Wonders of wood and willow

Now that schools are winding down for their Christmas break, here at FSC Preston Montford our attention is turning to our centre grounds and sprucing them up for winter.

Our Grounds Keeper, with the help of Anna and Sami our Education Assistant and Education Technician respectively, has been maintaining the steps that lead down to the beautiful River Severn. The edging board of the steps was rotten and the soil was beginning to slide down the bank making it difficult to navigate safely to the path below. Therefore, they have replaced the edging board with new wood to sure up the soil - we think that they look as good as new!

Anna and Ian sawing the supporting posts.

The new steps.

Along the side of our community garden, our Education Assistants have been busy planting hundreds (215 to be precise) of trees that will hopefully improve this area for wildlife and foraging. The trees were supplied by The Woodland Trust as a result of our Education Team successfully applying to a project earlier in the year. We received a mix of species including Cherry, Hazel, Elder, Wild Rose, Hawthorn, Downy Birch, Silver Birch and Oak. Hopefully this diversity will aid the resilience of the hedge and ensure that it lasts for years to come.

Hannah and Sami planting the trees in a trench.

Guards and bark mulch were added.

Lastly, our Education Team has been creating a willow fence in the sensory garden (Exploratorium). They began this task as part of a team-building afternoon. Sami marked out the line of the fence on the ground and then everyone helped to dig regularly spaced holes for the supporting poles. Into these the team hammered Alder stakes, traditionally you would use Hazel but the Alder lengths were more readily available, upside down (ensuring that the stakes will not grow into trees). The team then infilled the holes with the removed soil plus 30cm Alder stakes to compact the soil and secure the main poles. Next we weaved the willow through the poles. Beginning with the thickest section of our willow stem at the first pole, we weaved in, out, in, out, in and out. We then reversed this, placing the thickest section of our second willow stem at the last pole and followed our first stems pattern back: out, in, out, in, out and in. Therefore giving strength to our fence. Our subsequent pairing of stems alternated the pattern of the previous pair, again to give strength and a pleasing frame to our fence. It is hoped that over the next year we will create multiple fences, each slightly bigger than the one before and overlapping in the opposite direction to form a maze...amazing!

Sami showing us how to prep the willow.

The fence taking shape.

If you would like to explore our grounds, why not attend one of our courses next year (https://www.field-studies-council.org/individuals-and-families/search-for-courses.aspx) or email enquiries.pm@field-studies-council.org to arrange a visit. We also run Duke of Edinburgh sessions on every second and fourth Sunday of the month where we do conservation work around the centre. If you are aged 15-25, our grounds an also be explored through the Growing Confidence project[CT1]  www.field-studes-council.org/gc (Email gc@field-sudies-council.org for more details).

We wish you all a happy Christmas and best wishes for 2019.