Clearing invasive species
Over the last few weeks we have run two wonderful Green Angels taster sessions with a couple of groups of East Lothian Guides as part of a series of taster days for Green Angels. We still have dates to spare so if you know a group of girls and non binary folk aged 12-18 who would like to spend the day outside doing conservation tasks and getting to know the natural world around them please get in touch with Sarah.
Supporting woodland habitats and young people
For each session with the Guides groups we were helping restore balance to a local woodland ecosystem by removing rhododendron from the shrub layer as it has taken over and blocks light from other native plants. Everyone got super stuck into cutting back the rhododendron, using saws and loppers to cut back branches and whole bushes. We made piles of the cut branches so they decompose and other plants can use their nutrients. The sense of accomplishment at having made a visible difference to the woodland and having freed some trees from being surrounded by rhododendron was palpable at lunch time.
After lunch we all had a go at using fire strikers and managed to get a group fire light – hooray for hot chocolate and warmth from the fire! The Guides had a great time, saying that it had been much more fun than they expected, it was nice to spend time outside and that they wanted to do more conservation in the future. Massive thanks to both Binning Woods and Gifford Community Woodland for having us, we hope we’ve helped your management plans along a little.
For more one off taster sessions available for groups of girls and non binary folk in November contact sarah.waterfield@greenteam.org.uk.
Our mainstream Green Angels programme runs on a monthly basis throughout the year. Find out more here.
