Today was the day of our first Spring Gathering and, despite forecasts of morning drizzle, an enthusiastic group of people came up to the woods to hear stories and help with some forest management.
In a few weeks we have some new trees coming, so today’s mission was to clear some space for them to grow. There is a lot of clematis (clematis vitalba – also known as Travellers Joy and Old Mans Beard – and known to the French as ‘herbe aux gueux’ – the beggar’s or rascal’s herb) in the wood, and in places this has reached up and started to pull saplings down, and made whole areas of the wood impassable. Our plan for the day was to clear some spaces to plant saplings and to liberate some existing trees from the grip of the clematis.
It is highly unlikely, by the way, that we would ever completely clear the wood of clematis even if we wanted to! Those fluffy seed-heads that give Old Mans Beard its folk name blow everywhere in the autumn and our actives have, if anything, helped their dispersal. It does have anti-inflammatory properties, makes a good tinder and is enjoyed by pollinating insects and butterflies, so it’s far from undesirable in our wood. It’s just that its growth has been unchecked and it’s threatening to take over.
Despite the weather, everyone worked brilliantly and we all chatted away while we chopped, snipped and pulled the long wood stems out. We had to work carefully as we were right at the start of the nesting season and it’s a criminal offence to disturb nesting birds. Any potential nesting sites among the tangle were carefully avoided! Within about an hour of work, we had cleaned some really good areas and made a very satisfying pile of debris. Time for a brew and a story!
Thanks very much to everyone who came along and made a real difference with all their hard work.
