Past Work Parties
17 July 2008
An enjoyable evening was spent first pruning the Greendown Hedge which has grown really well this year. Once this was complete we moved to the area of grassland near Sally's Glade.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 11 |
7.2.3.5 | Maintain recently planted hedgerow through weeding, mulching and pruning. | 2 |
05 July 2008
The forecast showers kept away and we even had some welcome sunshine. We split into two groups - the first removed ivy from the rock faces in the gully and then cleared some saplings, bracken and bramble from the surrounding area. Meanwhile the second group worked in Sally's Glade and the nearby grassland again clearing bramble and saplings.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 5 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 4, 5, 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 4, 5, 10 & 11 |
7.2.4.1 | Cut back Ivy (Hedera helix) where possible from rock faces | 5 |
25 June 2008
While Susan & Kit were working with the Scouts to prepare for the Trooping the Hill event on Saturday a group of us removed several small saplings and some bramble from the grassland and heathland below the chimney. We also cut a small channel at the side of the path to help reduce the erosion of the path that has been happening after heavy rain.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 3, 4, 9 & 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 3, 4, 9 & 11 |
07 June 2008
A warm and sunny morning. One group cut bracken from the edges of two areas where it is spreading into the heather and grassland. Meanwhile a second group was clearing saplings including cherry and oak from beside the path from the lower chimney.
Photographs of the day can be seen here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 4, 5 & 8 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 8 & 9 |
20 May 2008
A small group on this evening work party removed lots of small seedlings of holm oak, oak and silver birch from the sides of the gully.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 4 & 5 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 4 & 5 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | 4 & 5 |
03 May 2008
As has become traditional for our May Work Party the work focused on bramble and hawthorn scrub in Sally's Glade. There were also several Holm Oak saplings to remove. We were again joined by two students from UWE who got to explore the hill while doing a litter pick.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 10 & 11 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | All |
20 April 2008
A rather grey day for our second Sunday work party this year - but at least it was dry. This work party saw the conclusion of our Duke of Edinburgh's Award project to build steps on the path through Troopers Hill Woods.
The rest of the group cleared some bramble from the grassland near the entrance from Troopers Hill Field and then moved to the steep slopes above the nursery where we cleared some more Holm Oak and other saplings.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 9 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 9 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 9 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 1 |
05 April 2008
While our DoE volunteers from John Cabot Academy continued their project to build steps on the path into Troopers Hill Woods; the rest of the group cut saplings and bramble from various areas on the hill. The areas cleared included the steep slopes above the nursery where there were many holm oak saplings. Since we are now in the bird nesting season we were careful to avoid dense areas of bramble.
Photographs of the day can be seen here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 9 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 5 & 8 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 5 & 8 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | 5, 8 & 9 |
01 March 2008
While our young DoE volunteers continued their project by building two steps on the path; the rest of the group started the session by spreading mulch along the Greendown hedge. As in previous years the mulch had been delivered on the previous day by Bristol Parks.
Today's excellent turnout, which matched the largest number we have ever had on a work party, meant that we had finished by 11am. We then moved to clear some more bramble from the area in compartments 8 & 9 that we started at the afternoon work party in February. Today's efforts brought the total number of volunteer hours at work parties since we started in 2003 to over 1300 - thanks again to everyone.
Photographs of the day can be seen here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.3.5 | Maintain recently planted hedgerow through weeding, mulching and pruning. | 2 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 8 & 9 |
17 February 2008
This was the first of two Sunday afternoon work parties we have planned for this Spring. Most of us concentrated our efforts on the area of broom to the left of the path from the lower chimney that we had worked on in January. We also cut down a holm oak from the other side of the path and cleared some bramble from the stonecrop. The stonecrop is home to a small fly Phytomyza sedi and Troopers Hill is the only place in the UK that this fly has been found. Meanwhile the DoE project to clear the path from Troopers Hill Field to Troopers Hill Woods continued. Our young volunteers were lucky enough to be visted by a deer that came to see what they were doing.
Photographs of the day can be seen here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 8 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 8 & 9 |
2 February 2008
We were very pleased to be joined by two year-10 pupils from John Cabot Academy who are taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and by two students from UWE. The main group concentrated on pruning and weeding the hedge at Greendown, we also planted some new holly and hawthorn to fill a gap that had appeared. At the top end of the hedge there was a lot of bramble to cut back.
The DofE project is to re-establish the path from Troopers Hill Field into the woodland. This work will be ongoing over the next couple on months and will include building some steps. The path leads from the glade that we created last winter and will give another route onto the Hill from the Field.
Photographs here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.3.5 | Maintain recently planted hedgerow through weeding, mulching and pruning. | 2 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | 2 |
12 January 2008
A bright and frosty morning after a very wet Friday. We started with the prize giving for our photo competition. We were very pleased that our young winners Harry and Amy were then able to join us on the work party. We concentrated our efforts on the area of broom to the left of the path from the lower chimney, this area is relatively flat so the wet ground wasn't so much of a problem.
