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Transition New Mills

Category Archives: Biodiversity

Reading Group: ‘The Running Hare’

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Discussion, Food, Rewilding, Uncategorized

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Blog post by Sue Cooper, Transition New Mills Reading Group

The New Mills Transition Discussion Group meets monthly in someone’s home to discuss a book or, occasionally, to watch a film/video or host a speaker.

Our book this month was The Running Hare (The secret life of farmland) by John Lewis-Stempel published by Penguin Books. In some ways this followed a theme set last time in our discussions of Wilding by Isabella Tree, looking at what happens when land is managed or farmed differently to the modern methods of intensive agriculture – in this case a field in Herefordshire which the author takes on for a year to grow a crop of wheat, using traditional farming methods, and a wide border of wildflowers.

The results are fascinating and heartening, showing the power of nature to recover from the mono-cultures of agribusiness which create quite ‘dead’ environments, as well as a celebration and appreciation of the skills and cultural history of traditional agricultural workers.

This book was a ‘lighter’ read than our usual fare; as well as being an observant ecologist cataloguing and describing the emerging and changing flora and fauna he includes anecdotes of rural life, poetry, songs, discourses on agricultural history, language and literature, a rich weave of fascinating facts and engaging descriptions. Some of us found his style of writing attractive, enjoying the richness and depth, others were less enthusiastic, but all agreed that is was an interesting read and a welcome reminder of the rhythm of the seasons and a celebration of our connection to the natural world.

It is an open criticism of modern agricultural methods; he writes of the ‘chemical brothers’ in the next field whose use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers together with modern farm machinery delivers high yields but a mono-cultural environment, ‘every time one buys the lie of cheap food a flower or a bird dies’. His field produces an abundance and variety of wild flowers, attracts all kinds of wild life including the hares of the title and also produces a decent crop of wheat but at the cost of some heavy physical work. No easy answers. We had a lively discussion on the book which moved on to include a debate on the Common Agricultural Policy, farming subsidies and Brexit, and the worrying issue of modern disengagement from the natural world.

Our next meeting, on Monday February 18th, will look at the 12 principles of permaculture, through song! Contact us at transition.newmills@gmail.com for details.

Balsam Bashing June Dates

28 Saturday May 2016

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

≈ Leave a comment

balsam bashers

We are into our third year of trying to clear the New Mills area of the invasive alien Himalayan Balsam which is swamping our native flora. We know it is going to be a long haul but we are already winning in some areas. So we need to renew and redouble our efforts this year

We are concentrating on 4 main areas : the Torrs, Goytside, the Picker and Mousley Bottom. We have already had 3 sessions and removed a lot of small balsam plants in the first three of these areas, allowing native plants to continue growing without getting shaded out. This year we have also been removing litter encountered at the same time.

The next organised bashes are scheduled for the following dates :

Monday 6th June  6.30 – 8.00pm  The Picker   Meet at junction of High St, Dye House Lane and Hyde Bank Rd  Leader : David Blowers

Monday 13th June  6.30 – 8.00pm  The Torrs   Meet at Torrs Hydro Leader : Jill Hulme

Saturday 25th June  10.30-12.30  Mousley Bottom  Meet at DCC Rangers Hut Leader: Julian Ashworth

Wear stout footwear. Gloves and long sleeves are more comfortable; we have some gloves for loan if you don’t have any yourself.

If you can’t join us on any of these dates, please help by coming on a future organised bash, pledging to Pick a Patch of your choice or just pull as you walk.

Pick up one of our new handy pocket guides on Himalayan Balsam from the Heritage Centre, Spring Bank Arts, or St Georges Parish Hall to help you.

Contact us at transition.newmills@gmail.com, or visit us at transitionnewmills.org or facebook.com/transitionnewmills

Balsam Bashing Starts This Weekend!

20 Friday May 2016

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Balsam Bashing 2016

We are into our third year of trying to clear the New Mills area of the invasive alien Himalayan Balsam which is swamping our native flora. We know it is going to be a long haul but we are already winning in some areas. So we need to renew and redouble our efforts this year.

We shall continue to concentrate on four main areas : the Torrs, Goytside, the Picker and Mousley Bottom.

The balsam is already popping up so we are starting to bash while it is still small. We hope you can join us on one of the first three organised bashing events :

Saturday 21 May  10-11.30am   meet at Torrs hydro

Sunday 22 May   10-11.30am   meet at Torrs hydro

Monday 23 May  6.30 – 8.00pm  meet at junction of High St, Dye House Lane and Hyde bank Rd

If you can’t join us on any of these dates, please help by coming on a future organised bash, pledging to Pick a Patch of your choice or just pull as you walk.

Please wear stout footwear, long sleeves are more comfortable

Contact us on transitionnewmills.org or facebook.com/transitionnewmills

A Triumph for Trees!

21 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

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Tags

biodiversity, conservation

Thanks to you all for a brilliant effort. Around 400 trees were planted on and around the Derby Road playing fields in New Mills on Sunday and Monday, in a joint project between Transition New Mills and Thornsett School.

