Merry Christmas from LOHP and Winter Walk

We would just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 

from all of us at LOHP and thank you for all your support over the last year.

After the festivities, why not join us in 2024 on our annual Winter Walk on Monday 1st January 2024, 10.30am - 12.30pm.

Enjoy a 2.8 mile circular walk around the fens, exploring the landscape and wildlife of the Little Ouse valley while working off all the Christmas excesses. No need to book, just turn up. Wellies recommended. Everyone welcome, even well behaved dogs on a lead. Meeting and parking on Parkers Piece, near Thelnetham Windmill, signs will be up on the day, more details on poster attached.

Suggested donation £3 members, £4 non-members

enquiries@lohp.org.uk 

07919 912045

We look forward to seeing you in 2024.

Winter Walk 01-01-24 - Poster.pdf

Download PDF • 94KB

Fascinating Fungi

Join LOHP on Sunday 29th Otcober, 10.30am for a gentle 2.8 mile (4.5 km) circular stroll around the fens, looking for fascinating fungi.

Fly Agaric, Hinderclay Fen © Nick Lingwood

Meeting on Parkers Piece, Mill Road, Thelnetham, Suffolk (IP22 1JU) (near Thelnetham Windmill). See poster attached for more details.

Suggested donation £4 non-members, £3 members

enquiries@lohp.org.uk

07919 912045

Fascinating Fungi Poster - 29-10-23.pdf

Download PDF • 89KB

Fenland Trees - an amateurs view from the ground - walk round-up

On the morning of 1st April, after a cool and breezy start, around 17 members and guests joined LOHP for a gentle stroll around the fens identifying trees and looking out for other signs of spring along the way. We left Thelnetham Windmill behind us and strolled across Parkers Piece stopping to look at the small trees on the mound of earth created by scraping nearby peat. Moving across to the banks of the Little Ouse we looked at the various types of Willow, Sallow and Alder that can be found here.

Fenland Tree Walk © Bev Blackburn

Our leader Reg explained how some of the trees had been cleared, others left in situ and yet more were managed for safety, or enhanced for wildlife. Differing techniques employed included:

• Coppicing: where the tree is cut close to the ground, causing it to regrow with many stems – can increase susceptibility to grazing from cattle and deer

• Pollarding: similar to coppicing but cutting the stem at waist/shoulder levels – to provide diverse habitat for smaller birds

• High Pollarding: as pollarding but higher up above grazing level - creates a spread of branches which can provide shade and potential nesting sites for birds out of reach of ground based predation.

Volunteers undertaking pollarding on Bettys Fen © Ellie Beach

We viewed different types of fen such as Webbs Fen which had wet and dryer areas and looked across to Bettys and Blo’ Norton Fens where there is more tree cover. Moving on towards Oak Tree Fen we saw more examples of new pollarding (planting poles directly in the ground to root) and other restoration work carried out by volunteers, before turning towards Hinderclay Fen where we passed the rare floating fen (Suffolk Wildlife Trust) and open drier landscape at previously farmed land on Reeves Meadows. As time was against us we crossed the new bridge into the western end of Hinderclay Fen to a tiny part of the wet woodland before returning across part of the wild flower walk to the wooded area on the southern bank of the river on our return to the start point.

Round up by LOHP Volunteer Tony