October 2022
Mow Better Greens
Our final bit of meadow work for the season saw us doing some work for Banana Enterprises at Moses Gate Country Park. 16 volunteers turned out for the task, which truth be told was a bit back breaking, but we did good. The aim is to improve the species diversity of wild flowers, this in turn will benefit bees and butterflies, both of which have been having a hard time in recent years with populations down to their lowest numbers on record. However, we did find plenty of frogs and toads, and also a newt, some beetles and a bird or two, some of these can be found on the Wild Things page. Banana Enterprises have, unfortunately, lost out on their bid for grant funding to save Rock Hall, but only by a whisker, so they will be giving it another go in the next round. Best wishes and good luck to Jayne and the Rock Hall team for next time.
August 2022
20+ Not Out
Well done to Rick, Francis, Claire, Neil, Carol, Lynn, Colin, Elaine, and John on being recognised for 20+ years of volunteering with BCV. The achievement was marked by a bit of a do on the 13th August at the Sweet Green Tavern in Bolton attended by around 50 friends and well wishers. The awards for the troops were handed out by Rick and Rick’s award being handed out by Francis. There was a buffet, drinks, and karaoke (for those who like that kind of thing), bunting and other stuff. Many thanks to Francis for sorting out the awards themselves (a picture of one attached but with the name removed to avoid favouritism), Caroline for organising the food, Tom for ferrying stuff, and to everyone who attended. A special thanks to our Officer for Fun, Jane, for putting it all together. Two thumbs up.
April 2022
Community Hero 2022
Congratulations to Rick on winning the Bolton News Community Heroes award’s environment category. This is not the first award Rick has won, over the years he has been awarded Bolton Council’s Golden Elephant Award, Bolton News Green Hero Award, and The Cabinet Office’s Points of Light Award. Find out more at Community Heroes 2022.
End of an Era
A bit of sad news, Andy Grundy is retiring from Bolton Council’s Woodland Section after 27 years. Andy has been BCV staunch supporter over the years and has given us many memorable task sites over the years. Andy, thank you so much for all of the support you’ve given us, and thank you for your letter below. Enjoy your retirement, and we hope that you will visit us on task some day.
Hi Rick,
As you may already know, I shall be leaving my post at Bolton Council on the 1st April 2022. After 27 years of tree and woodland planting and latterly designating Local Nature Reserves and providing guidance and encouragement to those interested in wildlife. It is time for me to hang up my boots.
It has been a pleasure knowing and working with you and BCV and it will be this aspect which I will miss the most. I have learnt a lot from our meetings over the years and appreciate all the good work BCV have done over the years. It is good to know you are still passing on the knowledge and enthusiasm to the younger generations and potential BCV member of the future. I hope that together with the other voluntary groups around Bolton, you will continue to protect and improve the various wildlife sites to which you are all so committed.
At present, it seems unlikely that I will be replaced by a similar postholder but there are many changes happening in the near future, so who knows what that may bring. These changes will hopefully bring with them opportunities and I would urge you to be ready to take advantage of these when they arise. It will be useful to keep in touch through the Bolton Forum for Greenspaces (BFG) so you can share and support each other and take full advantage of potential opportunities.
May I now offer you best wishes for the future and hope you continue all your great work for wildlife and the environment. Make your work tasks enjoyable as it is important it does not become a chore and remember to take pleasure in the results of your improvements and wildlife in general.
Regards,
Andy Grundy
Neighbourhood Services
January 2022
Our hybrid indoor meetings continue to run successfully, here are a few items that deserve a mention:
Thank you to Dorothy and Paul Rigby for their recent donation made in loving memory of their friend Ruth Heard. The money will be put to good use. Also thanks to Barb and Trevor Hackett, and Richard Smythe for their respective donations which are very much appreciated.
Andrew’s re-wilding project is moving forward with support from the Wildlife Trust.
Well done to Joe on his new job with the Woodland Trust.
Finally many thanks to Yogi and the Nam Ploy restaurant for the excellent meal and appreciated support.
June 2021
Fan Pit Cottages
We had an email from Anne at Fan Pit Cottages, I’ve shortened it slightly but the full version has been sent to Rick.
Just wanted to update you about my little project to attract more wildlife to our area. You might remember laying a hedge and clearing some of the land adjacent to our house at Fan Pit cottages. We were fighting a battle with Japanese Knotweed, which we have almost won!
In 2015 you created a pond for us, which has been very successful, attracting newts and toads almost immediately. Unfortunately this year a pair of mallards have decided to trash it, ripping weed out and feeding on the occupants of the pond, so I have covered it. I would love to create more ponds! We have planted a variety of trees, wild cherry and Rowan, with a few others. Sadly some of our mature trees have been affected by ash die back, so I did quite a lot of research to find trees that were suited to our clay soil and resistant to diseases.
We have a lot of marsh orchids this year and I am slowly adding more wild plants that survive the conditions. We still have hares living near the big pond, at the bottom of the field and deer have been spotted there too. Please pass on our good wishes to Rick and all the volunteers who remember coming to us. I can’t thank you enough for all your help and wish you could come again. Kindest Regards, Anne.
April 2021
Blackleach Hibernaculum
We’ve finally got a digger in to finish the ponds and the hibernaculum. See the Blackleach Hibernaculum post for more info.
John Franklin
The Wildlife trust has created a memorial woodland to John at Seven Acres. See the John Franklin post for words and pictures.
We have Returned
Well we’re back at work again with our recent tasks at Firwood, but there have been a few other activities that you might not know about.