Thank you to everyone who cleared the ground, put out the marker canes, planted trees, put on and checked the guards, contributed cakes and made tea.  Also thank you to those of you who turned up after we had finished on Sunday  – sorry  our volunteers were so efficient – and to those who expressed their interest and support but couldn’t help on the day.

Thank you to the head, staff, children and parents at Thornsett School. We hope you are proud of your contribution and excited about the prospect of watching the trees grow and seeing the wildlife thrive as a result. We are relying on you to keep an eye out for the trees and to help make the whole of your local community feel that the trees belong to them.

We hope that this is just the beginning of bring more trees back to the area. The Woodland Trust is giving away nearly 5 million trees to community and school groups in the UK over the next 3 years. We would be happy to bid for more trees and organise another event next Autumn.

All we need is some land – so if you have spare land yourself, or know someone who does, or can suggest a suitable plot, please let us know.

Christine Moore    chrism44ind@yahoo.com

Jane Ayres   janecampaign@gmail.com

Jill Hulme   jillhulme@gmail.com

 

TREE PLANTING THIS SUNDAY!

10 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

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Tags

biodiversity, conservation

SUNDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 10.00 – 3.00 AT DERBY ROAD PLAYING FIELD.

The trees have arrived and are eager to be planted in their new home, in a joint project between Transition New Mills and Thornsett Primary School!

Thank you to all who have offered to help. Anyone else who is free for an hour or so on Sunday, please come along. Please bring you own spade and gardening gloves if you have them.

Tea and coffee and cakes will be provided. Contributions of cake will be very welcome.

Derby Rd playing fields are at the end of Portland Rd (where there is some parking). If you are coming along High Hill Rd from Hayfield Rd, Portland Rd is the first right turn after the mini-roundabout.

The trees which have been provided by the Woodland Trust are oak, hawthorn, rowan, blackthorn, silver birch and hazel. These species have been selected to provide a range of food sources and habitats in order to increase biodiversity.

If you have any queries please contact one of us

Chris Moore   chrism44ind@yahoo.com  07860834908

Jane Ayres   janecampaign@gmail.com

Jill Hulme    jillhulme@gmail.com

Balsam 2015 – here’s what we did

02 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Plants

≈ 1 Comment

The balsam bashing season is over for 2015, and thanks to our wonderful volunteers, a Derbyshire County Council grant, and donations from local businesses, it was the best one yet!

Here’s the year in (if anything, under-estimated) statistics:
•17 organised events (including one intrepid abseiling session)
•over 30 known volunteers
•an estimated over 100 hours of volunteer time on organised bashes, – estimated value of around £700 (based on min wage)
•£500 DCC Greenwatch Action Grant, spent mainly in local shops and businesses

The areas we focussed on were The Torrs (Sett Valley from trail to Archie), Goytside(from Archie to railway viaduct), Mousley Bottom (around riverbanks and on DCC land), and The Picker. River levels were quite low, which helped us safely access the banks. The Torrs, Mousley Bottom and Goytside had been tackled last year also, and much less balsam was noted in these areas. We were able to extend clearance further up the riverbanks in Mousley Bottom, and DCC/NMTC undertook some brushcutting which greatly helped tackle some of the large swathes choking the meadows. The Picker was a new area for us and, with the permission of the landowner, we took on a demanding task; there are an abundance of wild plants and picking individual balsam plants colonising new areas was hard going. The area was alive with insect life so this deserves to be an area we continue to give more attention to to keep the balsam at bay.

We would especially like to thank:

  • all the volunteers and supporters
  • Derbyshire County Council (for Greenwatch Action Grant and help from Countryside Section)
  • New Mills Town Council
  • landowners
  • our generous sponsors: Butterfly Cafe, Llamedos, Pulse, Manchester Giants basketball team, and Spring Bank film club, for donating prizes to the raffle that every volunteer was entered into
  • New Mills Festival (for help arranging the insurance).

Things to look out for next year include:

  • DCC have offered Health and & Safety  training for brushcutting
  • the involvement of more groups, for example the Scouts, who have expressed interest
  • a new pocket guide to balsam bashing

Hope to see you then!

Finally, here’s some photos:

Happy bashers at the Picker

Happy bashers at the Picker

Evidence of recent pulling activity

Evidence of recent pulling activity

What we are trying to protect - the variety of wildflowers and grasses at The Picker

What we are trying to protect – the variety of wildflowers and grasses at The Picker

Oak and hawthorn saplings given a chance, The Picker

Oak and hawthorn saplings given a chance, The Picker

Balsam free around Salem Mill, the Picker

Balsam free around Salem Mill, the Picker

Trees for New Mills

03 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by Michael Daw in Biodiversity, Rewilding

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A JOINT PROJECT BETWEEN TRANSITION NEW MILLS AND THORNSETT PRIMARY SCHOOL

Transition New Mills have been awarded a free pack of 420 trees by the Woodland Trust.

The trees will be planted mainly on the Derby Road Playing Field site. There should also be some trees left which could be offered to local residents who have space to plant one or two.

Planting will take place on Sunday 15th November at 10.00am for Transition New Mills members and the local community and on Monday afternoon 16th November for Thornsett School.

