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Willesley - News

Spring 2003. A new page of other Woodland Trust properties to visit in the National Forest.

February 2003. Planting the new 40 acre extension started with a public planting day on Sunday February 23rd which was a great success and the sun joined us for much of the morning. Over 500 trees were planted by enthusiastic volunteers including local MP David Taylor, the Mayor of Ashby, students from Derby University and individuals who had travelled up to 85 miles. The extension links the existing site with some small areas of 200 year old woodland containing ancient woodland flowers. It will provide excellent views to the West and North and provide extended walks. Here are some photos of the planting.

The "Complete Wasters" re-cycling team planting trees to commemorate re-cycling 600 tons of material. Click for their website.	Sponsors of the Woodland Trust showing practical support.
A family day out for some turns into a photo shoot - that's the Mercury photographer in the background !	Mayor of Ashby Penny Hopkins, husband Michael and local MP David Taylor are all enthusiastic Trust supporters.

Extension Plan.

In the diagram below the green areas are tree planting areas and the brown areas are shrubs planted to retain the views and to grade the edges of the paths. Paths extend around the whole perimeter and in a large horseshoe extending up the hill towards the A42. You can see the view from the top of this planned path in the photograph above. It looks good to me but if you have any comments please e-mail Ian Retson.

"Rest and Remember" Woodland Memorial Planting

February 10th 2002 - The conclusion of a year long project to raise money to plant a living memorial for the people of the district to remember the fallen and enjoy a place of quiet contemplation. Our total was almost £6000 of which the Woodland Trust received £5500 towards planting and maintenance costs.

Willesley News

I aim to produce a newsletter once or twice a year. This is circulated to the "Friends of Thortit". These are people who have expressed an interest in the site and would like to know more about it. They might be interested in the wildlife, the history, or want to help with maintenance tasks such as litter collection and reporting problems to the police; many of them are regular walkers who have become friends over the years as they walk their dogs and enjoy the woodland. If you are interested in any way please contact me for more details on 01530 415682 or by e-mail click here:- CONTACT IAN.

Last Newsletters.

Newsletter 3 - July 2002
Welcome to the third newsletter for the Friends of "Thortit". This edition is being posted as we have an additional insert for you to see. If you talk to anyone else who is interested in giving me their details for future editions please call or e-mail me (contact details below). I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer weather and glorious displays on the site, especially the orchids; last year we had a record 200 Pyramidal Orchid (the smaller darker flowers) and about 20 Common Spotted Orchid (taller with pink flowers and black spots on the leaves); this year I have estimated a total of 800 - 1000 including several new colonies. Our site is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the best sites in the National Forest and we need to keep up the efforts to maintain it. Your help in keeping the site clear of litter and the paths clear of dog mess are appreciated.

*** Star Item *** Another 40 Acres ***.
We have an appeal out this summer to raise the additional cash to purchase 2 more fields. The enclosed leaflet will give you more detail and I am sure you will appreciate the additional walks that will be provided. If you can help us to distribute the appeal leaflets please call me or e-mail for a supply. You could take them to local schools, libraries, shops etc. and pop them through your streets letter boxes. We need the extra money quickly if we are to start planting this coming winter, so please help.

Web site
I have created a web site of the wood. If you are on the Internet please have a look and let me know what you think. If you could let your friends know as well that would also be great. You will find a page of useful links to other nature sites and it is linked to the National Forest main site. The address is - www.willesleywood.co.uk

Removal of guards and canes.
There are still plenty of these items to remove from the trees and Pauline keeps up a steady offensive as you may notice from the piles on the ride sides. The autumn and winter are the best times for this work. If you would like to do some it does not need any special skill and can be a good way of getting some light exercise and fresh air in winter. If you do help please place the piles as close to a main path as possible ready for collection which I will arrange. For advice call me - details below.

Ditched cars etc.
Once again thanks for reporting cars and vandalism so promptly. It really helps us maintain the site and keep the police and council informed of the nuisance it causes. We have asked the police to ensure that when vehicles are removed that all of the associated bits are also removed and they have informed their contractors; if you see a mess left after such a clearance feel free to complain to the police (and tell me).

Litter Pickers
I still have litter picking sticks (those handy and stylish walking accessories with a grab and handle) available to volunteers who would like to assist by occasionally walking the site with a couple of carriers of sacks and removing the litter.

Woodland Memorial Project.
The Ashby-de-la-Zouch and District Branch of the Royal British Legion had a very successful planting on February 10th and I hope you agree that the result with memorial stone and bench is an attractive addition to the site. The project raised over £5500 which has gone towards planting and maintenance of the new site.

