Join Guernsey Conservation Volunteers' working party at National Trust orchid field

  Guernsey Conservation Volunteers will be carrying out valuable work at our wild orchid meadow 'Le Petit Pré' this Saturday, from 10am. If you fancy learning more about Guernsey's natural environment and meeting like-minded people, this may be of interest.  The meadow is situated along the Talbot Valley Road - on your left hand side if you are heading towards Kings Mills – the reverse if heading towards the junction at Mauxmarquis, St. Andrew's. Notes on the working party are copied below. Please contact Guernsey Conservation Volunteers by email: [email protected] If you have any coronavirus symptoms, no matter how mild, please stay at home.   To comply with the Phase 5 guidelines people are asked to respect people’s personal space and maintain a distance where possible. If you are planning on coming to the work party please let me know so I can ensure there is enough equipment.   If you have any questions please email and ask.   This site belongs to the National Trust of Guernsey. When it is in full bloom it is a beautiful wet meadow with a variety of orchids and other wildflowers. The flowers have now finished and the top part of the meadow has been cut for us to rake. If we have time we will also be cutting hemlock water dropwort as we were unable to cut this during lockdown, we may also have time to remove some of the thistles as they are growing in number. Date:    Saturday 27 June Time:   10am Bring:   A drink for tea break. Wear long sleeves and trousers to protect skin from hemlock sap. Doing:  Raking the top part of the cut meadow, cutting hemlock water dropwort, removing thistles.  Why:    Removing the cut hay keeps the fertility of the soil low which allows meadow plants to flourish. Raking also creates gaps for new seeds to germinate. If you wish to know more please ask Angela on the day.  Finding us – short method: Park:                Perry’s page 23 E1 Working:         Perry’s page 23 F2 Finding us – long method: Park:                Ron Short car park in Talbot Valley. Working:        Walk out of the car park, turn left, and walk along the road until you see a road on the left and a wooden gate on the right. We are in the field behind the gate. Project Leader:            Angela First Aider:                     Huw