Thursday 27/10/22  I started fitting guttering to the side of the shed, Ryan made wooden spacers to hold fascia brackets in the right position along the eaves, as well as blocks to hold the downpipe brackets. The pipe flows into a gutter offcut that feeds into the water butts which are part of our Green Grant.

Ryan then went back home to get his chisels as the shed door has expanded in the wet and was catching on the lock screws, so he cut a small notch in the door to clear the screws, it now opens easily. Ryan also brought back logs from home and collected branches cut on Saturday along the track on the way back, this will be used for wildlife habitat, some may be cut up for the woodburner stove.

Eddie spent much of the day pulling up weeds which covered most of the wildflower area and tipping them in the compost bay. When grasses and flowers start to grow, everything will be cut regularly, so weeds will not survive as well.

Eddie filled up peanuts for the birds as they had all been eaten. Ryan found a pack of suet logs and put some in the square feeder, he then installed the Lizard box under the visitor centre and split small logs with the axe to put around it to make a habitat for them. Lizards were seen in the logstore recently which is only about a metre away from the Lizard box so we hope they will use it.

Ryan then got the ladder and fitted Bat boxes, one in the tree near the railway wagon and one in an Oak tree on the opposite bank which needed lots of Ivy cut away from the trunk to leave a flat vertical surface for the Bat box. All wildlife boxes are part of our Green Grant.

Our table made from the old picnic bench top had slightly wobbly legs, so Ryan cut two end panels and some battens which we fitted, this has made it much stronger. We put weights on it last time which has removed the twist, so its now flat and useable.

Wednesday 2/11/22  The latest purchases arrived which we took to the mill and unpacked, there are binoculars for identifying wildlife, Anne Marie’s first job was attaching the neck strap to them. There are also tools which we need to complete the projects and hooks for hanging things on the shed walls, plus builders band for attaching pump hoses to the wall.

Eddie and I unpacked the two solar panels and attached the fixings, the holes were a bit big for the supplied screws so Eddie made some square washers with smaller holes from an aluminium plate using the new hacksaw and files. We drilled a hole in the visitor centre roof and fed the cables through, a spare felt shingle was put over the hole and cables, with plenty of sealant to avoid water leaks, then the solar panel was screwed to the roof. 

Anne Marie weeded the wildflower area as there are still lots of weeds. We had lunch outside and saw a Jay fly across. I tested the binoculars, they can focus fairly close and will be useful for watching wildlife, visitors will be able to use them at open days and any birds seen can be identified using the book which Anne Marie donated.

After lunch Anne Marie straightened and staked down one of the insect hotels which was moved out of the way when we were moving the container, then continued weeding the wildflower area where she found three nails in the soil which I cleaned using water from the new water butt and put on display. Nails found at the mill were probably made by the on site Blacksmith.

Eddie and I fitted the other solar panel on the visitor centre roof. The cables are hanging down inside at the moment, we will tidy them up and wire them into the controllers next time, I’ve ordered the electrical items needed. Solar panels are a major part of our Green Grant.

We refilled the water tank by putting the 12 Volt pump hose on the water butt tap, the tank feeds the flushing toilet. I fitted some new hooks in the shed, the chairs both fit on one pair of large hooks now and four spades or forks fit on each hook so they save a lot of space, we’ll put more up next time. Eddie replaced the temporary ladder brackets behind the visitor centre with a new pair of smaller hooks which are safer and a better fit. 

I made a wooden gutter bracket spacer which keeps the gutter in position to feed into the water butt. When both barrels are full, they overflow into the adjacent stream. My last job was checking the tunnels, as Bats roost in them in winter so we had to make sure they are not blocked.

Graham Bartlett  

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