report

3rd July 2023

Countryside report – June 2023

It’s been good to see the various wildflower sites in the parish literally bloom recently, despite the very dry spell! As well as providing a splash of colour and civic amenity for everyone to enjoy, the plant biodiversity is attractive to other life, particularly insects, creating wildlife amenity also.

Talking of which, it was great to identify Great Crested Newts in the wildlife corridor between Scissett and Shelley recently and Riverfly monitoring has been resumed in order to monitor water quality in the Dearne.

Other news from the Countryside Project includes continued high volunteer numbers, celebrated in National Volunteer Week with a picnic at Churchfield.

This was held in the orchard area, which has flourished this year, with the community allotment working in partnership with the Friends of Churchfield.

Young people continue to be engaged, e.g. Explorer Scouts, Navigators and through the Eco-Schools project, with hopefully more schools in the parish achieving the coveted Green Flag award before the end of this academic year. For example Scissett Middle are striving to retain their accreditation and hosted an excellent ‘Aspiring Eco-School’ event recently, to support other schools.

Finally we’d like to encourage groups to apply for funding for more projects through the parish environment trust: Use the link here

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

25th November 2022

Countryside report – Nov 2022

Reports

The Friends of the Dearne have spent the summer dealing with invasive species, Riverfly monitoring and developing the ‘Rewilding the Dearne’ project at Clayton West. The 10 Village Conservation Group have been newt pond monitoring, balsam bashing at Park Mill and helping in the development of the Skelmanthorpe Family Surgery garden.

Other specific green space site news includes Kirklees and Cummins investment in developing Park Gate in Skelmanthorpe for wildlife and people. The Upper Dearne Woods group are working in partnership with the Garganey Trust to manage Turpin Hill as well.

Work with the Woodland Trust and Friends of Wither Wood continues and the East Hill Woods group scythed their wildflower meadow in September whilst Cliffe Woods is preparing for Light Up The Woods on Saturday November 12th, a date also earmarked for the EcoFest@The Pie Hall.

Friends of Churchfield held a successful Sunday picnic and music afternoon in September and the community allotment on the same site continues to thrive and supply the Pantry in Skelmanthorpe with fresh produce. This expansion has created the need for more volunteers to help with the harvest and benefit from work outdoors, so if interested please get in touch with Dave (details below).

On the school front; St Aidan’s, (Upper) Denby First, Scissett First and Middle have achieved the internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag award and the parish will continue to support all schools in our area to retain or achieve this prestigious accreditation. We also hosted a work experience student from Shelley High before the summer holidays.

The Countryside Project, whilst operating locally, is represented on the Dearne Valley Partnership, linking its work into the bigger Nature Improvement Area picture.

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

15th July 2022

Countryside report – June 2022

Reports

A Friends of Wither Wood group has formed to support the Woodland Trust in managing the wood, as do groups at East Hill and Cliffe Woods, in support of Kirklees. For example, Cliffe Woods Conservation Group and East Hill have installed additional picnic benches and a bat box with the help of Duke of Edinburgh students. The Upper Dearne Woods group also hosted Cumberworth First School for their geography trip.

All schools benefit from the Parish’s Eco-Schools support programme and many attended a recent ‘Aspiring Eco-Schools’ event, kindly hosted by St Aidan’s CofE Academy and linked to the Kirklees Climate Commission Youth Panel. School support is a major element of the parish’s Climate Emergency Working Group, who seek to engage businesses (e.g. through Plastic Free July) and hope to run a community conference to coincide with COP 27.

Churchfield community allotment is continuing to thrive and is indeed expanding, to hopefully accommodate more volunteers. The project has helped those involved through difficult recent times, as has growing on individual’s plots and the wider work/events that have been undertaken by the Friends of Churchfield, e.g. installation of a new bench and a bat walk. Tree dressing in December also brightened up the winter months and on September the 4th it is hoped to run a community picnic with music and an opportunity to view the community allotment.

Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust are welcoming grant applications: http://ddpet.co.uk/projects/grants/ and Clayton West Millennium Green would welcome new volunteers/trustees, so if interested, contact Vicki on 01484 864293. Also around Clayton West, the ‘Rewilding the Dearne’ project continues apace in partnership with Friends of the Dearne, the River Stewardship Company, Don Catchment Rivers Trust and Yorkshire Water. Elsewhere the 10 Villages Conservation Group have helped maintain Skelmanthorpe Orchard, Rec, Park Gate and newt ponds.

The Countryside Project has also resumed work with the Scissett Litter Pickers and made presentations to Kirkburton Probus, Denby Dale Rotary Club and planted a jubilee tree with their Inner Wheel. It also continues to the link into the wider Dearne Valley Green Heart Nature Improvement Area via the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

20th September 2021

Countryside report – Summer 2021

Reports

Volunteers continued their enthusiasm to catch up on lost time as the lockdown eased and the Ten Village Conservation Group had a particularly successful day starting the improved access work at Park Gate, Skelmanthorpe. This will be continued as a ‘Friends Of’ the site forms…..contact Dave at the phone/e-mail below for further details on involvement in this and all other projects mentioned in this item.

10 Villages also resumed monitoring of the newt project alongside a training programme to ensure its sustainability. Similarly, Riverfly sampling continued with Friends of the Dearne as the newly constituted group launched the Rewilding the Dearne project with a river clean up:

Denby Delf Interpretation Project - After...

The river was the focus for a geography walk by Denby (CE) First School, who also explored the wildlife at Denby Delf along with work closer to home in the school grounds. This will help the school achieve the Eco-School award, work that is being supported by the Climate Emergency Working Group in all schools in the parish. Birdsedge and Cumberworth schools have also been particularly active on environmental work this term, as have St Aidan’s who achieved the internationally recognised top Green Flag award!

Talking of awards, a pupil from Emley First won the poster competition, aimed to raise awareness of International Plastic Bag-Free Day on July 3^rd……..you may have seen the winning entry posted in local shops recently.

Work with young people on environmental projects is especially important, as it is their future well-being we are striving to ensure, so it was great to build a bug hotel with Clayton West Cubs in Cliffe Woods. The Cliffe Woods Conservation Group supported this work and continue to maintain their site, as do the Friends of Churchfield, Churchfield Allotment Community Project, Clayton West Millennium Green and East Hill Woods. On an artistic note, the Countryside Project also supported installations as part of the Woven textile festival at East Hill and by the U3A in Skelmanthorpe at the council offices.

Other public green spaces recently supported by the project were planting at the Clayton West war memorial and tidying up of the community garden with Cumberworth Community Association.

Dave also led Walkers Are Welcome on the Lower Cumberworth Circular, as part of their walking festival. He can be contacted at:

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

13th May 2021

Countryside report – Spring 2021

Reports

Despite not being able to work with volunteers for much of the winter, seasonal work has continued such as wildflower bed maintenance and sowing to allow vernalisation in the cold, ready for good displays hopefully in spring/summer. Autumn/Winter is also the time for newt pond maintenance while the amphibians are hibernating out of the ponds and hedge-laying was also undertaken along the Kirklees Light Railway.

Maintenance has also been done on the extensive network of public rights of way in the parish, such as path clearance, stile/step repairs and the project has worked in collaboration with Walkers are Welcome in development of some excellent new walks:

https://www.denbydale-walkersarewelcome.org.uk/walks-train

Preparations for the new growing season have also continued apace at the community allotment in Churchfield, whilst maintenance has also continued at the wider Churchfield site, Cliffe and East Hill Woods, where possible.

10 Villages Conservation Group Volunteers

Tree-planting is very important October-March to combat climate change and encourage biodiversity, so 3000 trees have been planted at Park Gate in Skelmanthorpe by ourselves and site owner’s Kirklees, to kickstart the sustainable development there for the well-being of local people and wildlife.

