Winter Newsletter

February 2012 
The Diamond Jubilee tree planting Project

The Woodland Trust has come up with a scheme to plant a million trees to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and wishes to involve schools and community groups all over the country. We thought it sounded a good idea and so Jane Williams has contacted several local schools of whom five have expressed an interest in participating with The Friends. However, rather than create more woodland  (we already have a fair number of large trees on our patch) it is more appropriate to enhance various corners and edges of the Nant Fawr Woodlands by using  hedging plants i.e. saplings of hawthorn, hazel, field maple, dog rose, crabapple, spindle and guelder rose.  As they grow and mature, the small trees and shrubs will make an excellent habitat for wildlife. The berried fruits and nuts in the autumn will provide a hedgerow harvest as well as giving colour and interest.  
We will be buying the bare-rooted saplings ourselves (and not seeking free packs from the Woodland Trust as it was difficult to arrange specific delivery dates with them).  The best times for planting are the months of February, March and November.  We have therefore arranged with Coed Glas Primary School and Llanishen High School to each send a class to dig and plant some 260 saplings on the morning (10am to 12) of Wednesday 29th February.  Two separate areas have been chosen in Rhydypenau Park near where it backs on to Llanishen Reservoir.  Kevin Date, our Ranger, is organising the day and making sure that there are enough spades and saplings to go round.
The other three schools who have expressed interest in the Diamond Jubilee planting  are Lakeside, Rhydypenau and Cardiff High. We shall arrange planting dates for them later on in November.

Grazing in the Meadows
 The fences and gates were put in place last year to allow cattle to be safely grazed in the meadows. This is now the preferred way of managing meadow land - the cattle keep the grasses short allowing the wild flowers to seed and flourish. It is easier than trying to mow and remove the cuttings.  However, last autumn the Countryside Council for Wales  (CCW) expressed concern that cattle could escape on to the reservoir site and thus trample on the banks which are a Site of Special Scientific Interest as they contain rare colonies of fungi (i.e. those colourful waxcaps which flourish there).  Having inspected the site, CCW has now given agreement for grazing to take place.  This will be for a few weeks at a time, in the spring and autumn. Hopefully it will start this spring. The cattle will be docile and numbers small - probably less than 10 - but it will require walkers to take the paths around the fields, thus giving them a reminder of yesteryear when Rhydyblewyn Farm was once a working farm.

The New Orchard  
On our last workday, held on January 29th,  a small but dedicated group of helpers planted eight more fruit trees ( 2 apple, 2 plum, 2 pear and 2 damson) in the Paddock.  Last March four apple and pear trees were planted in the brambly area between the Nant Fawr and the Paddock and they seem to have taken well.  However, this area is quite shaded, so the new fruit trees have been planted around the edges of the Paddock where there is more sunshine. The new fruit trees are all old varieties and we are grateful to Andrew Evans who made the journey to West Wales to collect them from a specialist supplier.


THE NEXT WORKDAYS

All ages (from 3 - 83!) are welcome on the workdays and there are tasks to suit different abilities so, even if you can only make the occasional visit, please come along and lend us your hands for the morning.
Kevin, our Ranger, comes well supplied with the necessary equipment and shows us how to use safely the different tools that are available.   Refreshments are served at ‘half time’.

Sunday 26th February, 2012
 We shall be working in Woods Covert  on winter coppicing tasks and there is general path maintenance to be carried out.   A further task is the clearing of undergrowth and brambles in  Rhydypenau Park in preparation for the Jubilee tree planting by the schools taking place at the end of February.   

• Meet at:-     Heol Esgyn Bridge       Time: 10am – 12noon  

Sunday 18th March, 2012
The venue is the Meadows where some resurfacing needs to be carried out on the paths, and drainage channels cleared. 

• Meet at:-   Llanishen Reservoir old Car Park (off Rhydypenau Road)      Time: 10am – 12noon  

Sunday 29th April, 2012
 There is a wet section on the lower part of Cliff’s Path so some alder matting needs to be laid. This treatment is also needed on the muddy parts of the trail leading to the Back Path.

• Meet at:-   Llanishen Reservoir old Car Park (off Rhydypenau Road)      Time: 10am – 12noon 

Winter Newsletter 2011

The NEXT WORKDAY MEETING takes place on  Sunday 18th December and has a festive flavour with a winter warming glass of MULLED WINE  and MINCE PIES served as refreshments at 11 o’clock.