A photograph of some of the team relaxing after the hard work is shown here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 9 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 9 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 9 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | All |
01 December 2007
Heavy showers after a lot of overnight rain meant that this month's work party had to be cancelled.
03 November 2007
Warm or even hot sunshine on a fabulous November morning. Two of the group did a quick check over the hill for litter before joining in with the rest of us in clearing the bramble re-growth from the area at the top of the steps leading from Entrance E. This is an area with old broom that had become completely choked with bramble. It was pleasing to see our efforts of last year being rewarded with new broom plants growing. As well as the bramble some oak saplings were also removed.
Photographs here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 5 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 5 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 5 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | All |
06 October 2007
With lots of our regulars (including our Chair) suffering from the various bugs that are going around there was only a small group this month, though it was pleasing to welcome a new face. We concentrated our efforts on clearing the bracken at the entrance to the Gully. Much of this bracken had been cut by Julian of Bristol Contract Services on his regular visits to the site with his strimmer. We were able to clear the remaining areas where the bracken was mixed with the heather using loppers. Now that the edge of the heather can be seen we hope to be able to keep next year's regrowth in check and to eventually eradicate the braken all together in accordance with the Management Plan.
Having completed our work in this area we spent the last half hour before well deserved coffee and biscuits cutting saplings further up the gully.
Photographs here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 4 |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 4 & 5 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 4 |
01 September 2007
On a cloudy but warm morning we returned to Sally's glade to clear some more bramble and scrub. This time we concentrated on the lower part of the glade below the path.
A small group also bashed down some of the bracken regrowth in Compartment 5 and cut down some isolated gorse bushes that had appeared amonst the heather.
Photographs here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 10 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 10 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 5 & 10 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 10 |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 5 |
04 & 16 August 2007
For both these work parties we returned again to work on bramble, hawthorn and oak scrub in Sally's Glade.
On the Saturday we first had a photo taken with the Green Flag which can be seen on our Green Flag Award Page. On a warm but cloudy morning it was good to have a sit down after our labours and enjoy our coffee and biscuits. There are some photos of the work in progress here.
Six of us continued this work on the Thursday evening; concentrating this time on the area at the top of the glade.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 10 & 11 |
07 July 2007
A dry and sunny day after a very wet June saw us working in three areas. One group first flattened some bracken before moving on to remove some saplings including several holm oaks from the steep slopes above the nursery. Meanwhile a second group was clearing bramble and saplings including cherry from beside the path from the lower chimney. A particular aim of this group was to clear the stonecrop which is home to the small fly recorded as a 'first for GB' in last year's invertebrate report.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 9 |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 5 & 8 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 8 & 9 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 8 & 9 |
21 June 2007
A small group of us managed to miss the showers on a cloudy summer evening and clear some saplings from the north side of the gully.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 4 |
02 June 2007
A warm sunny June morning meant that we were very grateful for the shade of the broom as we cut the regrowth of bramble from the area we cleared in the winter.
Photos here.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 5 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 5 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 5 |
Mon 14 & 21 May 2007
Two evening work parties, the first bashing down some of the bracken in compartment 5 at the top of the steps from entrance E and the second cutting more bracken and saplings from areas of heathland.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.7 | Eradicate Bracken or at least reduce it to a minimum | 5 & 8 |
7.2.2.9 | Removal of all tree seedlings from grassland and heathland | 5, 8 & 9 |
Sat 05 May 2007
A smaller group than recently due to the clash with the Bank Holiday weekend but we were pleased to welcome two new faces. Over 60 people have now taken part in our Work Parties over the past three years, our thanks to all of you.
The work focused on bramble and hawthorn scrub in Sally's Glade which is in compartments 10 and 11 in the Management Plan. This is a wonderful spot to work at this time of year with the broom in flower.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 10 & 11 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 10 & 11 |
Thur 26 April 2007
This was a trial to guage interest in evening work parties. We had a very enjoyable evening cutting bramble from wherre it was encroaching into an area of grassland with lots of anthills on the left of the path from Troopers Hill Field in Compartment 1.
Once the tools had been put away we sat and enjoyed the view over the hill while drinking a couple of glasses of wine. We hope to run more evening work parties through the summer - so watch this space!
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.2 | Cut back the bramble to retain a 5m wide strip close to the boundary to form a security barrier with the allotments and also diversify wildlife habitat on site. | 1 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 1 |
14 April 2007
This month's work party was delayed by a week because of Easter. In previous Aprils we have carried out a 'Spring Clean'. We were very pleased that this was not necessary this year. A small group did some litter picking, but apart from a large duvet only two bags of rubbish were recovered. This is a real indication of the success of Friends of Troopers Hill and our friends in Bristol Parks in making Troopers Hill look more cared for and encouraging people to treat the site with the respect it deserves. Many thanks to every one who as helped especially all those dog walkers who pick up cans and bottles on their morning walks.
