25-11-2017: Rhodobashing the day away

We had a fantastic turn out for our first rhodo bash of the season with 36 volunteers from the Environment Trust and KUBAG :)

The morning dawned brought and frosty.

The activity started off with a tool box talk – showing people how to safety use the tools to clear the dense rhodo.

The big group split into smaller groups which worked out plans of action for their areas aiming to clear the plants while leaving a thin screen with the road, which would also act as a barrier for the drop down the wall at the edge of the campus.

The teams soon got into a rhythm with the work, with one group working to cut back the shrubby growth to free up the trunks which were dug around to allow the roots to be levered out.

While a second group worked to process the cuttings into neat piles for contractors to chip at a later date.

By chipping the rhododendron into small pieces, so long as they don’t get buried, the plant doesn’t have enough energy to sprout roots, and so there is less re-growth from the cut material.  In contrast, any large logs that get partly buried, have the potential to put down roots – which we have seen happen in the past.

After a quick break for lunch, we were all eager to get back to work to get warmed up quickly :)

The second wind resulted in lots of rhodo being cleared out down to the root balls.

 

We had a careful bit of work teasing out a rhodo root systems from within the root areas of neighboring trees; leaving only one particularly tricky bit for the next December session.

During the event we came across this mystery moth – there are a few guesses that it might be X or Y, but we’re not sure, if you happen to be able to identify this moth, please put your suggestions in the comments box.

A vapourer moth, an ear moth or something else?

We had robins bouncing around the area we had cleared, looking for any grubs or worms in the exposed soil, sadly we didn’t see much in the way of insect activity, but hopefully he/she found some food.

Our next rhodo bash is on the 9th of December. Come and join us and see what wildlife you spot on the day.  Just email biodiversity@kingston.ac.uk to sign up.