Moth Night 31 July

Join us for our Moth Night this Friday. We shall be meeting moth expert Dave Grundy on Vicarage Road car park as he sets up his equipment. It is expected that the collection of moths will begin about 9pm but there will be a talk before then as he will explain what he would hope to find. This is the third moth event on the Park and together we have seen the difference in the species collected between early June and late August. Even if you can only stay for an hour or so you will see something very interesting.

The equipment will be set up along the path leading towards Stoke Old Road and since the night will have fallen by the time the we get underway you are advised to bring a torch.

Work Party 13 December 2014

Today we cleared the path from the Stoke Old Road steps towards Vicarage Road from leaves and overgrowing grass at the sides of the Path. We then moved to the Spur Path and removed overgrowth from the first set of steps and along towards the Millenium Copse. Out in the open the ground was frozen hard.

Thanks to Paul and Andy (Countryside Management Team), Scott, Steve, Trevor and Sully with his ball for the entertainment.

1. Paul Trevor Scott and Sully with Andy in background – clearing the edges of the path leading up to the Millenium Copse

2. Sully running up the Stoke Old Road steps – we shall be upgrading these steps on the next work party on 24 January.

Stoke-on-Trent Closer to Home Walking Network

There is a walk around Hartshill Park on the third Thursday of the month starting at 2pm from the Noah’s Ark and finishing there. A number of different routes are used. Today we began to walk on the Park from the Stoke Old Road entrance and then via the spur path past the Millenium Copse at which point I took the photograph by the seat there which replaced the damaged oak bench which has been relocated to the Vicarage Road Bypass path where there is a much better view across the valley towards Hanley (and Mow Cop on a clear day). WE then walked back to Vicarage Road car park via the Short Cut path and the Bypass path to the car park where we deposited the two bags of rubbish which we had collected. This walk is part of the Stoke Central and West walks of the Closer to Home Walking Network which provides opportunities for healthy walks throughout the City everyday of the week. In Hartshill we walk on the first four Thursdays of the month at either the Cafe Divine (1st and 4th) or the Noah’s Ark (2nd and 4th) – all starting at 2pm and we walk for about an hour. Details of other walks can be found on the Stoke-on-Trent Closer to Home Walking Network website.

Doris, Theresa, Margaret and Ann

Work Party 15 November

November and December Work Parties concentrate on Tree Maintenance, which generally meaning pruning of branches overhanging paths and on the clearance of leaf litter from paths and steps. Today leaf clearance was carried out on the tarmac “Safe Routes to School” particularly on those sloping sections, such as that from St Dominic’s car park by the Laundry Pool and that below Vicarage Road car park and on the Tesco steps. Leaves on the tarmac paths tend to be the most dangerous because the leaves slide on the smooth service to a far greater extent than on the stoned and red ash paths which give more grip. The combination of a good stiff brush and a Leaf Blower gives good results, although the fact that the when leaves are  wet and have been well trodden in, complete removal  is never altogether successful. Pruning of trees and some sweeping of the path from Vicarage Road car park to Stoke Old Road also took place.Thanks to Paul and Andy from Countryside Management at Park Hall, Trevor and Phil and his guests and thanks to Phil for clearing the steep steps from Hartshill Road by the Laundry Pool.  

Storm Damage – Paths Washed Away

Bypass Path – Stone washed away completely on slope just above Safe Route to School

Short Cut Path

Damage caused by rain last week. Stone completely washed away in parts down to Teram weed suppressant base. The problem was reported on Monday (10th) and restoration started that day by the Countryside Management Team based at Parkhall and completed the following day. Well Done!

Work Party 18 October

The October work party concentrated on clearing reeds and pond weed from the Boardwalk Pool and the Top Convent Pool.

26 September Bat Night

The Bat Night is always the most popular event on Hartshill Park, but this year the bats failed to provide us with much activity. This was probably due to the weather conditions which were windy and thus not to the liking of bats. The night was saved by the decision to end the Walk in Hartshill Churchyard where there was a large amount of activity  around the Church spire.

The following night – Saturday I took my bat detector to the Minton Centre Beer Festival and standing between the Centre and the Church between 7.30pm and 8.30pm saw and detected a large amount of activity to the delight of two children who were outside with their father and mother.

29 August Moth Night

We invited Dave Grundy to carry out a second Moth Survey to compare with the one undertaken in June last year. The intention was to examine possible differences in numbers and species obtained at a later time in the year. Four traps were used at various sites along the path from Vicarage Road car park to Stoke Old Road, similar to last year. Two were placed under tree cover and two in more open areas. Far more numbers were collected under tree cover than in the open spaces. As expected total numbers were much less than in the previous survey, which took place 8 weeks earlier, at the time when moths are most abundant. 187 were noted this year, with 25 species, compared to some 400 with 90 species last year. The most common specie was Epinotia nisella with 93, which provided almost half of those trapped, the rest totaling 94. Only four other species reached double figures – Large Yellow Underwing 16; Acleris emargana 14; Square-spot Rustic 12; Light Brown Apple Moth 10.

Pond Dipping 23 August

This was the first public Pond Dipping Event we have attempted, following on two Schools events were we invited Harpfield Primary Academy and The Willows to undertake Pond Dipping and a Mini-Beast Hunt. The new platform which we created at the Top Convent Pool in June has proved extremely useful providing a firm and solid base for activities and extending the available area for use. Unfortunately  numbers were small, though enthusiastic and very heavy rain  brought proceedings to a halt prematurely.

Work Party 12 July

The Work Party today concentrated on the path which passes the Millenium Copse and replaced some of the steps, cleared overgrowth and topped up the path with new stone, particularly where the effects of rain had worn away part of the surface. The dates of work parties scheduled for August and September will be given over to events – in August we will run a public pond dipping event using the Top and Middle Convent Pools and in September an evening Bat Walk.