This month's Blog:
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As I'm sure you all are aware this blog has been a long time coming. Life as a Hastings Rangers can get a bit hectic and this has been the case for the last few months. I'm not making excuse for my shameful lack of blog, the real reason is I seem to have writers block (I bet you've never heard that used as an excuse by a Council officer). I am now unblocked and will make sure this doesn't happen again. To get things moving (is this a 'blockage' reference? ED) I have got as much as I can in this month's blog, please excuse some of it being a little out of date.
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Looking back over the last three months I can't believe how much work has been done in Alexandra Park by volunteers and the Rangers. Waterways in Buckshole catchment pond have been tweaked to improve flow and to try to lessen the effects of flooding. We have been creating dams by piling up silt from the streams and pushing willow stakes in a line which are growing nicely. This was done in February which I'm sure you will all remember as being rather damp, to put it mildly! I'm so pleased and proud to be given the opportunity to work with such dedicated and fun people, it really was a wet task! To demonstrate this I went back at the end of the day to put the fire out and the whole area was flooded, job done. Hedges of hawthorn and blackthorn have been planted around the edges of Buckshole and Shornden to create a barrier to prevent unauthorised access and to improve the areas for wildlife. Some of the blackthorn have struggled but all of the hawthorn is growing nicely.
It was great to have some children turn up with their parents although it's difficult to include young children as it's mostly chopping big stuff and dragging it to the fire it's been super just having them around. Also, we had the pleasure of another student from a language school, I seem to have lost his name which I'm a bit cross about. He was well up for it and helped loads and, as always, was a genuinely nice person.
The last two task days were just used to clear up and get the sites ready for the new cutting season in the Autumn. The turn out was a bit disappointing but people have lives, I do understand. If you are interested in getting involved with our volunteer task days let me know and I will add you to our email list.
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As you all know I have made and installed a number of duck nesting boxes around Alexandra Park, one of these has been used successfully in Buckshole catchment pond to our delight. The mother and her five ducklings have been seen cruising around in the water getting fat and fit ready to start their own lives, success.
As well as the boxes, I made 3 duck nesting tubes from wire sheet and straw which were lined with hay. This is an American design I found on the internet. The one in Shornden reservoir was nested in and we believe the ducklings seen in the reservoir came from this tube, more success. I think I'll make a couple more of these as they seem to work and look fantastic, have a look at the one in the small pond next to the bowls green in Lower Alexandra Park amongst the Bull Rushes. Unfortunately recently the duck box in Buckshole catchment pond, along with some of the bird boxes in trees have been vandalised by youths who smashed them up with sticks. This was a real shock. I have now finally put up signage explaining what we are doing and asking people not to enter these areas.
Ian and I went round all the Grey wagtail boxes to see if they have been nested in, not one seemed to have been used but I did install them late in the season so fingers crossed for next year. There are still lots of the little critters wagging their way round the Park so they're nesting somewhere.
Unfortunately one of the Wag Tail boxes was vandalised, not any of the ones you can see under bridges but the one that we installed behind a grill. Top marks for perseverance but a poor show all the same. We did also check some of the tit boxes and most of them have been used, some of them had eggs in and one actually had the mother sitting on the eggs. I will add this is done in a sensitive way as to not upset the birds, Ian is an expert at this sort of thing. Lots more to do in preparation for next years nesting season. Lastly, I have just raised an order for 2 heron nesting platforms made from willow woven into a metal frame and a willow duck basket (for nesting). I'm very excited about these for reasons I shall explain next blog.
The only way is up.
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Hastings Country Park is one of our 'flagship' sites. With it's Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) areas protected by law, glens, history, Green Flag Award and world beating views it is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. Unfortunately there are always two sides to every coin. One of the biggest issues we deal with at Hastings Country Park (NOT Fairlight Country Park) are fires. During the Summer months the vegetation dries out making it susceptible to fire. This can occur naturally but is usually caused by deliberate action. North Seat has regular fires set by youths and once the flames take hold in the gorse, large areas can be damaged. We work very closely with the Fire Brigade to extinguish these fires quickly and make sure no one is hurt. If you see anyone setting fires or see a fire please make sure your first call is to the Fire Brigade on 999.
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Sometimes us Council workers find it difficult to see the bigger picture. As Park Rangers we deal with a number of issues every day and this can lead to us thinking we're not doing as well as we could. This may be the case but when we see other local authorities and the issues they have to deal with it makes us rethink our position. Recently we had a visit from the Swale District Council green team. This was a day of presentations, discussions, and site visits. It was great learning about a similar size authority although at times a bit embarrassing. We mentioned we had to make a saving of £1 million (this was written before the election) in the next financial year which is going to be difficult. Swale replied by saying they have to make a saving of £3.4 million, we hung our heads and moved on. Murray Davidson, Borough Ecologist, gave a presentation on Hastings Country Park which high-lighted how much work has gone into this project and how hard Martin Jenks, Parks and Open Space Manager, and Murray worked to get it to the stage it's at now and that's only the beginning. After lunch (no, this was not some swanky executive booze up, small sandwiches and coffee only) we split up and showed off our pride and joys. The group I was with went to the Country Park where path erosion was made worse by jaws being dragged on the ground. One of the two Swale Rangers said all he had was the Isle of Sheppey. I've not been there but there don't seem to be too many people willing to sing its praises. A really interesting and enjoyable day making us realise we must not become complacent but must appreciate what we have. Loads of high quality, accessible, interesting and stunning green spaces for residents and visitors to visit with a enthusiastic, professional and supported Green Space team of which the Rangers are part of.
