Ynys Hir 11-2-2012

For the second task of the semester ACV returned to a regular site, the RSPB reserve on the Dyfi estuary at Ynys Hir. Previously ACV have worked on the peat bog at Ynys Hir, but this time Neil the warden explained that as we were visiting earlier in the year, we'd be doing coppicing work in one of the wooded areas instead. Thirteen volunteers armed with bowsaws and loppers set about thinning out some very overcrowded mixed woodland.

To begin with the woodland needed to be tidied up, after some earlier clearing work had left a lot of wood to stack up. But after that was finished, ACV quickly got into more exciting work, taking out all but the largest trees to thin out the wood. The piles soon began building up with more scrub and logs:

After lunch Ben offered to help clear out the clogged-up drainage ditch nearby, which turned out to be a very smelly and muddy job! For the rest of the group the felling and clearing continued, with good teamwork seeing to the larger and more stubborn trees. By the end of the afternoon, the site had transformed from a jungle back to a spacious, open woodland, and best of all, the coppiced trees will grow back and help the wood regenerate. For the short term, they helped us make lots of firewood!