Sophie Hughes

Don't you think that hobbits probably live down in the little nooks and crannies in Glyn Morlas? Bugger otters, I'm always on the look out for hairy feet when I'm along the Ceiriog.

(after all Morda is only the other side of Oswestry)

Hi there!! I work for BTCV Cymru (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers). We are just putting in a funding application for a conservation project including engagement with the community along the new World Heritage area which spans from Lion Quays, Chirk down to Horseshoe Falls, Llangollen. If you are and know of others who are keen to learn about nature and the environment and would like to help us to create new nature reserves along the canal, then please get in touch and if we are successful in getting the funding it would be great to work with you.
My email is a dot fairclough at btcv dot org dot uk
Look forward to hearing from you.
Alex.

Got it in hand for council assisted volunteer force to clear the bank at Avondale,but have had to pull plug on it now until after ducks finish nesting under the brambles. Have had to get permission from British Waterways (Health and Safety) and that has taken absolutely ages so have been overtaken by randy ducks! Once the scrub and brambles are cleared off then volunteers would be handy to keep it down. Don't think anyone wants pristine tidiness, there are things struggling to exist under the brambles, some beautiful snowdrops for example, and I think the Rosebay Willowherb is glorious on that bank; but there is an awful lot of dead stuff, scrub and rubbish underneath it all that needs to come out.

Somewhere I would like to see wildflowers or 'special' tree is at the top end of what will be the new car park in Gledrid. The new sculpture will be set on a plinth of polished steel so a wildflower meadow around it would make it look as if it was floating on flowers in the summer.

I have a bag of acorns from the Fairy Tree Old Oak which need to be planted up, They would truly be Jubilee Oaks. I am hoping that we can get into the allotments soon so I can plant them and see what comes up.

A wildlife group in Chirk Bank would be brilliant, there's lots to do.

Chirk Bank Community Group Meeting on Tuesday 6th
The new allotments were discussed, and a Party in the Park (Chirk Bank) for Jubilee agreed, although date not finalised for that. Main concern this month is the amount of dog poo in the Berwyn Avenue estate. The planning applications that have gone in in Gledrid are also a matter of concern (Poachers Pocket enlargement and the caravan site), both still being considered by planning deparrtment.

What about having a go at clearing thecanal embankment slope on the Gledrid side of Avondale? Its a scrubby mess, and sycamores are growing up to hide the view. There is a seat there, but doubt you could see very much at present. Could this then be sowed with wildflower seeds? The brambles are choking out the rosebay willow herb which are very pretty where they flower. It would also be nice to put a planter or 2 alongside the canal in Chirk Bank.