Sunday 11^th February 2018 – Westlands Farm, Route de Franfief, St Brelade – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

The details The task this month focuses on planting native trees and hedging on field boundaries to create wildlife corridors, generally connecting existing areas of hedge and woodland habitat. The planting offsets losses caused Dutch Elm Disease, winter storms, the general over-maturity of our existing habitat and that lost to development and farming practices.

Three flagship mammal species are mentored and information and guidance is received form those groups who care for and monitor red squirrels, hedgehogs and bats. This is the 3rd or a 3-year programme planting for various bat species, linking up the ponds and wet meadows of Pont du Val and Le Parc du Pont Marquet.

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site  Le Parc du Pont Marquet, St Brelade.

Parking  Meet at Westlands Farm, Route de Franfief, St Brelade. Look out for the Jersey Trees for Life banners and roadside stall selling logs and produce at the entrance to the property, turn into the entrance and parking will be at the end of the long concrete drive.

(Jersey phone directory Map 7, L15) Google maps here

The task Cutting back willows and other vegetation and dead hedging along the stream.

We will leave the carpark at 10:20 for a 10:30 start and with around 500 trees to plant we will start at 10:30 prompt and plan to work until about 12:30.

Tools needed Please bring your own spade if you have one (note garden forks and trowels are not suitable for this task), we have some spades but not enough for all.

Clothing needed. It may be cold and, being Jersey, it may be wet so please dress sensibly and wellies may be absolutely essential!

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

We’ll work until 12.30 when we will we will get stuck in to a piece of Kim’s gorgeous home-made cake and a hot drink.

See you there!

Sunday 14^th January 2018 – Tesson Mill, St Peter’s Valley – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

Happy New Year!

The details Originally we had hoped the January task would be planting a new woodland on a former agricultural field owned by the National Trust in St Peter’s Valley. Unfortunately, due to still being in the planning stages of the project, we are unable to commence with this task at the present time.

So instead, we will be carrying out some well needed woodland management at a nearby location. This will include sycamore and ivy control, hazel coppicing, and digging up some invasive garden species to help native plants take over and flourish.

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site Tesson Mill end of the woodland in St Peter’s Valley.

Parking  The meeting point will be at the top of the slope at the Tesson Mill end of the woodland in St Peter’s Valley. There is parking at the Mill Pond near the Vic in the Valley Pub and Quetivel Mill. There will also be some space for those of you with 4x4s on the slope at Tesson Mill and hopefully the land opposite (Please note that these spaces will be limited).

Jersey phone directory Map 14, R14) Google map here

We will leave the carpark at 10:20 for a 10:30 start and plan to work until about 12:30.

The task Woodland management

Tools needed The Trust will provide gloves and tools for the job, but if you would like to bring your own digging and cutting equipment e.g. handsaws and grab/pick-axes, you are very welcome.

Clothing needed. It might be wet here so wellies could be essential!.

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

We’ll work until 12.30 when we will have a hot drink and a slice (or 2, if we can get away with it) of Kim’s yummy home-made cake!

The National Trust Rangers are looking forward to seeing you all there!

Sunday 10^th December 2017 – Grouville Marsh, Grouville – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

Why not take a break from Christmas shopping (unless like me you haven’t started yet!) and join the JCV on Sunday 10th December 2017

The details Sangan Island Conservation has asked for our help to cut down willow encroaching into the meadow at Grouville Marsh SSI and build a dead hedge along the stream edge.

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site  Grouville Marsh SSI

Parking  Meet at Longbeach carpark, Grouville. From here it is a five minute walk to the work area. Jersey phone directory Map 11, KK16; Google maps here

We will leave the carpark at 10:20 for a 10:30 start and plan to work until about 12:30.

The task Cutting back willows and other vegetation and dead hedging along the stream bank.

