Fiskerton Fen Nature Reserve, 18th October 2009
This was our first visit to this new
nature reserve on the edges of the River Witham. The main task was
planting a new hawthorn hedge along an existing fence line to divide the
reserve and eventually shield the lake, and resident birdlife, from visitors
walking in the reserve. We had 500 small hawthorns to plant and as
there were 16 of us, this wouldn't take too long, or so we thought.
Of course, the ground was a lot harder than anticipated, after the lack of
rain. As well as slit planting the hawthorn, there was also a cane and
tree guard to put up to protect each plant. The planting proceeded apace in
the warm October sunshine. Four of us also headed off to tidy up an existing
hawthorn hedge that had been messily flailed back to its trunks.
By
lunchtime we had used about three quarters of the plants, but we had almost
run out of tree guards and stakes. So, while the planting resumed after
lunch, some of us set about removing old tree guards from previously planted
trees that had either outgrown their guards or had died. These were
recycled to protect the new plants. By the end of the day all the
plants had been used and we were just over half way along the fence line, so
more planting will be needed.
Julian
