26/09/18 - Corporate work parties

Over the last few weeks we've been very fortunate to have hosted three corporate work parties with teams from Lloyds Bank, Aviva and Defra. The amount of work we are able to achieve with so many extra pairs of hands really does make such a massive difference to the site, and in terms of making it better for both wildlife and people. 

With a huge team from Lloyds, 22 in total, along with 5 of our regular volunteers, everyone soon made light work of the tasks that had been chosen for the day. Half of the team tackled scrub clearance on Wheldrake Ings, whilst the other half headed off to collect and process timber to add to our log store, which will help to supply our customers this winter. 

 

Blessed with good weather everyone enjoyed working outdoors - a change from their usual surroundings, and made good use of the NNR base garden during lunch. Nick & Sandra also checked the moth trap and explained about moth trapping on the NNR, making it an informative and enjoyable day for all. 
 

A week later groups from Aviva and Defra made further progress clearing and burning scrub on the reserve, however we also managed to fit in a bird ringing demonstration and moth trapping session at the NNR base. A selection of birds were caught and ringed, including a Chiffchaff, Blackcap and two Treecreepers, allowing us to show and explain the process of ringing and the role NNR’s have in monitoring populations and delivering scientific evidence. Moth trapping is starting to slow down now but 60 moths were caught overnight including a Small Blood-vein, a late Burnished Brass and several Red-line Quaker. Many thanks to everyone involved for their efforts. 

If you work for an organisation that offers corporate work days and would like to find out more about what we can offer, then please feel free to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you and can choose tasks to suit. We still have several more to come this autumn, with teams from Aviva, HSBC and HSE. Corporate tasks really help to make a huge difference to what we can achieve on site, so many thanks to everyone who has made a contribution throughout the year.