BTCV Edinburgh Diary

We spent the week at the North Edinburgh Cyclepaths chopping back brambles and snowberry, and removing saplings from along the paths. On Tuesday we had a cage at Five Ways; however we were working mostly on the path along the bottom of Warriston Cemetary which was quite a distance away. Luckily we were able to use the Kangoo to transport the full white bags up the path. They tried to take the cage away at lunchtime but Chris used his powers of persuasion to get them to come back later.

There was no cage on Wednesday so we stashed huge quantities of brambles behind one of the railway pillars, while another group worked on the ash and sycamore saplings. The brambles hadn't been cleared for at least 24 years - we figured this out Time-Team-style by examining the old Pepsi cans (in 1985 you could win a Duran Duran poster!)

We had a cage again on Thursday, which we blocked in with the Kangoo just to be on the safe side. There were more saplings cut down, and a large area of bramble removal was finished off with some rather ingenious use of ropes. It was a long walk on a rocky path with heavy wheelbarrows from where we were working to the cage but we managed to fill it to the top.

Posted by BTCV Edinburgh at 14:41 0 comments  

Labels: North Edinburgh Cycle Paths

We spent the week of the 18th, 19th and 20th November working on behalf of the CEC Biodiversity Officer to manage and improve the woodland areas on the North Edinburgh Cyclepaths. This meant the removal of sycamore and ash, clearing ivy from walls and also checking whether the bird boxes we put up last year had been used over the past nesting season. Of the 19 bird boxes 11 had been used, 6 had not and 2 had been destroyed. Not a bad return.

I was away at BTCV Scotland's Staff Conference the week of the 25th, 26th and 27th so everyone had the week off to rest and recuperate.

The first week in December promised snowfalls of epic proportions but never quite delivered. On the 2nd we worked with Caroline from the CEC Countryside Rangers to clear pathways and fix fencing in Ravelston Woods. On the 3rd we went to Muiravonside Country Park to tackle more rhododendron, it was good to be joined by the Stirling volunteers so we could really crack on with it. On the 4th we were in Burdiehouse Burn LNR working with Jessica from the CEC Countryside Rangers to repair fences and clear litter.

Posted by Chris Peach at 15:52 0 comments  

Labels: Burdiehouse Burn, Muiravonside Country Park, North Edinburgh Cycle Paths, Ravelston Woods

For the last couple of weeks we have been working at Muiravonside Country Park out in West Lothian. It is a beautiful area, but unfortunately the rhododendron has grown a little out of hand. We were helping Ian the ranger to cut down some of the tree-sized shrubs, then carry them up to the fire site and burn them. We managed to demolish a huge area, leaving the ground open for regeneration of native plants, so we deserved our soup from the cafe at lunch time.

Recently we have also helped out at Blackford Pond, cutting back laurel from the paths and benches around the pond, and clearing mud from the paths. We have done some drain maintenance on the Pentlands on a bright clear and incredibly cold day, where we got amazing views of the highlands and Ben Lomond but had difficulty cutting through the ice on the paths. Another day we were lower down on the Pentlands, helping build picnic benches and compost bins at the Harlaw Visitor Centre.

This week we'll be out at the North Edinburgh Cycle Paths all week, cutting back some of the ash and sycamore trees there to allow regeneration of native species such as holly, and next week we will be having a week off.

Posted by Gemma at 11:03 0 comments  

Labels: Muiravonside Country Park, North Edinburgh Cycle Paths, Pentlands