Hello blogees
It’s time for my third blog post, slowly getting the hang of this! I thought I’d talk a bit about my work with the Urmston Meadows Action Group. The group was created by Red Rose Forest to get local communities involved with and invested in this lovely site in Trafford, Greater Manchester.
So far I have lead two tasks on site with the group. The first was habitat improvement works for Willow Tits, a species which saw an 87% decline in UK population between 1970 and 2005 due mainly to habitat loss.
The Willow Tit has very specific habitat requirements, it nests around a metre above ground in standing deadwood and prefers scrubby areas where it is able to feed. So this is the kind of habitat that is being replicated throughout sites specifically in the North West, as populations are relatively high around here. If you would like to learn more, have a look at this document put together by the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Project!
Our April task was to clear vegetation from around the pond and ditch edges on site to allow more light to the water. This should help with the biodiversity of pond life at Urmston, and we hope to have a pond dipping activity using Opal Water Survey resources in the summer months to see if we’ve made a difference!
Before and after ditch edge clearance!
We have lots of different habitats on the site. I have put together a bit of a schedule for managing these various habitats throughout the year, along with tagging on some additional events such as a bat walk and summer ID walk.
Tasks appear to be increasingly popular with the addition of posters on site, advertisement online and our volunteers spreading the word! This just shows how many people in the surrounding communities are interested in their local site. I’m excited about the year to come and the improvements we will be able to make to the site!
If you would like to get involved with the Urmston Meadows Action Group or any of the other volunteering tasks throughout the Manchester area please get in touch by emailing e.corner@tcv.org.uk. Thanks!