So last Thursday we had another volunteer meet which involved some important tasks such as yet more mulching and some sapling tree guarding. We had beautiful weather and managed to get a lot of work done! The tree guarding involved applying plastic tubes around our beautiful young trees in the field adjacent to the car park. Tree guarding is traditionally undertaken in order to avoid browsing by herbivores, yet we applied the tubing to mark out our trees for the farmer who will be doing some work on the paths surrounding the copses. Tree guarding using plastic tubes also helps accelerate growth of the trees by providing a mini greenhouse-like environment, and protection from chemicals contained in herbicides and pesticides which may be applied in other operations in the surrounding area.
We also undertook a visitor survey throughout the day on Monday, monitoring the method of transport used by visitors to Heartwood. I myself was posted at the main car park from 4-6pm, and recorded 32 cars, of which only half had dogs. I also met a family with a small baby and a toddler who told me they visited the site EVERY DAY looking for bears 
I hope you have all had a lovely week outside in the sun! What better way to enjoy Heartwood than in the pleasant weather we currently have.
