Queen Elizabeth Country Park

Cycle training at QECP

qecp — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:39:20 +0000

Cycle training

The Park hosts regular training sessions which use the classroom for cycle theory and the two 3 mile mountain bike trails for the practical elements. During the recent cold weather the severe frosts provided a hard safe surface where the ‘students’ could be suitably challenged.

8 people were taking part in the Mountain Bike Leader Award Scheme. The leader was Phil Quill who also teaches orienteering, sailing and canoeing.

For more information go to www.hantstraining.co.uk

Cycle training

For more information about the Park’s novice and advanced mountain bike trails go to http://www3.hants.gov.uk/countryside/qecp/qecp-activities.htm

Dukes On The Edge Project-Butser Hill

qecp — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:14:52 +0000

Dukes On The Edge South Downs Flyer Jan 2012

Back on the 14th December a post titled ‘Scrub Bash’ highlighted the work carried out by a team from Rother Valley Organics. The guys were working on the northern scarp slope of Butser Hill cutting areas of thorn scrub as part of our Winter work programme.

Now the team has returned to the hill to work for the charity Butterfly Conservation and their ‘Dukes On The Edge Project’. This three-year initiative is targeting the Duke of Burgundy which is one of the UK’s fastest declining butterflies. Over the last 10 years numbers have dropped by 50%!

Wascombe Valley

A key habitat for the DoB is the zone between open woodland and sheltered, scrubby grassland. In the foreground of the above image the cut stumps are all that remain of a thick stand of gorse. In the background, highlighted by the snow you can see the stripes made by the tractor and ‘destroyer’ (see earlier post). Both techniques have their advantages and the hand team, equip with brushcutters and chainsaw, whilst being slower and more costly, can leave a better finish and ensure that all the cut material is cleared and burnt.

Little Butser

Two priority areas, Wascombe Valley and Little Butser, have been identified and specifically large blocks of thick single aged gorse and thorn. These will not be cleared completely with a proportion left to create a mosaic effect for the future.

Little Butser

Access as always on Butser Hill is problematic and that is without the additional problems caused by the recent cold weather . The work site can be spotted by looking for the bonfire on the sky line to the left hand side of this image.

For more information about butterflies in Hampshire go to www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk

More Winter work

qecp — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:13:06 +0000

Topping on Butser Hill

Winter work continues on Butser Hill with yet another machine. Previous blogs have highlighted the work of tractor and ‘destroyer’, and the Aebi Terratrac both of which were brought in to deal with scrub control in the National Nature Reserve.

For the next few days a 150 horse power Fendt tractor and 2.5 metre flail will be topping across several hectares of the Butser Hill Top. The idea is to deal with the areas where coarse grasses dominate the sward, and where young thorn plants sheltered by this thick vegetation are coming up thick and fast.

Topping on Butser

This machine which is provided by Rother Valley Organics, our Farm Business Tenants, is benefitting from the frozen conditions which will minimise any compaction. The Fentd tractor has computerised traction control which allows the driver to concentrate on the job in hand without having to worry about the sites steep slopes.

Before and after

All the tractor mounted machinery will be off site by the end on February to avoid any possible disturbance for nesting birds.

For more information about the management of the site there is a section on the web-site at www.hants.gov.uk/qecp

Buriton Work Party

qecp — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:49:58 +0000

Toasting marshmallows

The new Buriton volunteers met for the second time last weekend to carry out more work in the Chalk Pits Local Nature Reserve. This involved cutting back a lot of dogwood and ash saplings on an area which was becoming overgrown.

The cut material was used to make deadwood habitat piles and the surplus burnt. The fire proved very welcome on what was a freezing day and the workers had brought along marshmallows to toast and potatoes to roast.

The group at the end of the morning

The group meets on a regular basis to work in the Chalk Pits, and their next date will be Saturday the 3rd of March. The Ranger contact is Abi Peett who is based at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. She can be contacted on 02392 595040 or via abi.peett@hotmail.com

The site will be having an open day on Saturday the 28th April.

