Hello once again to our regular blog updates for the goings on at the Tree Life Centre in Kingswood, just out side of Bristol. As September signals the start of meteorological autumn its also the start of our busiest periods, however as with every year this is entirely dependant on the weather! As I’m typing this it certainly looks more autumnal out there but as with most of the country the weather was mainly warm and fine so it was only towards the end of the month could we start with more seasonal tasks. As ever I hope I’ve remembered everything we got up to and not missed anything out despite being on holiday for the first week!
Throughout the month we have been keeping the site ticking over getting ready to start selling the trees in the beds again and preparing then ready to be planted around and about. This includes formative pruning to help promote straight growth but from our point of view also so they can fit in tree guards. Also, we have been experimenting with expanding our range of herbs we sale, by cutting back to shape our already existing herbs in the garden we have been taking cuttings from the off cuts, so hopefully we will be able add rosemary, golden sage and oregano to our range. Alongside taking cuttings we have also started sowing spring flowing perennial wildflowers that should be ready to buy soon and ready to flower next spring. Elsewhere, we have rearranged and tidied up the wildflower and tree seed growing area around the greenhouse so hopefully it will be easier to keep a track of and monitor our seedlings.
September has also seen the start of a new group we are running on Wednesday’s. It’s called Little Acorns Forest School for toddlers and their carers to explore, play and learn in a supervised natural environment. The initial 6 session block is coming to a close but if you contact us about further sessions or if you are a group that would wish to use the site for similar activities then please do contact Jason and he can talk you through what we have on offer and try to meet your needs.
A group of volunteers went for a day trip to Dare Valley, South Wales for an invertible training day with Liam Olds, a TCV Natural Talents trainee studying colliery spoil habitats across South Wales. The guys had a great day out learning different techniques for finding various creatures and been shown how to identify them. A huge thank you to Liam for inviting us over and sharing just some of your knowledge!
We finished off the month by starting to build a dipping platform for the new pond and fencing off the area that surrounds it. The funding for the materials was generously donated to us from Merlin Housing so a huge thank you goes out to you. We will now be looking to finish off the area, including raising the pond slightly to make it deeper to encourage a greater range of wildlife in pond, and planting up the surround in native wildflowers we have grown.
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