Tools needed We will provide some tools, but if you have pruning saws, loppers, secateurs and gloves please bring them with you

Clothing needed. It can get very wet here and Piers has let us know that wellies will be absolutely essential!.

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

We’ll work until 12.30 when we will have a hot drink and a slice (or 2, if we can get away with it) of Kim’s yummy home-made cake!

See you there!

Sunday 5^th November 2017 – La Vallette, St John – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

The details Based at National Trust for Jersey land at La Vallette, St John. This scenic hillside overlooking Bonne Nuit Harbour is in need of a bit of JCV TLC.

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site  National Trust for Jersey land at La Vallette, St John: scenic hillside overlooking Bonne Nuit Harbour.

Parking  Meeting point is at the bus stop overlooking Bonne Nuit Harbour. Parking is quite limited with perhaps space for 2 or 3 cars next to the bus stop; however, there is public parking down on the pier.

(Jersey phone directory Map 4, W4). Google maps here

The task In order to encourage new heather growth and enhance existing patches we are planning to cut and clear bracken and rake off the bracken litter. This will open up the soil and give light and space for any new shoots to thrive. Sycamore saplings and re-growth have been creeping onto the heathland from neighbouring woodland so we will also be aiming to remove these by either cutting or uprooting. In order to give the heathland a real boost we are hoping to have some freshly cut heather seed harvested from another site to rake into the soil.

The task is open to all but, as ever, due to the fairly steep, uneven ground a reasonable level of fitness is required.

We will meet at 10:20 for a 10:30 start. We will work until about 12:30.

Tools needed We will provide some tools and gloves but if you have any of your own then feel free to bring them along.

Clothing needed We will provide protective gloves as well as hand washing facilities and ask that all attendees kindly use them.

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

Work will finish by 12:30 when cake and refreshments will be served by our super talented baker Kim the Kake.

See you there!

Birds On The Edge and Durrell: an evening with Dr Julian Hume of the Natural History Museum

In the footsteps of a hairdresser: Dodos, giant tortoises and the fossil record of the Mascarenes

Jersey Zoo Discovery Centre – 1900 on 11th November 2017

Animals and plants on islands often evolve in isolation of those on the mainland – a widely studied discipline know as island biogeography (see e.g. site here). Without the same pressures that their relatives might be facing the island forms can become very different to their ancestors. And not just species but the ecosystems that they live in may be very different, having been sculpted by a different set of influences – in the absence of predators unlikely species can become dominant or become landscape engineers like the tortoises in the Galapagos or the Indian Ocean islands and geese and geese-like ducks in Hawaii.

However, when the balance of these ecosystems is upset the whole thing can come crashing down. Unique animals, plants, whole ecosystems can disappear. Typically, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the usual culprit that brings about these crashes, or least usual for the last few millennia, is us humans. With help of course, from the plants and animals that come with us.

Closer to the mainland, the wildlife and ecosystems of the Channel Islands, may not seem like classic examples of island biogeography. However, like more distant oceanic islands we currently have no native predatory mammals (several introduced ones) and none of the normal natural grazers to keep vegetation in check (not since we became islands probably) the latter roles currently partially filled by introduced rabbits and, at least in places, by managed sheep and cattle. And like the Mascarenes, Hawaii and New Zealand we are seeing the impacts of man and the animals and plants we like to surround ourselves with.

Birds On The Edge welcomes Dr Julian Hume, a recognised authority on islands, their unique species, their ecosystems and just what can go wrong with them when man gets involved. Julian will give a talk on Friday 11th November at Jersey Zoo. Julian has authored many books on extinct birds, globally and particularly from the Hawaiian and Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues). However, Julian is much more than an author though, his intense research into his subjects has included reconstructing and painting species known only from bones or travellers notebooks and establishing their niche in ecosystems once untroubled by
humans.