On a smaller scale, an orchard has been planted at Skelmanthorpe, both projects supported by the Parish Council’s Climate Emergency Working Group, which is also funding environmental improvements in local schools as of April, in the hope that they will achieve the internationally recognised Eco-Schools award.

Other positive future developments are the establishment of a newly constituted Friends of the Dearne Group, which will expand its monitoring of the river for wildlife and be involved in specific improvements, as The Dearne rises and runs through the parish. This is being made possible by partnership working with The River Stewardship Company/Riverlution and securing funding from Yorkshire Water’s Biodiversity Fund, thus extending upstream the work of the Dearne Valley Green Heart Nature Improvement Area.

Talking of funding, Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust have funding up to £1000 available to local groups: http://ddpet.co.uk/projects/grants/, so please apply if you have a project in mind that can start up as spring bursts into life.

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

24th November 2020

Countryside report – Autumn 2020

Reports

Despite difficult circumstances caused by the lockdown, individuals kept the community plot at Churchfield Allotments going and later in the summer were able to resume working in small groups. This culminated in supplying the Denby Dale/Skelmanthorpe Community Centre with produce for use in cooked meals being delivered out into the community, confirming the value in terms of local wellbeing, for all concerned.

10 Village volunteers also monitored the newts in ponds alongside the Kirklees Light Railway, despite continued encroachment of house building, and kept on top of invasive non-native species (INNS) on the River Dearne and its tributaries. These are being monitored for pollution levels and a bid to Yorkshire Water’s Biodiversity Fund by Friends of the Dearne, in partnership with the parish council and Riverlution, was successful for further improvements to this important stretch of water that runs through our parish.

Councillors with the help of volunteers are also involved in the maintenance of several wildflower sites that flourished around the parish this summer.

Having flowered and set seed, the wildflower meadow at East Hill was scythed and at the same site a litter pick was undertaken, as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great September Clean. Scissett Volunteer Litter Pickers, who are out most Tuesday’s, spread their wings and helped out Clayton West Millennium Green with a clean-up of their site as well. Volunteers at Cliffe Woods have also been hard at work keeping their site attractive to local people and wildlife, although they have had some vandalism recently.

Walkers Are Welcome have been active clearing paths, fixing stiles and developing new walks as people flock to the wonderful countryside in our parish in these unprecedented times. Also unprecedented is the number of ‘dog gloves’ and dispensers being provided by the parish council.

The parish are also setting up a Climate Change Emergency Working Group and the Countryside Project are keen to be involved in its various projects, including support for environmental projects in schools and elsewhere in the community. The Parish Council continues to directly support such projects, complimented by funding available from Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust (http://ddpet.co.uk/), which continues to meet via Zoom.

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

21st July 2020

Countryside report – Summer 2020

Reports

Despite a very wet February, the development of the community allotment continued at Churchfield, culminating in the development of a keyhole garden with volunteers from the Support to Recovery project (S2R), when things began to dry out in March. (Some of their online wellbeing resources can be found at: https://www.s2r.org.uk/take-part ).

Their involvement was indicative of increased interest in the plot but was unfortunately curtailed by the coronavirus lockdown, although we will be able to resume community involvement when feasible. Please contact Dave, the Countryside Officer, for further details

Elsewhere on Churchfield, the grass was mown and a living willow shelter was planted around one of the benches. Another growing project at St. Augustine\’s in Scissett was also supported.

The Wildflower project has bloomed at East Hill Woods and hopefully a display will also soon be seen on the small area in front of Skelmanthorpe council offices. Approximately 350 trees were planted at Park Mill in March, involving the 10 Village Conservation Group, Navigators and young people who want to develop the bike track on site.

Woolen (East Hill) Woods - Loom Installation

Walking on public rights of way has been important in this time of lockdown and Walkers are Welcome have developed some new leaflets which can be viewed at: www.denbydale-walkersarewelcome.org.uk. They are also clearing paths and repairing stiles and bridges.

