April’s workday saw the group planting wildflower patches in Bowsland Meadow. Each year, scrub and small trees are removed to stop the woodland encroaching into the meadow and more wildflower squares are added. The cowslips that were planted last year have returned and add a welcome splash of spring colour to the meadow.
We were pleased to welcome the Barrance family who came all the way from Chippenham to join in the planting which was planned as part of the ‘Grow Wild’ campaign’ (www.growwilduk.com) which is aimed at bringing people together to sow native wild flowers. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and they have already donated over 230,000 free wild flower seed packs to individuals and groups to plant wild flower areas.
The Bowsland pond gate will remain locked for the moment to protect our newts as they enter their breeding season and we would be grateful to all dog owners if they could keep their dogs out of the ponds at this time of year.
April’s workday also doubled as our last Big Spring Clean, with local families and 1st Bradley Stoke Beavers coming out to help. Another 16 bags of rubbish were collected totalling over 43 bags of rubbish collected from the reserve this month, which is a lot! This total doesn’t include the bags collected by the Dreamscheme children on Thursday 10th April when they had their Big Spring Clean.
Litter doesn’t just look unsightly, it can be dangerous to everyone, broken glass has caused injuries to both dogs and children on the reserve, hedgehogs can get caught up in beer can plastic, newts get trapped in cans and we often find drowned mice in discarded bottles. There are bins and rubbish bags on the reserve and we would ask everyone to please use them.
The overflowing dog bins were reported to South Gloucestershire Council and have now been emptied and the tree that has fallen over the bridge close to the lake has also been reported and should be cleared soon.
For further information about the conservation group, visit our website, www.three-brooks.info, email info@three-brooks.info, call Hannah on 0797 142 6266 or visit our Facebook page.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 10th June: Summer Evening Bird Walk – being led by naturalist and broadcaster Ed Drewitt. Meet us at the Leisure Centre at 7pm and bring binoculars if you have them.
Sat/Sun 5th/6th July: Bio Blitz – A variety of surveys, walks and talks for all ages. More information to follow.
Photo: A good turn out for the group’s Big Spring Clean on Saturday 5th April.
This article originally appeared in the May 2014 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,450 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
