Volunteers from KUBAG were joined by the Environment Trust and their Duke of Edinburgh students for some hard work getting our Kingston Hill pond spick and span for winter.
The main aims of the day were:
1. Work on the pond,
2. Work on thinning out some of the bamboo by the pond and use it to create a large insect hotel.
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| Team work makes for easy lifting |
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| A good start achieved by mid -morning |
We were lucky with the pond clearance, the relatively dry summer and lack of autumn rains (so far) meant the rainwater fed pond was still dry, allowing us to clear lots of silt as well as the Common/Black sedge - (Carex nigra).
This was really messy work, luckily we had a great team who were not afraid to get stuck in, some of whom were even able to call in reinforcements at the end of the day!
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| The land and "water" teams working after lunch |
This year we also made a start in thinning out the bamboo near the pond. Volunteers cleared stands of the bamboo, to create openings in the canopy to the woodland floor.
Rather then risk getting rid of the cut bamboo in the compost heap, which might provide an opportunity for the bamboo to sprout, volunteers processed the cut bamboo into the biggest insect hotel they could make.
Rather then risk getting rid of the cut bamboo in the compost heap, which might provide an opportunity for the bamboo to sprout, volunteers processed the cut bamboo into the biggest insect hotel they could make.
Large stems were sectioned down, bundled up and then built up under a large tree in a small clearing. Over time the bamboo will dry out, as the pith in the newer growth dries and shrinks, it will create hollows ready for insects to colonise. Hopefully the clearing will provide a sheltered, warm spot attracting insects in towards their newly created des res.
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| The large bundle under the leaning truck is the newest residents hotel created at Kingston Hill :) |
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| Final clearance achieved by the pond team |
A big thanks to all for their hard work in helping us achieve all of our aims on the day. Due to the great turn out, we got a lot more cleared then we anticipated.
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| The less camera shy members from Saturday's pond maintenance day at Kingston Hill |
If you are interested in getting involved in any of the KUBAG biodiversity events email biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk with your details and let us know how you would like to help.
Until next time.
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