Newsletter 2 - July 2001
Welcome to the second newsletter for the Friends of "Thortit" for whom I have addresses. This edition is being posted as we have an additional insert for you to see. If you talk to anyone else who is interested in giving me their details for future editions please call or e-mail me (contact details below). I have decided that twice a year is about right for an update, so here is the second edition. I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer weather and glorious displays on the site, especially the orchids which lasted for a month between June and July; we had a record 200 Pyramidal Orchid (the smaller darker flowers) and about 20 Common Spotted Orchid (taller with pink flowers and black spots on the leaves); there were even a couple of specimens spotted across the lake on the far side of the site - spectacular !

Foot and Mouth.
Many thanks for abiding by the rules, frustrating though it was during the spring. The Trust did listen to public requests to open sites and Willesley was one of the first to be officially re-opened as soon as the Council were satisfied that the public footpaths crossing the site posed no risk to livestock.

*** Star Item *** Pet Rescue ***.
No, not the TV programme but the real thing on our site. Congratulations to our heroine Lynn Mattison for rescuing the dog whose collar was caught on a branch in the lake. She swam out and pulled it free and no doubt will earn the eternal thanks of a frantic Val who was walking the dog for a friend !

New Path.
No doubt you will have seen and tried out the new path (completed in June) through the wood. Many people have commented on what a great improvement it is already and I am pleased with the result. The fencing is provided to prevent horses and motorcycles entering the wood and ruining the surface. There will be a bit of finishing off to do in the winter and I may need a few volunteers with spades to help. I will put up a notice later in the year when I have planned it. In the meantime please keep the comments coming and help to keep the path and ditches clear of rubbish and mess.

Removal of guards and canes.
Many thanks to the intrepid band of collectors who did such a great job at stripping the rabbit guards and canes throughout last winter, especially Pauline, Nadine and Peter (not forgetting the others). Although we suffered a couple of set backs (the rabbits got their own back on some trees after Christmas and Pauline had to quickly replace the guards!), we managed to get most of the piles removed from site after the Foot and Mouth restrictions were lifted. There is still some work to be done if anyone wants to resume from October onwards when all growth has died back. It must be good healthy exercise as Peter and Nadine had a son Gabriel on May 20th - congratulations to you from all of us.

TPO.
You may be interested to know that Roger Poole, one of our Friends has managed to get a Tree Preservation Order on the 2 small areas of woodland between our site and the golf course. We successfully opposed an application for opencast mining in this area last year and this is another way to help prevent further loss of trees in the area. These woods, although not Woodland Trust contain displays of Wood Anemone and Bluebells in the spring and it would be a pity to lose them.

Ditched cars.
Thanks for reporting cars and vandalism so promptly. It really helps us maintain the site and keep the police and council informed of the nuisance it causes. We have asked the police to ensure that when vehicles are removed that all of the associated bits are also removed and they have informed their contractors; if you see a mess left after such a clearance feel free to complain to the police (and tell me).

Litter Pickers
I have 4 litter picking sticks (those handy and stylish walking accessories with a grab and handle) available to volunteers who would like to assist by occasionally walking the site with a couple of carriers of sacks and removing the litter. I have one volunteer so far.

Web site.
I have designed the basics of our very own web site and hope to have it available for publishing the winter edition of this letter; it will contain the site history, a few photos, species lists and Trust facts and figures. If you have any ideas to contribute I will be pleased to listen.

Walk for Woodland Oct 20th.
This is a national campaign to raise funds for protecting our Ancient Woodlands. There will be plenty of national advertising with Michael Palin, Dale Winton and Susan Hampshire supporting the campaign; Willesley is chosen as one of the 25 key walks so we may be hosting a special event. Watch out for more details.

Woodland Memorial Project.
The Ashby-de-la-Zouch and District Branch of the Royal British Legion are leading a project to establish a living memorial to the service men and women of the district who died in the service of their country. The memorial will take the form of a woodland glade containing a large stone and bench, surrounded by native oak trees planted at Willesley. This is being run in conjunction with the Woodland Trust as part of the plan to plant the eastern meadow area between Willesley Woodside and the lake, and to further enhance the value of the site for visitors. There is a local leaflet campaign with an official opening ceremony in August. The plan is to raise over £3000 and planting will be in the spring of next year - possibly February, when there will be a public planting day. A copy of the public leaflet is enclosed for your information and if you want any more details, please contact the appeal secretary (yours truly!)