Category: Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Wildflower Beds and Orchard Maintenance

 

Year 1s from Gwenfo CW Primary School joined us to spread the wildflower seed on our bed in Grange Park. You can see their personalised labels in the ground on their chosen patches. We were lucky with the weather which meant that for the first time they could choose an area anywhere on the bed rather than having to stick to the perimeter. We are using a different brand of seed mix this year so it will be interesting to compare results. It is not an ideal site as it is shaded by the pines and Horse Chestnuts which are still growing but we have spent many hours preparing the site so, fingers crossed!

Penarth and Sully Scouts spent a couple of hours up at the Goldsland Orchard and worked very hard. They cleared rocks and stones from the ground and then scattered a wildflower meadow mix under the trees. They also cut back the branches of over-hanging trees and created log and brush piles. They saw plenty of wildlife including a frog, Bluebells, Wood Anemones, Yellow Archangel and plenty of lichens. Robert Reader has installed a fence around the orchard to keep the inquisitive cows at bay and we have erected some bug hotels on wooden posts. The warm weather over Easter certainly brought out the solitary bees in numbers so it should not be long before the new hotels are in use.

We continue to have thefts from the Community Orchard on the Playing Fields – this time a newly-planted Victoria Plum. The Police have been notified and any relevant images from the wildlife cameras will be forwarded.

 

 

Annual Easter Egg Trail

 

Annual Easter Egg Trail

Upper Orchid Field

This is the 5th year that we shall be running the Easter Egg Trail on the Upper Orchid Field so why not bring the youngsters along for a bit of fresh air?

It will run from Tuesday 16th April so just turn up anytime from then on and take a form from the dispenser on the main noticeboard. Only the first 30 completed forms will get an Easter Egg.

In contrast to previous years you should now take your form to the Wenvoe Library which is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

As this is the Chinese Year of the Brown Earth Pig, all the clues will be linked to pigs or the soil.

Just bring a pen or pencil.

Wild Boar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goldsland Orchard Now Has 27 Trees

 

February saw the completion of our fruit tree planting at the Goldsland Orchard which now has 27 trees including Cider Apples, Perry Pears, Medlar, Quince and Plum – see photo. Bulbs planted in the Autumn include Bluebell and the native Daffodil and these are just showing through the soil. The hedgerow is also in the process of being planted with about 30 in the ground but a further tranche of 60 shrubs due in March courtesy of the Woodland Trust. These include Hazel, Hawthorn, Crabapple, Spindle and Holly. The Victoria Plum in the Community Orchard which died last year has been replaced and we have also planted Medlar and Quince in the Welsh Orchard. We are steadily replacing the bamboos in the many bee hotels we have where they were pulled out by people, birds or squirrels (or a mixture of these) but in the future they will be covered with wire netting. The wildflower patch in Grange Park is being prepared for wildflower seed sowing and Wenvoe Primary School children will help to spread the seed again in early April. Some branches of Sycamore trees which are overhanging fruit trees in the Wild Orchard are being cut back which should make the area lighter and encourage the fruit trees to grow upright.

 

AGM and Orchard Update

 

Our AGM, held in January, produced a record attendance of 35. These numbers reinforce the strong support for wildlife in the village boosted by members from Dinas Powys, Penarth, Radyr and Barry. Our visiting speaker was Peter Sampson who talked about Flat Holm island, its history and wildlife. Not only was it informative but Peter entertained us as well with tales of lighthouse keepers and the ingenious ‘goal posts’ which prevented anti-aircraft gunners on the island shooting the top of the lighthouse. For more on the island along with the opportunity to join the Flat Holm Society go to http://www. flatholmsociety.org.uk. We were also pleased to welcome Janine from Daisy Graze who has used medlars from our orchards to produce Elizabethan Medlar Jelly. These, and her other products, can be purchased from farmers markets and Janine plans to be at the next Open Farm Sunday at Goldsland which takes place on June 9th.

Meantime we have been in planting mode. The Goldsland Farm Orchard now includes a Medlar, giving us 6 in total, along with a Quince, which are becoming increasingly popular but very difficult to buy in the shops. Such is the aroma from Quinces that they were once placed in clothing drawers to make garments smell nice and it is said that adding a slice or two of Quince to an apple pie raised it from the hum-drum to the exceptional. Although Quinces can take some time to mature, the variety we have planted is Meeches Prolific and the fruit can weigh as much as half a kilogram. There is often confusion between the traditional Quince which we grow (Cydonia) and the smaller fruit which grow on the quite common garden shrub, the Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles). The picture shows a Quince growing in our Community Orchard off Station Road. Two St. Cecilia apples have been planted which came top of our taste test last year and 4 varieties of cider apple that are new to us have been included, namely Cummy Norman, Breakwells Seedling, Twyn y Sherrif and Perthyre. Finally two donated Victoria Plums complete the picture. Wildflower seed will be spread in the Spring as we hope to create wood pasture, a rare habitat for Britain. It is good to see some of the bulbs, such as English native Bluebells, which we planted last year, already poking through.

Visitors to Dyffryn Gardens may have noticed that their orchard planting has nearly been completed and this will be a useful addition to our Orchard Trail as it will be publicly accessible at some stage from an adjacent public footpath. The trail could then include 6 orchards with a possible extension to a seventh at Peterston.