These photos show a second group cutting the bramble regrowth in the area we cleared over the winter. We also moved some of the bramble we cut previously so that Bristol Parks could remove it later.
A third group covered the site cutting holm oak saplings, they were pursued by a BBC film crew - watch out for 'Nature in Britain' in the autumn.
The photos also show the lizard we found and the whole group sitting in the unusually hot Spring sunshine enjoying coffee and biscuits afterwards.
Thanks must also go to Zoe from BTCV who came along to audit our Health & Safety procedures to ensure that we were working safely and in accordance with Bristol City Council's requirements.
The area where we cut the bramble is part of the area designated in the 2007 Management Plan as Compartment 5. The work we have done during the winter to remove bramble and saplings in this area is in accordance with the 'Work Guidelines' (section 7.1) for this compartment to remove competition with the heathland flora and to prevent scrub from maturing into woodland. These Work Guidlines summarise the work needed to achieve the Aims and Objectives for the site set out in section 7.2 of the plan. In particular our work helps to achieve aim 7.2.2 to conserve and where possible enhance the extent and quality of acidic grassland and heath habitats.
The plan sets out objectives that will help to achieve the aims. So that everyone can see how our work relates to the Management Plan we shall list the compartments where we have worked and the objectives that we have focused on under the reports for this and future work parties.
Management Plan Objectives for this work party | Compartment |
7.2.2.1 | Eradicate holm oak | All |
7.2.2.8 | Removal of all tree species growing in scrub areas before maturity | 5 |
7.2.2.10 | Control bramble and scrub encroaching onto grassland and heathland | 5 |
7.2.2.11 | Manage to maintain some areas of heath type scrub with broom | 5 |
7.2.12.4 | Carry out regular litter picks on site | All |
March 2007
We were pleased to welcome 3 new faces on a bright sunny morning after very heavy overnight rain
The first task this month was to mulch and prune the hedge that we planted last year. Bristol Park's contractors had delivered a heap of wood chip on the previous day and we spread it along the hedge using wheelbarrows, buckets and rakes. The plants were pruned to ensure they grow outward rather than upward to form a hedge rather than a row of trees. These photos show work on the hedge in progress
Once the work to the hedge had been completed we split into two groups; one loaded cut bramble from last month into bags for removal while the other group cleared the new path through Gillian's glade and also spread wood chip and the gate onto Troopers Hill Field from Summerhill Terrace.
Bristol Park's contractors - BCS - have also been working hard on Troopers Hill during the last month. These photos show some before and after shots of the areas they have cleared. Thanks to BCS and Bristol Parks for a great job!
This work has all been carried out in accordance with the agreed Management Plan for the hill. Our main aim is to prevent the spread of scrub on to the acid grassland and heathland and where possible to restore areas of this habitat. There was a very interesting discussion about the restoration of heathland on a much larger scale in Dorset on Radio 4's Home Planet programme on 27th February. You can listen to the programme via the Radio 4 website.
A small extra Work Party was also held on Fri 16th March to add some more mulch to the hedge.
03 Feb 2007
We continued with the work we were doing last week in both locations. At Gillian's Glade we have now cut a path through the bramble to connect with the paths in the wood - though it needs a bit more work to make it easily passable.
On the hill itself we got the last of the bramble out of the area of broom and again filled four bags for Bristol Parks' contractors to take away. The rest of the bramble we left in heaps to remove next time.
Everyone was pleased to see that the contractors had done a lot of work on the hill during the week clearing other areas of bramble on the site. These photos show work in progress and this part of the hill as it was in November and as it is now.
27 Jan 2007
As in December we split between two sites. On Troopers Hill Field more of "Gillian's" glade was cleared in front of one of the new benches funded through Akzo Nobel's Global Community Programme. Alan led the way with the slasher and loppers.
The rest of the group cleared more bramble from the broom and cut down several saplings. In accordance with the reconmendations of the latest invertebrate report (see Hill Wildlife) we removed the cut bramble from the site rather than allowing it to rot down. Many thanks to Bristol Parks for arranging to supply bags for the bramble and then having them taken away.
Click here for photographs.
13 Jan 2007
The work party on 6th Jan was cancelled due to rain but we made up for it by holding an extra session on the following week.
14 very enthusiastic volunteers spent two enjoyable hours cutting bramble and several saplings from our favourite area of broom. A special thank you our two young helpers (aged 8 & 11) who worked very hard cutting up the holm oak that we felled on 2nd Dec.
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We work in accordance with the requirements of Bristol Parks' Health and Safety Support Pack and ask all our volunteers to read and complete the
