Wednesday 22nd February 2012
Today the Landscape Conservation Volunteers were heading
north to Low Newton, where our task was to help National Trust Coastal Wardens
Kevin and Jane clear some gorse bushes from the side of a grass bank.
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| Gorse |
Driving north from Newcastle through the drizzle, I was
apprehensive but I needn’t have worried, after all it was a Wednesday and the
weather soon improved.
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| The "Tin Church" at Newton By The Sea |
On arrival we were given a risk assessment talk, and then quickly set about
our task.
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| The bank covered with gorse. |
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| Mary at Work |
Why were we clearing the gorse bushes? Well,
gorse is a valuable plant for wildlife, providing dense thorny cover ideal for
protecting bird nests but it can become dominant and gorse bushes are highly
flammable. In fact the bankside where we were working had in previous years
been a primrose bank but the gorse has taken over. So some control is necessary.
Hopefully the bank will be returned to a primrose
covered bank in the future.
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| The Bonfire |
By lunchtime we had cleared a large area to reveal some
stone outcrops and had a well-established bonfire.
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| Lunchtime |
A group of us sat at the top of the bank eating our lunch to
make the most of the sunshine and John Grundy spotted a hare running across the
adjacent field. Skylarks could be seen and heard singing above us; spring must
be on its way.
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| The Aftermath |
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| The Team |
We had a wonderful day. To the north we could see the
village of Beadnell and some of the Farne Islands, in particular Inner Farne
and Longstone, and to the south Dunstanburgh Castle. Isn't the Northumberland coast marvellous?
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| The view to the north |
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| The view to the south |
Phil Coyne
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