After a call out for volunteers on a local facebook page, our area activator quickly registered this task and I signed up immediately as I love being outdoors and this nature reserve is a local hidden gem that I could walk to in half an hour.

I joined Bob from BBOWT and Jenny, Gwendolyn, Valda and Wendy from Friends of Haymill to form a merry band of volunteers. We headed deep into the reserve and after making our own crossing using nearby planks we crossed the stream to the reed bed area.

Jenny, Gwendolyn, Valda, Wendy and I set to work with loppers and saws cutting down the Willow trees and bushes and scrub that was overtaking the area. Meanwhile, Bob and Wendy gathered up our off cuts and transported them back across stream to start making a deadwood hedge.

We made good progress and are looking forward to a return visit on 27th February.