A gang of nine, on a wet morning, had a brilliant time at the Nature Park pond, laying the underlay and liner and beginning the surrounding fencing. Next week, if we’re all back, we should finish off the job.
Q -What is an ideal situation when you lay a new Pond Liner A – For it to rain heavily after laying it, in dry conditions. So today was not so ideal, as the heavy rain came from the early morning, but there was no chance of cancelling the delivery, even though further work was impossible In the event, sixteen of the Group stood around in high winds, rain and hail, for the delivery which was over an hour late. Then using the driver’s hydraulic lift, we manhandled the bulky pond liner so far, until the mud beat us. But
Two group totalling eleven members were working today. The three at Stone Cross Field built up the new stone bench to just below coverband level during the morning. Nine others met at the Abbey and went up to the top of the Cobbled Path, except for one who went to the Westwick steps, to give them some TLC. At the top of the Cobbled Path, the cobbles were scraped of debris and we began clearing the path around the De La Salle Field. We stopped at the bench, where a coffee break was taken; there is plenty more to do though. The
On a wet morning only four turned up the Abbey, with another four at the Stone Cross Field bench. The bench team carried on building the north facing one, which like the south facing is curved (the east and west facing benches will be straight). The other four went to the dry pond on the Nature Park and began the remedial work, but finished early. At our next meeting on April 8th – we intend to perform a finger tip search of the Pond to remove all objects that could pierce the Liner. On April 15th – the Liner will be delivered and
We reached a grand total of thirteen today on a warm, dry Spring [nearly] day. Eight of us went to the Cobbled Path and finished the clearance of more than three years of Autumn debris. Next week we will go to the Westwick Steps and Driving Range path to do the same. Five of the bench group worked in Stone Cross Field on this beautiful day. We cut the turf and laid the foundation stones in preparation for building the second stone bench around the sycamore tree.
In total there were twelve working this morning. Eight people turned out at the Barns and went to the Cobble path to continue clearing the path. Another was also out doing his usual litter picking. As the ground at Stone Cross Field was too soft after all the rain, the three bench builders decided to delay the start of the construction of the North bench, and instead went to collect more stone from the home of a local donor. We now have enough stone for all the other three benches – and two of the dressed stone cover slabs have kindly
The Beauchief Environment Group is very concerned about the Abbey barns, adjacent to Beauchief Abbey Farm. The barns form part of the Conservation Area which includes the Abbey itself, and are probably of 18th Century origin, although they were most likely built using stone from the Abbey. They are Grade 2 listed by English Heritage. Two of the barns are in a dilapidated state, having received no maintenance for many years. The barns have most recently been used by the green keepers of Beauchief Golf Course, as workshops and storage and we have been able to store BEG tools in
With seven of us meeting at the Barn and four on Stone Cross Field we had eleven today. Two of the bench builders went to Grindleford to collect the top slabs from Stoke Stoneworks whilst the other two mixed mortar and prepared the bed to receive them. The rest of the morning we spent aligning and levelling them. We can now report that the Stone Cross field southern facing bench has been completed. The group of seven cleared the outflows of the Abbey Pond, surveyed and measured the Pond in the Nature Park and began clearing the Cobbled Path of
On a cold dry Morning, eleven members arrived for work. Two went to the ‘Westwick Steps’ and repaired two of them. The others went to the bottom pond in the Nature Park, to carry out the work identified by Angus, during his recent visit. We chopped down the self sets on the bank side and created a ‘rustic barrier’ to deter dogs from going in. The We still have some work to do but could do with a steer from he Council.
Nine members assembled today with two separate tasks Six of us met one of the Rangers on Little Wood Bank, and began clearing Holly. We used hand tools while he was very industrious with a chainsaw. The cuttings will be chipped next week. At Stone Cross Field, three of us levelled and mortared the cover band ready for the top slab then took a template to deliver to the quarry so they can cut it appropriately.
Three of our members went up to the Nature Park in mid November to sow the Yellow Rattle Seed which had been collected previously from Gulleys Wood Meadow where it is abundant. Areas of grass were raked to expose the soil beneath, then seeds scattered and tamped down. We managed to rake and sow lots of areas across the meadow and hopefully the seeds will germinate successfully. Yellow Rattle parasitizes the roots of many plant species, especially grasses, and limits their growth. Yellow Rattle has been introduced in this location because some of the plants in the meadow are so
The ten workers that arrived today were treated to a beautiful clear morning with the Trees displaying their Autumn colours. We then split into small groups to work on the following tasks A litter pick of the immediate area was undertaken, but the pickings were slim after the recent bad weather; hopefully a good sign. Beauchief Abbey Lane was cleared of leaves & mud by a large group of us. A few cut a hedge, mostly Blackthorn, that had overgrown and was forcing people to walk on the grass area rather than the path, in the area on the Round
Beauchief is a beautiful area of Sheffield containing ancient woods, ponds and unspoilt meadows rich in wildlife, affording splendid views. It also includes the important historic sites of Beauchief Abbey and Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. It is a place to wander through and enjoy, following its many footpaths.