Village Voice Oct / Nov 2019 Issue 194

WOODLAND
& GREEN SPACES
As we end summer I thoughts turn to the
autumn and winter and the general maintenance
jobs need doing. These include
clearing drainage channels,
cutting back the sides of tracks
and paths possibly clearing a
fallen tree. I know I've said this
before but we do depend on
volunteers to help us keep the
wood tidy and accessible. We
are forever grateful for the
woodland lovers who continue
to pick up litter unbidden and
make our job a lot easier.
We seem to have a good
harvest this year. A good crop
of wild raspberries and a
particular note are the
Hornbeam. Judging by the amount of debris on
the ground the screws have had a good munch
on them. It is the one of the problems with the
grey squirrels that they will eat seeds and nuts
before they are fully ripe. This presents
problems to our native species, particularly the
hazel dormouse.
Those who use Father Barn Field cannot fail
to notice the new fence and gates that we have
had installed. Unfortunately our contractor
could not obtain a second bridle way gate before
the fence was finished so there has been a
temporary blocking of the path at the bottom of
the Holloway. Apologies for any inconvenience.
The completion of the fence allowed us to bring
in cattle to graze the field to help us achieve our
ambition of a Summer meadow. The cattle are
British whites and can often be seen Burnham
beeches or Odds farm. There is one bull and
three cows. They are used to people and dogs
and are extremely docile. They are more likely
to walk away from you if they are approached.
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk
Village Voice October/November 2019
I've managed to get almost up to them. The
name of the bull is Icarus, he is 10 years old.
The ladies are Coral, Eliza and Doris. By all
means go and see them but please do not feed
them!
During the summer we have to be grateful to
the volunteers who turned out and helped us
clear the Ragwort from the field. There is still
more to do and we will focus
our attention on this next year.
Another source of concern is
the wild parsnip. This can be
recognised as the tallest plant in
the field and although the roots
are edible you do not want to
get the sap on your skin. We
will plan to try and remove this
over the next 12 months to 2
years but the only way of doing
this is by pulling it out to
prevent it from seeding. If
you're able to give some of your
time to help us in the woods
please let us know by sending
an email to commonwood volunteer@gmail.
com. You will be most welcome. Mike Morley
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