An expert on the dodo, a species very familiar to Channel Islanders, Julian will talk about his research into the birdlife of Mauritius and his most recent discoveries on the life and observations of Etienne Thirioux, the hairdresser and amateur naturalist, whose contribution to the fossil record of Mauritius has never been bettered. Julian will illustrate his talk with contemporary artwork and his own paintings. He will reflect too on just how easily islands and their natural inhabitants can be changed for ever.

Please come along to this free presentation at Jersey Zoo’s Discovery Centre (formerly the Princess Royal Pavilion) at 1900 on Saturday 11th November. Please come to Zoo entrance a few minutes before 1900 for access.

Julian P Hume website

Julian P Hume Wikipedia 

Sunday 14^th May 2017 – Hamptonne meadow, St Lawrence – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

For the last task before our well-earned summer break, join the National Trust Rangers at Hamptonne meadow on to undertake wet meadow restoration management.

The details

The flora in the meadow has responded well to management since the Trust acquired it in 2011. That said, hemlock water dropwort is still abundant. This native plant is invasive in many of Jersey’s wet meadows, especially those that have suffered from a lack of management in the past. This task will entail walking through the meadow and selectively cutting and removing hemlock water dropwort in order to speed up the restoration of the meadow to a favourable condition.

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site

We will meet in the Hamptonne Country Life Museum car park, Rue de la Patente, St Lawrence

Parking  Parking is at the site

(Jersey Phone Directory Map 8, U10) Google maps here

The task Cutting and removing hemlock water dropwort

Tools needed Tools will be provided but if you have a sickle/scythe it would be helpful if you could bring it along with you.

Clothing needed. A note of caution, hemlock water dropwort is the most toxic plant in Britain so please ensure that you wear long-sleeved clothing regardless of the weather. The roots are the most toxic part of the plant so we will only be handling the stems and leaves. We will provide protective gloves as well as hand washing facilities and ask that all attendees kindly use them.

Wellies are very highly advisable, as we are working in a wet meadow!

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

Work will finish by 12:30 when cake and refreshments will be served by our super talented baker Kim the Kake.

And finally:

Thank you to all of you for your hard work this season. Your enthusiasm and commitment makes a huge difference to Jersey’s wild areas, we are really appreciative of your efforts, no matter how much or little you are able to contribute.

The Jersey Conservation Volunteers will be back in October, watch this space…

Sunday 9^th April 2017 – Mont a la Brune, Les Blanches Banques, St Brelade – 10:30-13.00

From Jersey Conservation Volunteers

Spring is definitely in the air but there are still two events to go before we break for summer so come and join us on the dunes for the penultimate task.

The details

Holm oaks are evergreen trees that originate from the Mediterranean but grow very successfully in Jersey. These fast growing trees can reach 20m high and shade out the small duneland plants if left unchecked. They spread easily and so this task will involve digging up the numerous small saplings across the dunes before they start to get problematic!

Please contact Julia at j.meldrum@gov.je or Jon at jonparkes@nationaltrust.je or phone Julia on 441600 or Jon on 483193 before you go just case anything changes.

The site We will meet in the car park on Mont a la Brune (see below) at 10:20 for a 10:30 start to scour the dunes for saplings.

Parking  Parking is in the upper car park on Mont a la Brune (Le Chemin des Basses des Mielles). Jersey phone directory Map 6, G15. Google maps here

The task Digging up and removing the numerous small holm oak saplings across the dunes.

Tools needed The only tool suitable for this job will be a spade, which we have limited numbers of, so please bring your own if you have one.

Clothing needed. Bring gardening gloves (though we can supply a pair if you don’t have them), wellies or sturdy boots, (it won’t be muddy but the vegetation may be wet it and it may be rough underfoot) and common sense clothes to cope with the elements, we go ahead whatever the weather!

Children All are welcome, young or old. Children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian during the task.

Work will finish by 12:30 and we’ll be away by 13.00. VIV (Very Important Volunteer) Kim will be supplying hot drinks and her famous homemade cakes before everyone leaves at the end of the morning.