and saw a green woodpecker, a raven, great tits and a robin who joined us in our work - very closely!

The volunteers had worked hard all morning to repair the dams and they are holding back the stream. I expect we will have to do a similar job but hopefully not until next year.