 

 

Fungi Competition

 

A big thank you to all who took part in the Fungi competition and to the judges who decided which should receive an award. Over 100 entries were submitted, most of these were in the photography and art categories with only two craft entries. The Primary School took part enthusiastically with both younger and older children involved. 14 prizes representing £150 in cash and vouchers have been distributed – one of the prizewinners is shown in the photo.

A display of some of the entries can be seen in the Wenvoe library starting during January. This project was funded by Grow Wild and Kew Gardens.We have been fortunate to be granted 60 native hedging shrubs which will be used to create a hedgerow around the new orchard at Goldsland Farm. We are not sure when these will be delivered but we will then need to get them planted or heeled in as they will be bare-rooted. These have been donated by the Woodland Trust

 

 

Winter Preparation

On a gorgeous day we had a good turn-out to put the Elizabethan Orchard to bed for the winter, weeding the beds, strimming, pruning the fruit trees and digging the hole for the new pond – just under 6 inches to go and we should be able to get it in position. Medlars seem to grow very well in our climate and soil despite originating in Asia Minor and South East Europe and we get consistently good crops from our four trees. A local producer of preserves, Daisy Craze, has used some of our medlars this year to produce Medlar Jelly which you can buy at Griffiths the butcher in Dinas Powys. They are also sold at local food and craft events – for more information, check out the Facebook page – daisygrazecaketoppers

In another link with local enterprise, Barry-based Mark Jones has just published a new book for children, The Adventures of Dixon Vole: Woodland Detective. Mark has included a reference to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group in his Introduction. Copies of the book sell for £8.99 but Mark will deliver to Wenvoe without charge. For more information go to https://fizzypopcreative.co.uk/

 

 

Fungi Competition

 

At the time of writing we had been inundated with photos of fungi for the competition and it has been great to see how many people are out there snapping toadstools and mushrooms which are popping up everywhere with the damper weather. Somewhat disappointing is that we have not received any entries in the craft or painting and drawing sections. Hopefully there will be a last-minute rush as we know there are plenty of artists and craftspeople out there. Look out for the December edition of What’s On to see the final results.

A good harvest from the orchards has been enjoyed by many and this means that next year we can celebrate an Apple Day where you will be able to come and sample the fruit as well as try pressing some fruit juices. More on that next year. Work continues at Goldsland where we hope to add some more fruit trees in the Farm Orchard. The benefits to wildlife are becoming more apparent and this year seems to have been particularly good for Hornets and small mammals.

If you would like to help out in any way, do contact the Wildlife Group.

 

 

 

 

 

June Activities

A busy month started with the village craft fair where it was good to meet many Wenvoe residents who visited our table which was shared with beekeepers Barbara and Howard. We gave away 100 packets of wildflower seed and 30 tress including Downy Birch, Oak, Ash, Bay Sycamore. The proceeds from the raffle were generously donated to the group and we shall be using the money to produce a leaflet showing the locations of our sites along with a project with the school covering life cycles. Thank you also to individuals who made donations.

In association with Keep Wales Tidy and Wenvoe Primary School we painted a number of Yellow Fish alongside street drains in and around the school. This nationwide campaign which was described in a previous issue of Whats On is aimed at reminding people that anything that goes down these drains goes directly into our streams, rivers and oceans causing potential pollution and poisoning fish and other wildlife. Detergents from cars cleaned on drives and litter commonly contribute to these problems.

The specimen tree walk we arranged at Insole Court as part of its Heritage Open day was well-attended. Led by Chris Powell around 40 trees were identified and described including several champions. Amongst these was Kowhai, Myrtle and a stunning Benthams Cornel. The Loquat is also unusual although you can see one in Wenvoe close to the library. If you have not visited this gem of a house in suburban Cardiff (with a cafe!) it is well worth finding the time. New rooms are being opened up in the next couple of months.

Open Farm Sunday at Goldsland Farm attracted its normal sunny weather along with many visitors thanks to the tireless efforts of the Reader family. Our stand was again shared with Barbara and Howard who talked about bees and beekeeping. We led wildlife and lichen walks and set up a colouring table for younger children. This is Wenvoe's biggest event and needs our full support.

 

 

The Orchard Walk

 

Improving weather has helped us to get out and about and we were very lucky to have ideal walking conditions for our Orchard walk which took place as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival. 32 walkers (plus 3 dogs) joined us for the day coming from all over South Wales as we wandered up to Burdons Hill, down to Goldsland and back via the St Lythans Burial Chamber and the Welsh and Wild Orchards. A grass snake at the Elizabethan Orchard and Oak Apple not far from New Wallace Farm were both new wildlife records for the area. It was nice to have with us a good number of Wenvoe residents who were keen to see how things were progressing in the orchards.

We have been concentrating on keeping the sites tidy for Green Flag judging and we await the results with interest. More recently we have been planting up the new Farm Orchard at Goldsland and its surrounding hedgerow. We have planted wildflower seed in a number of locations and donated seed to groups in Dinas Powys and Cowbridge along with over 100 packets to individuals who turned up for the Craft Fair. With funding from Grow Wild we are planting wildflower plug plants at Goldsland Farm and setting up areas where we shall be growing fungi – not for consumption but to help to tell the story of how important fungi are to our lives. If you come to the Open Day at Goldsland on Sunday 10th June you will be able to see what we are up to. And what a free day out for families with lots of other things going on!

 

 

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