Prior to schools closing, the project gave support to environmental work at Cumberworth First, Skelmanthorpe Academy and Denby Dale First and Nursery, including pond clearance at the two latter.

Continuing on the aquatic theme, we hope to resume concerted river pollution monitoring by riverfly sampling soon, linking into our involvement in the wider Dearne Valley Nature Improvement Area (NIA).

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

28th January 2020

Countryside report – Winter 2019

Reports

Late summer began with another successful Picnic in the Park at Churchfield, where volunteers have also been tidying up the community plot in anticipation of more groups using it this year. Another well supported event was Light Up The Woods in Cliffe Woods, and talking of woods, involvement in this year’s Woolen Woods at East Hill is being encouraged. The East Hill group have also been busy path laying and sowing wildflower seed.

Wildflower projects are also developing in Clayton West and as part Skelmanthorpe park’s refurbishment, where St Aidan’s and Skelmanthorpe Academies also worked together on bulb planting just before Christmas. This will help them in their Eco-School work, which Cumberworth First School has also embarked on recently.

The Countryside project, and in particular the 10 Village Conservation Group, have welcomed some new young volunteers, for example Adam Johnson, who is using the volunteer hours towards his Duke of Edinburgh Award.

The group have recently been working on maintenance of their adopted newt ponds (along with Cummins Turbo Technologies) but took some time off that task in December to plant trees at Skelmanthorpe Academy and Bluehills, as part of the national Tree Charter celebrations. The project also gave a well-received talk to Emley Church Breakfast Club.

Significant Public Rights Of Way works have been undertaken this winter in partnership with Walkers Are Welcome (WAW), in particular stile and bridge repairs. The project has also supported WAW to develop several new walk leaflets and a litter picking rural walk is planned for March 24^th. Regular litter picking continues on the streets, thanks to Scissett Volunteer Litter Pickers and Emley Matters are planning a clean-up in their area on the morning Saturday 18^thApril.

Work on the river Dearne continues, for example with pollution monitoring and links with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, warranting a re-launch of the Friends of the Dearne group at an open meeting, planned for Skelmanthorpe council offices at 7pm on Monday the 3^rdFeb. Please contact Dave, at the address below, for more information on this or any of the developments mentioned in this article.

Other exciting projects done or in the offing have been the creation of an artificial Badger sett in collaboration with the West and South Yorkshire Badger Protection Groups, support for the growing project at St Augustines, and possible future development of Park Mill, including the bike track and tree planting.

Many of the above projects have or could benefit from funding from Denby Parish Environment Trust, so please visit this page, if you think you have an eligible project.

David Wilde
Countryside Officer
countryside@denbydale.com
07939 446581

24th September 2019

Countryside report – Autumn 2019

Reports

Before…

The Denby Delf interpretation project came to fruition this summer in brilliant sunshine at an East Peak Outdoors event pictured below. The weather for the celebratory walk around the site contrasted markedly with conditions earlier in the week when the information boards were installed!

After…

Another East Peak Outdoors event featured a bike ride along the Kirkburton spur of the Trans Pennine Trail, as part of the 30^th anniversary celebrations of this coast to coast route.

Also in June, the Countryside project helped local craftspeople with their annual decoration of Woolen (East Hill) Woods, which this year coincided with the Kirklees-wide Woven project, hence the installation of a ‘loom’. The area was subsequently scythed by volunteers as a traditional way to manage a wildflower meadow, developing skills which can hopefully transfer to the management of the new wildflower area planned in Skelmanthorpe park renovations.

Spring/early summer is peak ‘Balsam Bashing’ time in our efforts to control this highly invasive species, especially on the river. Progress was made along the Dearne and volunteers also ventured up its tributaries, reporting the presence of some Japanese Knotweed also. We gained commitment from the Environment Agency to control this equally invasive species chemically, at least along the main river’s course. Pollution monitoring of the Dearne continues with the establishment of regular riverfly sampling by another team of enthusiastic volunteers, without which this important work could not be done……thanks to them!

