Today I was out for another task with Crewe & Nantwich Conservation Volunteers (CNCV). This time we were at one of our favourite locations – Oakmere, a privately-owned site where we have been helping to restore a moss over the past few years.

When we first visited the site, the moss was very overgrown with birch trees and over many visits we cleared the trees all the way to the edge of the moss, opening it up and giving the right plants space to recover and grow. Our tasks there now are focussed on ensuring the birch trees don’t regain a foothold and we spend our days removing seedlings and some larger saplings that have started to re-establish themselves.

It was a lovely summer day today, starting off with blue skies and very little wind. The cloud started to encroach towards the end of the day but it stayed nicely warm. By the end of the day we had cleared a good section of birch seedlings, leaving a large pile at the edge of the moss.

Next time we’re there, in a couple of weeks’ time, I might get another go at one of my favourite conservation tasks – scything – cutting back bracken at the edge of the moss – can’t wait!

I’m not sure what came over me yesterday but I did my first ever batch of baking – and I took the results with me for the mid-morning tea break…