The Old Recreation Ground and Community Orchard
During February volunteers carried out management work at the Old Rec. The main activity was cutting back the branches of the willow tree and the brambles overhanging the pond. Adjacent to the pond, the new growth of the boundary hedge that was laid last year was trimmed to encourage more growth in the coming year. In the orchard, the pruning of the hard fruit trees was completed, and a number of the fruit trees were restaked.

Kevin’s Place
Following an exchange of information with the local wildlife trust (The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants) on reptile sightings it came as a surprise to learn that Kevin’s Place is one of only three sites in Cambridgeshire where slow worms have been recently recorded. Although several slow worms (and one grass snake) were relocated to Kevin’s Place in 2015 from the Barton Road new housing site, slow worms were present at Kevin’s place even before this. An adult and a juvenile were recorded in June 2016 but as searches were not made frequently in 2017 their current status is not clear. Because of the nature of the habitat at Kevin’s Place, including the pond on the boundary with the Old Rec and the log and rubble heaps created specifically for reptiles, it remains an ideal place for slow worms, grass snakes and lizards. Hopefully we’ll discover more of these reptile species this year.

Witchford Open Spaces Group volunteers help to maintain and improve sites throughout Witchford to encourage wildlife and for the enjoyment of the local community. We welcome new volunteers, young to not-so-young, at any time. Why not come along?

For more information about the Open Spaces Group contact Richard Braund on 665222 (e-mail [email protected]).