Aebi Terratrac on Butser Hill

qecp — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:11:30 +0000

Aebi Terratrac

Winter work on Butser Hill continues with the arrival of an Aebi Terratrac. This is a small 50hp turbo diesel slope specialist owned by the Portsmouth City Council’s Countryside Service. With an almost square wheel base, low weight and centre of gravity this machine can safely climb slopes of up to 75 degrees. The business end has a flail designed to cut through light scrub such as dog wood and bramble.

Aebi

Richard Jones from PCC, who looks after Portsdown Hill, was the pilot whilst the machine was working on Butser.

The Park’s Rangers will be returning the favour later in the year by helping him with some livestock fencing.

For more information about winter work on the Butser National Nature Reserve see earlier blogs covering the use of the Rother Valley team using brush cutter and chainsaw, and their much larger tractor and ‘destroyer’.

For more about the Aebi Terratrac go to http://www.aebi-ne.com

Mountain Bike Trail Building Group

qecp — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:12:54 +0000

A good turn out for Saturday morning

The QECP Trail Building Group was in last weekend for another 2 days of hard work on the Orange bike trail. The Park is starting to get some really positive feedback from trail users, and there is a good review in the current edition of Dirt-Mountain Bike magazine. More information at http://dirt.mpora.com

Multi-tasking

The group helps with all aspects of the development of cycling within the Park and holds monthly working weekends.

To make contact or find out more go to qecptrailbuilding@yahoo.co.uk

Artists Preview/African Evening

qecp — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:58:59 +0000

Neil Shearer

Last Friday night two events took place in the QECP visitor centre. Firstly an evening preview to mark the start of the next art exhibition. These run for 6 weeks at a time and are put on by local artists whose work is appropriate for the venue. So popular is the space that we are booked out for the next year.

Neil is based in Waterlooville and works in acrylic paints, pen and ink, graphite and pastel pencil. His influences come from a spell living in New Zealand and time spent in the Army. For more information go to www.neilshearer.co.uk

Preview night

The second event on Friday night was an update on the Queen Elizabeth Parks Twinning Project for the QECP Volunteers who run the initiative. With video clips, food tastings and short talks, and the highlight of the evening a presentation by Boni Mpario about his upbringing as a Masai.

Boni Mpanio

More information at www.queenelizabethparks.org

More Stargazing Live

qecp — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:13:05 +0000

Rocket making

On Saturday the 21st January the BBC stargazing theme was continued, this time led by a group called Caterpillar Crafts who ran two workshops for children and young people with disabilities or additional needs and their families.

The cosmic crafts on offer included rocket making, a theatre show and a walk along the Park’s very own astronomy trail.

The launch

A member from another of the local astronomy clubs, the Hampshire Astronomical Group (HAG) was on hand to give the audience a virtual tour of the solar system. For more information about the club please go to www.hantsastro.org.uk

Caterpillar Crafts will be running many other themed activities at QECP throughout the year. The next date is the 16th of February when the subject will be adventurous activities including cycling and den building.

More information at www.caterpillar-crafts.com

Stargazing Live

qecp — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:28:42 +0000

Telescopes on the patio

On Friday the 20th January, following the hugely popular BBC Stargazing Live tv shows, over 300 people came to the visitor centre to view the night sky through a variety of telescopes and binoculars.

The event was hosted by the HantsAstro club whose members were on hand with their equipment to help and advise the general visitors.

Looking at Jupiter

Despite a cloudy forecast the sky cleared giving good views of the solar system. And just in case the weather proved inclement a succession of presentations were put on in the theatre, and an information stand was set up in the centre with all sorts of BBC freebies for the young astronomers.

QE theatre

The club will be running a series of events from the Park in 2012, and also uses other local sites. For more information go to www.hantsastro.co.uk

Portsmouth Joggers

qecp — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:35:02 +0000

Ready to go

On the night of Friday the 20th January a large group of runners gathered outside the main visitor centre which was open as part of a ‘Stargazing Live’ astronomy event. About 45 people warmed up before setting off on a 10 mile run with a small group taking part in a shorter walk. At 10.30pm when the centre closed for the night these intrepid athletes were still out in the dark.

Their next event in this area is the Meon Valley Plod, a 21 mile run along trails and roads, which takes place on Sunday the 21st February starting at 10.30am. The start point in the nearby Clanfield Scout Hut.

For more information and an online entry form see the Portsmouth Joggers web-site at www.pjc.org.uk