Posts

A hooting success!

Image
Menith Wood Millennium Green Celebrates 25 Years with a Special Addition To mark its landmark 25th anniversary, the Menith Wood Millennium Green has installed a unique and practical tribute to its local wildlife: a brand new owl post. Perched proudly in roughly the centre of the green, the newly erected chestnut post features a simple etched and burnt 2025. While it serves as a wonderful commemorative monument for the community's milestone, its primary mission is purely conservation-focused. Helping Local Owls Thrive The green’s wide expanse, the distance between its boundary hedges, can make it quite challenging for local owls to hunt effectively for food. To give them a helping hand, and following expert advice from the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, the trustees commissioned the post to provide a much-needed additional perching spot right out in the open, making hunting significantly easier for the birds. This latest addition joins a network of existing owl boxes already situate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wassail!

Image
This evening we woke the spirits of the trees with noise and fire, we encouraged the spirits of the trees with toast, cider and hearty song, and welcomed the coming sunshine with a crown. And then repaired to the chapel hall for mulled wine and good conversation. Wassail!
Post a Comment
Read more

Come a-Wassailing

Image
Please come and join us for our village Wassail on Saturday 1st Feb from 6pm on the Green, and then in the Chapel Hall for refreshments.
Post a Comment
Read more

Hallowe’en hauntings

Image
 I hope you were all safely tucked up in your beds last night… the undead, ghouls, spooks and ghostly spectres (and their handlers) took to the streets of the village and wreaked their revenge on any unsuspecting households that dared to answer their doors. Sweets and chocolates securely stashed either in tummies, buckets or bags, we all headed back to the chapel hall for hotdogs, soup and cakes, and a superb time was had by all!
Post a Comment
Read more

Autumn working party day 2

Image
 Another glorious sunshiney day in the village saw another dedicated crew of volunteers working on the green. Again in two groups, a section of grass close to the stone and picnic bench was strimmed, raked, scarified, raked, strimmed and then sown with the wildflower mix. We’ve now got 200m2 sown, and with any luck the flowers will be beautiful next year (and beneficial for the animals, birds and bugs that also use the green. Please don’t walk on the wildflower areas, and try to keep your dogs off them. The other willing and tooled-up volunteers have severely pollarded 2 Crack Willows around the pond. We have done this for two main reasons: the tree height being reduced will let more light into the pond and less leaf fall, and as the tree re-sprouts it will create new bird nesting sites and improve biodiversity.  The brash has been used to reinforce the dead hedges that close off access to the pond. This will allow frogs, toads, newts and other amphibians to have more protecti...
Post a Comment
Read more

Autumn working party day 1

Image
 The sun was shining, the birds were singing, a crew of villagers headed out on to the Millennium Green for the first day of the autumn working party.  Part of the crew worked on the community orchard nearest to the main road, clearing around the trees, felling the dead ash tree and making some piles of brash on the hard standing area (ideal over-wintering cover for our family of resident slow worms!). Part of the crew headed over to the Penn Hall Lane end of the Green and set to clearing a patch of ground. Not just for a giggle, but with a real purpose. The plan was to prepare a small area of the Green ready for sowing some specially selected wild flower seeds, to hopefully make the Green an even more beautiful place next year.  After much strimming, raking, scarifying (not Halloween-related!), sowing and more raking we were all done, and the seed has been given a pretty good start.  Same again tomorrow? And which flowers should we look out for next year? According ...
Post a Comment
Read more