Students volunteer for conservation project

16/07/2012

Melissa Brown and Andy Peters with their certificates

Students from the College's Haywards Heath campus took part in a variety of activities as part of E2012 - a focus on enrichment activities which take place at the College each July.

With activities ranging from a trip to Paris to treetop capers at Go Ape to choose from, the event is an annual highlight for first year students, and a great way to round-off the academic year.

One project, which was both enjoyable and beneficial to the local community, was to undertake conservation work at Blunts Wood, near to the Haywards Heath campus. Students Melissa Brown, 17, from Burgess Hill, and Andy Peters, 17, and Elara Nicholson, 17, both from Haywards Heath, joined two members of staff to devote a full day to the project, on 5 July, clearing ragwort from the grassland and meadows to encourage butterflies and other insects.

Ragwort, which is poisonous to horses and cattle, has to be pulled up by hand to avoid disturbing the other plants and wildlife. Blunts Wood relies on volunteers to regularly carry out this tiring but essential task.

Despite their tiredness at the end of the afternoon, the group was very pleased with the amount of ragwort they had cleared. Altogether, 20 bags were filled and a large part of the meadow cleared! They were also delighted with the certificates of appreciation presented to them by the College.

Friends of Blunts Wood regularly meet to carry out vegetation encroachment control, including: coppicing; hedge laying; path construction/maintenance; pond and stream maintenance and ragwort pulling.