Conservation Blog

In 2024, volunteers, including Friends of Wollaton Park members, contributed over 200 hours to park Saturday conservation tasks.

  • Hedgehog Survey

    Hedgehog Survey

    Are there any Hedgehogs in Wollaton Park? With the help of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, we intend to find out.

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  • Acid Grassland Conservation

    Acid Grassland Conservation

    On Saturday August 17th, we embarked on a conservation task in the field between Derby Road and the Lake. This area is a precious acid-grassland habitat, a type of ecosystem that is becoming increasingly under threat in the UK.

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  • Path Clearance

    Path Clearance

    A dedicated team of eight volunteers transformed the pathway outside Mr. Mans

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  • Mystery Boxes

    Mystery Boxes

    Have you spotted some curious boxes around Wollaton Park? They are part of a scientific study to unlock the secrets of Saproxylic beetles.

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  • Rhododendron Taming

    Rhododendron Taming

    This morning, a dedicated team of FOWP volunteers braved the elements to tame the rhododendrons around the lake.

    Read more: Rhododendron Taming

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  • Lodge 1 and Water Sprinklers

    Lodge 1 and Water Sprinklers

    May 2024, saw Saturday volunteering undertake two discrete tasks. Tidying Lodge 1, and locating sprinkler heads for automated watering.

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  • Bark & Compost

    Bark & Compost

    During March, the Wednesday gardening volunteers, with the additional support of the Saturday conservation volunteers added compost and bark to the Long Border, Rose Beds and Top Lawn flower beds in the Formal Garden.

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  • Dead Hedge #3

    Dead Hedge #3

    Fourteen volunteers supported the February Saturday to create a dead hedge in the compost area in Digby Woods.

    Read more: Dead Hedge #3

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  • December

    December

    The new Friday conservation sessions continued into December with a session on December 1. The small group cut back an invasive Rhododedenron along the lake bank. This allows space for the marginal plants in the lake to grow, providing a healthy and balanced habitat.

    Read more: December

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  • Ha-Ha Water Outlet

    Ha-Ha Water Outlet

    The Ha-Ha between the “Splendour” field and the lake was designed to allow excess water to drain into the lake, but has been silted up – until now…

    Read more: Ha-Ha Water Outlet

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  • VW Volunteers

    VW Volunteers

    25 VW employees came to the park today to volunteer. They worked on the 508 memorial, Lodge 1, restoring memorial benches and tidying up around the lake.

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  • Dam Debris

    Dam Debris

    Between the Lake and the Duck Decoy is a dam, used to retain the water in the Lake and prevent flooding of the area around the Duck Decoy. It holds water above its natural level, so it falls under the Reservoir Act of 1975, requiring regular inspection and maintenance. Part of the maintenance plan requires…

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  • Taking Care of the Snake

    Taking Care of the Snake

    A dedicated team gave up their valuable time on a bank holiday weekend to care for the snake sculpture in Wollaton Park, and several other carvings too. By painting them with preservatives, the team helped to:

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  • Digby Dead Hedge

    Digby Dead Hedge

    It was great to see new volunteers join us today for a dead hedging session on Digby Avenue. The community of Saturday supporters is steadily growing, over 25 different people have now attended at least one conservation session. Having learnt a lot from our first attempt at a dead hedge in June, this time our…

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  • Weeding the Wall

    Weeding the Wall

    Wollaton Park is surrounded by 7 miles of wall. Most (all?) of it is a Grade 2 listed structure. Over time weeds and seedlings grow in the wall, damaging the face of the bricks and the mortar holding it together. The Saturday Conservation Volunteer group carefully cleared the growth from outside of the front wall…

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  • Dead Hedge

    Dead Hedge

    A part of Digby Woods is used by the park staff as a compost pile, collecting brash from around the park as part of general maintenance. Once fully rotted, the compost is used in places such as the Long Border in the Formal Garden and the Walled Garden. To prevent the compost pile from spreading…

    Read more: Dead Hedge

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  • Scheduled Conservation Tasks

    Scheduled Conservation Tasks

    There are no scheduled dates for Saturday conservation tasks during the summer. The programme should recommence in the autumn. We may run ad-hoc tasks if the opportunity arises, they will be announced here and on Facebook. Thank you to everyone that has supported us thus far, and look forward to reconvening in the autumn.

    Read more: Scheduled Conservation Tasks

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  • Protective Fencing

    Protective Fencing

    As new trees are planted, they need to be protected from the deer, who would otherwise feast on the new strong leaf growth. We had hoped to fence three trees, but the roots of the replaced trees were too much of an obstacle on the third, so have temporarily left it while we consider options.

    Read more: Protective Fencing

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  • … on a Cold and Frosty Morning

    … on a Cold and Frosty Morning

    Eight volunteers braved the cold, in what turned out to be a lovely morning in the park. The ranger-led task was to clear the Rhododendrons from the conservation area by the Red Phone box. Why did we remove Rhododendrons… “Where conditions are suitable, Rhododendrons will out-compete most native plants. It will grow to many times…

    Read more: … on a Cold and Frosty Morning

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  • Invasive Plant Clearance

    Invasive Plant Clearance

    Volunteers clearing invasive, non-native Rhododendrons from the conservation area in Thompson’s Wood.

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  • Non-Native Plant Removal

    Non-Native Plant Removal

    Clearing non-native Arum Italicum for the conservation area by Parkside.

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  • Tree Guard Removal

    Tree Guard Removal

    The Deer in Wollaton Park are herbivores and eat most things. This includes tree saplings. When new trees are planted, they are often protected from the Deer by wire guards. As the trees mature, the guards need to be removed.

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  • Transplanting Hawthorns

    Transplanting Hawthorns

    Over 100 self-set Hawthorns were transplanted from Digby Avenue into Formal Garden, to make a hedge to keep the deer out.

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  • Chestnut Fencing Repairs

    Chestnut Fencing Repairs

    On Saturday 19th November, 10 hardy volunteers repaired large sections of chestnut fencing in the Cambridge Road field. Also hundreds of daffodils were planted around the memorial benches ready for spring.

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