There will be some work on the agenda.  Path Maintenance is promised!  And Clearing Undergrowth - the path around the new fencing in the Meadows has got overgrown with brambles so they need cutting back and the Bird Platform area needs tidying. Coppicing is also a task to be carried out at this time of year in the woodland. 

You do not have to take part in the workday to participate - all members are cordially invited to come along, have a chat and enjoy the festive fare. 

Meet at Llanishen Reservoir Old Car Park  (off Rhydypenau Rd.)   Time: 10am – 12noon    


CLIFF’S  PATH is completed

The main project this year has been the construction of a new path in memory of our late Chairman, Cliff Mullins. It winds through Rhydypenau Woods to the right of the main path as you walk from the iron bridge towards the Noticeboard. At our last workday the final touches were completed with the erection of the sign posts (with a small memorial inset to the wooden posts).  We feel the new pathway makes a fitting tribute to Cliff  - a man who loved walking through these woods (and working in them on workdays)  throughout the seasons. 



The Nant Fawr Trail 

The Nant Fawr Trail has now been completed and is described as “A Gateway from Roath to the countryside”  and our footpath through the Nant Fawr Woodlands forms the middle part of the trail. Cardiff Council has produced a  Leaflet with a detailed map of the walk which is well signposted.   



A NEW WEBSITE 
The Friends of Nant Fawr have had a website domain for some years now, but it had been left to languish.  However we have a new member, Martyn Wyatt, who has offered to get  a new website up and running.  So soon you will be able to blog us and find out what is happening on our patch. Hopefully we shall attract newcomers too, who will discover the attractions of our  Community Woodlands through the blog. This is an exciting new project so ‘Watch this space’ (or you can check  out its progress on http://www.nantfawr.org.uk/) 

                      
The Community Orchard 
We are planning to extend the community orchard  which we started planting last March ( in the brambly area between the Nant Fawr and the Paddock). Eight more fruit trees have been ordered. Two of these are apple (an old Cardiff variety, Brith Mawr, and a St Cecilia) and these, along with two pear trees, will be planted alongside the existing ones on one of the winter workdays.
To give more variety two damson and two Victoria plum trees  will be also be planted but in the hedgerow area surrounding the Paddock. 

The Future of the Paddock as a wild flower meadow.
We have been following a grassland management plan for the Paddock which has been to cut the grasses once a year in late summer and rake up the resulting hay to aid the germination of  the wildflowers.  This has only been partially successful as the Rangers have a tight work schedule and cannot always time the cutting to fit in with a spell of fine weather. Soggy hay raking over the past few years has led to over fertile soil and the wildflowers are not growing quite as exuberantly as expected. Also the young trees in the meadow are growing taller and give more shade.  So the site is less open than when we first cleared the site from the brambles some 15 years ago.  So our thoughts are now to let nature take its course  and let the Paddock become more of an orchard area with  grass cutting taking place twice a year (in spring and the end of summer). 

A new site for a Wild Flower Meadow
However we do not wish to give up on the creation of a wild flower meadow in this part of the Nant Fawr Woodlands. The meadow land behind Cardiff High School - in particular the area near Heol Esgyn bridge - will lend itself to being managed in this way.  We certainly intend to continue with the popular Hayrake workday in the autumn.
This spot was chosen in March as the place where the “Hedgerow Harvest” saplings were planted.  Sadly not many of them have grown. This is due in part to the rather late date of planting and to the very dry spring which followed and not enough aftercare on our part. However, we intend to continue with this theme and plan to plant some more saplings (e.g. elder, dogrose, hazel) to create a wildlife-friendly hedge at the back of the grassy area. 



WINTER  WORKDAYS

• Sunday 29th January, 2012
• Sunday 26th February, 2012

 
We plan to plant the new fruit trees in the Paddock and there will be a general clearing of undergrowth in the Paddock and the new Wildflower Meadow patch.  And general coppicing tasks and the inevitable path maintenance will be on offer. 
 All ages are welcome and there are tasks to suit different abilities so, even if you can only make the occasional visit, please come along and lend us your hands for the morning.
Kevin, our Ranger, comes well supplied with the necessary equipment and shows us how to use safely the different tools that are available. 

For both of these workdays meet at:-     Heol Esgyn Bridge       Time: 10am – 12noon  

Workdays

2011 

• Sunday 23rd October
• Sunday 27th November
• Sunday 11th December

Meeting Point: Llanishen Reservoir Old Car Park. Park on Rhydypenau Road Time: 10am - 12noon