So, today is Valentine’s Day. Once that brief novelty has faded it makes sense to turn to that true love of your life: wildlife and the outdoors. It might be 50 shades of grey outside but you can cheer yourself up by caressing a tree, 20 trees to be precise, as you help to improve a home for a young family in Liz’s Wood. Yes, true love will soon be in the air again so we urgently need to clean out our remaining bird boxes in the wood near the Jim Mart Reserve. For those that prefer some rough and tumble there is always plenty to tackle around the bramble areas, or you could scratch the reserve’s back with a vigorous rake through the nettle patch. If your preference is to leave a deeper impression then directed digging will be permitted on the day.
To help out at the next work party, meet at the reserve on Saturday, 21st February, at 9:30 am. We will finish around lunchtime.
All members are welcome and no previous experience is necessary. Please wear appropriate work clothes, stout shoes, boots or wellies, and gardening gloves or equivalent. Appropriate tools to bring, although some are available, would be loppers, rake, garden fork or spade. For the nest box cleaning a pair of ‘Marigold’ type household gloves are useful; the reserve has a folding step ladder but a short single section ladder would be more practical.
Organised work parties take place at the Jim Mart reserve on the morning of the third Saturday in every month, except in December. For further information visit the Jim Mart NR pages on the Ogston Bird Club website https://ogstonbirdclub.co.uk/ , or contact Peter Faulkner by email ([email protected]) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).