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As I'm sure by now you know we had a big event on the East Hill to celebrate the reopening of the East Hill Cliff Railway on 27 March. This is one of the many unique attractions to Hastings, being the steepest cliff railway in the country as well as saving visitors the arduous task of climbing the Tackleway steps. The day was slightly chilly and the wind was a tad 'bracing' but we all set up our stands and enjoyed the day. One of the duties your Ranger team has, is to help set up this sort of event on the day. Concerns were raised over the number of vehicles that would be driving over the East Hill with equipment so to deal with this the Rangers carried all the heavy stuff in trailers using our 4x4 vans saving others getting stuck. The Rangers had a Treasure Hunt which over 30 children successfully completed, all of which got a prize (big thanks to Bel Deering at Mallydam for helping me sort these). Active Hastings ran fun sports activities, Radiator did a kite making workshop for the kids and luckily there was plenty of wind. A lot of the activity went on at the bottom of the Cliff with a classic car procession, lots of people in Edwardian costumes and local food suppliers selling their wares. Many people came along to celebrate the opening of this much loved attraction and on the day the lift was free.
A great day for all until the end of the day when we had to get everyone off the East Hill. All went well until the ice cream van got bogged down in the soft grass. An hour later 3 Ranger vehicles managed to tow, winch and will it out and off the Hill. There's something about two and a half tonnes of van on tiny little wheels that does not work well with off-roading. All's well that ends well.
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As part of a push to encourage people to feed the birds in Alexandra Park with the right food the Alexandra Park café are now selling bags of duck and swan food. At 50p a bag it's good value and the wildlife and ecology of the Park will benefit from it. I did notice discussions have been held about trying to deal with the large number of seagulls we have in our (seaside) town. I have mentioned this before but the main reason we have them in the Parks is because they get fed. This goes for the ever growing population of squirrels and rats. If you're keen to introduce the kids to wild life please feed the birds the right stuff and don't leave food on the ground.
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During my time as a Hastings Ranger I have seen many projects come and go, some with more success than others. One group that have been very active and successful has been Sussex Wildlife Trust with its Ore Valley Officer post which has now finished and the current one, Access to Nature. This has been set up to introduce nature to people who would not usually have an interest or know of the pleasure the natural environment can give.
The officer in post is Martin Felstead, an experienced and enthusiastic individual who has already made a lot of contacts and carried out some very enjoyable activities. One of these has been a trip to Hastings Country Park to visit the highland cattle including a short walk and talk by me. Martin organised 2 mini buses from the Bridge to the Fire Hills where we walked round the top of Warren Glen to see the cattle and then back through the Quarry to finish off in the newly refurbished Visitors Centre. Although short it was most certainly sweet. One of the younger girls who came along was wearing knitted boots! Unfortunately for her and others there were a couple of very muddy areas which where unavoidable but this added to the fun. I strongly believe these sort of short term projects can add a lot to peoples enjoyment of nature. Visit www.sussexwt.org.uk or e-mail martinfelstead@sussexwt.org.uk.
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St Helens Woods is a lovely wooded site in the centre of Hastings. As such it is very popular destination for locals, but one of the problems with a site like this is that it attracts fly tipping, much of it garden waste. The site backs on to many properties and has lots of access points. While many think of garden waste as not being as bad as tipping an old bike or sofa it is just as bad and is an illegal act. It is harder to clear and can bring in unwanted plants and disease.
There was a particularly bad area of garden waste tipping along the dirt track part of St Helens Park Road... it was time for action.
So with the help of the St Helens Woods Preservation Society the Rangers and volunteers the Dirty Dozen got to work. There was a great turn out considering it hadn't stopped raining for 14 days before the clean up. Our mission was to clear the site of fly tipping and take out the old railings and barbed wire in preparation of some new post and rail.
As you can see we got stuck in and within 3 hrs we had finished the job. The 1.6 tons of iron railing didn't go to waste they were sold for scrap and used to help fund the £1,200 spend on the new fencing.
St Helens Woods is not a site owned or managed by the Council but we do like to assist where we can.
If you have any issues or wish to contact anyone about St Helens Woods please e-mail the chairman of the St Helens Woods Preservation Society gjenyon@hotmail.com If you wish to help out on future maintenance or conservation work contact salex@talktalk.net
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As part of the Guides outdoor activities Julie met up with Liz and Jayne, the leaders, and 8 energetic young ladies for a tree walk and a chance to create their very own journey stick made up of interesting things seen in the park. It was sunny at 6.00pm and very cold by 7.30pm! but we all enjoyed ourselves visiting the peace garden where three young ladies swore their allegiance to the Queen, Country and to be caring towards others (heavy stuff!). The girls participated enthusiastically throughout the walk and particularly loved the colours of the tulips, the cherry blossom on the trees and looking for the mistletoe host tree - eventually we all spotted it! Some took longer than others - didn't they Liz! We have arranged to meet up again and enjoy the trees in their full glory in a few weeks time. I look forward to it (honest).
Julie.
I had a brilliant afternoon spent in the company of incredibly enthusiastic youngsters from Dudley Infant School in the beautiful Fairlight Hall woodland. A joint venture with Excellence Cluster for a Forest School day where the children played in mud, jumped streams, lost wellies, played games and thoroughly got in touch with the outside world. Everyone who joined in had a great time and came away covered in mud, tired and with happy faces and yes, that does include me! Cannot wait for the next time.
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How many steps are there in Tackleway leading up to the East Hill lift?
The wonderful mosaic is on the North East path from West Hill to Croft Road. The only person to answer correctly was Hastings Borough Council's own David Dine. He is responsible for all the mapping in the Council and is a wealth of knowledge as well as being a very cool dude. Not even he knew who installed this piece of art and is the best example of positive graffiti I've seen although not to be encouraged.
The butterfly mosaic
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This page last updated: 07/07/2010