Countryside report – Winter 2019
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 24th. 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 18thApril.
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 3rdFeb. 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