These same 10 Village Conservation Group volunteers also monitor local ponds for the presence of Great Crested Newts, install benches (e.g. at Clayton West Pack Horse Bridge), repair stiles (e.g. in Upper Denby, in partnership with Walkers are Welcome, ahead of the Denby Dash) and successfully demonstrated their various projects at Emley Show.

Walkers are Welcome also were involved in repair of a bench in High Flatts/Birdsedge, affording great views across the parish and beyond!

Walkers are Welcome repairing a bench in High Flatts

SKelmanthorpe Academy Eco Schools Bronze Award

School work last term culminated in Skelmanthorpe Academy achieving their Eco-School Bronze Award…congratulations to them!… and the project also assisted Denby CofE First School, Cumberworth and Emley with their environmental work, both in the school grounds and beyond.

24th September 2018

Countryside Report – Autumn 2018

Reports

There has been much work on the river Dearne within the parish this long hot summer. ‘River Guardians’ were recruited at Scissett First/Middle schools and Kayes, who also continued their involvement in the ‘Yellow Fish’ project. This involves marking up street grates, highlighting that anything that goes down these drains ends up in the river; hence only rain should go down the drain! To confirm the long-term effectiveness of this campaign, pollution monitoring is ongoing, based on what invertebrate (for example riverfly) life is found in and around the river.

Control of invasive species along the river is also proving successful and clean ups have been held as well, again involving young people through the Navigators youth group. Both at Scissett and East Hill Woods, Denby Dale they inspired the grown-ups from the Friends of the Dearne and linked into Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Plastic Pick Up. The 10 Village Conservation Group have also been instrumental in monitoring and clearing waste and invasive species from the river.

Continuing the aquatic theme, the 10 Villages Conservation Group also continue to monitor and maintain local newt ponds. All this water-based volunteer work was celebrated with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, as the Dearne ultimately feeds into the Don on the outskirts of Doncaster.

East Hill was also host to this year’s colourful ‘Woollen Woods’, which despite the name and presence of numerous knitted creatures, also highlighted pollution from plastic in today’s environment.

School visits to Denby Delf and Margaret Wood. These sites near Upper Denby are managed by the Garganey and Countryside Restoration Trusts respectively and involved the young people bug hunting and pond dipping. Emley First school travelled a bit further afield with the countryside officer to do some rock pooling at Filey and older conservationists from Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust had a rest from funding local environmental projects, on a summer hike around Langsett, spotting some impressive wildlife in the process.

The countryside project aims to engage residents of the parish of all ages, so was pleased to be invited to give talks on its work to the University of the 3rd Age and Emley Moor Gardeners’ Club.

New volunteers were signed up at these presentations as they were at the 10 Village recruitment drive at Emley Show. New volunteers are always welcome (see below).

The 10 Village group work wherever necessary in the parish, for example repairing stiles but groups linked to specific sites are assisted also, for example at Denby Delf, Churchfield, Cliffe and East Hill Woods. Similarly, groups interested in working on the Churchfield allotments community plot are encouraged to get in touch with Dave (contact details below). Cummins (Turbo) corporate social responsibility volunteers were recently involved in the development of the plot as they have been on the river and scything East Hill ‘tennis court’ area.

Finally this summer, the project was involved in the East Peak Outdoors festival, leading a bike ride around the parish and supporting a Walkers are Welcome volunteer- led visit to Bretton Hall.

TEN VILLAGES CONSERVATION GROUP VOLUNTEERS WANTED!

Come and join the 10 Villages Conservation Group, dedicated to
improving wildlife habitat and general environment for all around Denby Dale Parish.

Weekend activities every month including:

Newt Pond Monitoring/Maintenance
Hedge Laying
Invasive Species Control
Path Laying/Clearing

Please contact: David Wilde on Tel: 07939 446581
or Email: Countryside@denbydale.com