Wet Wet Wet

Two years ago we spent some time digging out this pond and then left it to fill from a natural spring. This was not too successful so we got a grant last year to buy a liner. Unfortunately last years wet summer never allowed us to complete the work, so this April we spent a couple of weekends digging out the pond, lining it and then replacing some of the soil to protect the liner. We are now waiting for it to fill up. We will probably have to wait until winter although the recent heavy rain has put some water in. This will slowly evaporate, but not as quickly as natural seepage. So next year we are looking forward to a good sized pond that we can stock with native plants and provide a different environment for our wood.

We have been able to have some improvements in the wood through funding from Thackley Urban Village. This handrail has been installed alongside the concrete steps leading up from Buck mill Lane. It should make climbing this steep hill a lot easier for many walkers.

We also had this large bird feeding station put in at the top of the wood, near the disabled entrance on Ainsbury Avenue. This is being well used by a variety of bird including Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch along with many squirrels. There were also five large carved wooden mushrooms dotted around the feeder. These received many favourable comments and are popular with young children. However they were so popular that two have been stolen and despite a full description of the men along with their car,s registration number the poor response from the police has meant they have been lost for good.