Some interesting anthills have been discovered in an area of Withymead NR beside the railway line, showing that this must once have been open chalk downland. They were lurking under a patch of enormous brambles, so one of our tasks today was to cut away the brambles, taking care not to disturb the anthills. We used large sacks to haul the cut material to the bonfire.
Another task was to fell some very overgrown laurel bushes from a section alongside the water inlet. They are a non-native species and are strong competitors with our native wildflowers. Snowdrops are already pushing up their first shoots in parts of the Reserve.
We return in a few days on Thursday 2nd January to continue these tasks as well as tackle new projects.
Julia 29/12/2013
