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April 2020 April 2020

of marsh marigolds and blach pondrush.
The last working party of the season will be held on Saturday 4th April. We will be
fencing off part of the pond at Souls Moor. The pond was dug for two reasons.
One – to provide the ponies with a constant source of water; Two – to establish a
new wildlife habitat as the still water of a pond is beneficial for plants and
amphibians that cannot survive in the moving waters of the river. The pond has
been a success on both counts. However, the surrounds to the whole pond are
being trampled by the ponies, which means that marginal plants are having
difficulty in establishing. To overcome the problem we intend to fence off part of
the pond and its immediate margin to prevent trampling by the ponies when they
return in the summer. Easy access will still be available to much of the pond to
allow the ponies to drink.
Do join us on for the working party on Saturday 4 April. We meet by the stream
th
bridge near to the Scout Hut, Elder Road at 10am or you can find us on Souls
Moor. We normally finish about 12.00. All are welcome – young (under 16s should
be accompanied by an adult). If you have a spade, fork, hammer or
sledgehammer please bring them with you – if you don’t, no problem we’ll have
some spares along with other necessary tools.

Spring Migrations
It’s the season for migration with lots of birds either
leaving our shores to breed in the Artic (eg Brent
Geese – they love our warm winters!) or arriving
for the summer having spent the winter months in
Africa (eg Swallows – they hate our cold winters!).
The first swallow is typically s early April. Do look
out for the first Swallow along with other migrants
– such as Swifts, House Martins, Cuckoo and
Chiffchaff. Let us know about your local wildlife
sightings so we can get a better idea of what’s
around in our area.

Plant Viruses
It is not only humans and animals that can contract viruses. Plants do too. The
virus Xylella fastidiosa is one of the biggest risks to the UK horticultural industry and
the wider garden and natural landscape. It infects a wide range of plants
including many species which grow wild and in our gardens, such as cherry,
hebe, lavender, oak and rosemary. The bacterium causes symptoms including
leaf scorch, wilt, dieback and plant death. Unfortunately these symptoms are
easily confused with stresses such as frost damage and drought, or other plant
diseases and thus not easy to spot. Xylella is spread between plants by insects
such as froghoppers and leafhoppers which feed on infected plants but cause no

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