The trees in the pack are oak, hawthorn, rowan, blackthorn, silver birch and hazel. These species have been selected by the Woodland Trust to provide a range of food sources and habitats in order to increase biodiversity.

Volunteers are needed for Sunday 15th November for a variety of tasks including tree planting, providing refreshments, lending spades (especially tree spears) and donating cakes.

Please put the date in your diaries and let Chris, Jane or Jill know if you can help.

Chris Moore chrism44ind@yahoo.com

Jane Ayres janecampaign@gmail.com

Jill Hulme jillhulme@gmail.com

Remaining July Balsam Dates Confirmed

10 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

biodiversity, conservation, derbyshire county council

Here are the remaining balsam bashing dates this month:
Saturday 11th July,11:00-13:00, Mousley Bottom, meet at DCC Rangers Hut
Saturday 18th July,11:00-13:00, The Picker, meet at old Pineapple Pub, Salem Bridge
Sunday 19th July, 10:30-12:30, Mousley Bottom, meet at DCC Rangers Hut
Sunday 26th July, 11:00-13:00, Mousley Bottom, meet at DCC Rangers Hut

Everyone who attends will be entered into the raffle for coffee and cake for 4, and other prizes.

Hope to see you there!

More Balsam Bashing Dates!

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

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We’ve arranged a series of events around the town to help reduce the spread of an invasive weed, Himalayan Balsam. This plant grows quickly and spreads very rapidly, and is threatening both the number and variety of native plants, and also contributing to soil erosion once it has died back to leave bare soil in the winter. Initial Transition efforts to remove the plant in the Torrs were both successful and popular, so thanks to a Derbyshire County Council Greenwatch grant, we’re able to put on more events this year. Come and join us at the dates / venues below:

Sat 27 June 11:00-13:00,  Torrs, meet at Archie Torrs Hydro
Sun 28 June  11:00-13:00   Picker/SVT,    meet by old Pineapple pub, Salem Bridge
Sat  4 July   11:00-13:00   Picker   meet by old Pineapple pub, Salem Bridge

Wed   8  July    19:30-21:00   Torrs    meet at Archie Torrs Hydro
Sat 11 July   11:00-13:00  Mousley Bottom (tbc) Sat 18 July   11:00-13:00,   Picker  meet by old Pineapple pub, Salem Bridge
Sun 26 July   11:00-13:00,  Mousley Bottom (tbc)

Please put these in your diaries, it would be great to see you there!  Bring gardening gloves (some spares will be available) and stout footwear. No previous experience is necessary and brief training will be given.

Don’t forget, you can also Pledge to Pick a Patch of your choosing, for which you’d like to be responsible for keeping clear of balsam, or let us know if you want to be added to an informal list of bashers who prefer just to be alerted if anyone is going out bashing for an hour on an evening.  If you’d like to lead a session, similarly please let us know.

Help Tackle the Invaders in 2015

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Julian Ashworth in Biodiversity, Events, Plants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

biodiversity, conservation, derbyshire county council

The Himalayan Balsam is off and growing now, and here’s what you can do to help Transition New Mills manage it:

  • At a Transition Balsam Bash: next session 11-12:30, Sunday 14th June, meet at Torrs Hydro’s Archie in the Torrs Park. Easier with stout footwear, long sleeves and gardening gloves (some gloves can be provided for those without, courtesy of our DCC Greenwatch Action Grant). Further sessions will be arranged, and we hope to be able to offer some incentives to join in!
  • Informal Bashes: email transition.newmills@gmail.com to be added to an informal network of people who may call for help or company on odd occasions when they are able to go out. This was probably the most effective method we used last year, and was often at relatively short notice.
  • Pledge to Pick a Patch: choose an area of land you want to commit to clear and keep balsam-free. You can do it on your own, or with friends, at times to suit you before it sets seed. Tell us where it is so we can plot where the plant is being managed, and give you due credit!
  • Pick Whilst you Walk: suitable for dogwalkers and ramblers especially, keep those favourite walks balsam free by picking as you go. Keep a look out for separate newer patches which need tackling now before they get out of control

If you know of any people or groups which may want to get involved, please let them and us know! And we’d love to hear how you’re getting on. The rules for picking are very easy:

  • Identify it: this is what the plant looks like, although it can grow up to 2m tall. It has pinky-white fragrant flowers from July:HB

Note: don’t pull anything up if you aren’t sure about it. In particular, don’t touch Japanese Knotweed, another resilient invader which can spread easily by regenerating from little scraps, and is best treated by professionals.

  • Pull it: it comes out really easily, with very shallow roots. Only pull it before it has set seed though, or else it will fling its seeds around when disturbed, spreading the problem further.
  • Crush it: crush the stem between roots and first set of leaves, or it may try to regrow

Transition New Mill’s priority areas this year will focus on:

  • The Sett Valley, from Archie in the Torrs upstream towards Hayfield
  • The Goyt Valley, from Archie in the Torrs upstream towards the railway viaduct at Goytside Farm
  • Mousley Bottom, along the river and valley bottom, in conjunction with Derbyshire County Council

Look out for further events and news on this topic on the blog; in the meantime, go to it, bashers!

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