Three Tasks in June 2024
Between Rick Parker’s passing and his funeral we had three tasks. Although we no longer have Rick leading the group our work continues; nature doesn’t stop and neither do we.
2nd June – Moses Gate Country Park
After a 30 second silence in memory of Rick (chosen because 30 seconds is the longest he could go without talking), we got to work clearing Himalayan balsam from the woods around Rock Hall. I won’t go into details about balsam bashing but if you want to know more about it follow this link to the beginners guide.
16th June – Grimeford Village
Our second task of the month was just down the road from the Anderton Centre and involved dry stone walling for United Utilities. The wall wasn’t just in disrepair it was a pile of rubble. We re-built a good stretch of it but still plenty left. Walls have both landscape value and wildlife value; they are a part of the character of the countryside plus they provide corridors and refuges for invertebrates, amphibians, small mammals, and even small birds.
30th June – Dunscar Woods
The Woodland Trusts millennium woodland has a balsam problem. Last year we cleared vast areas of woodland of this invasive non-native plant but this year it’s back again. It will take a few more years before we exhaust the seed bank and start to see the benefits of our work.
Conservation is not a ‘quick fix and move on’ operation, it’s a long term campaign to improve and maintain habitats, something Rick knew very well and always had in mind when planning tasks. It’s not about this year or next year, or even the next decade, environmental protection needs to seen in terms of centuries until what has been lost has been restored. BCV is proud to be a part of that legacy, we may not get to see the end results of our work but we work towards that end just the same.
Thanks to Tom and Caroline for organising, to everyone who turned out on the tasks above, to all BCV members past, present and future, and to conservationists everywhere working to make a better world.
