Page 30 - Oundle Life October 2024

PARK LIFE
Barnwell Country Park
We hope everyone who visited Barnwell over the summer enjoyed playing on the new play equipment. It was fantastic to see it being used by so many people.
The habitat work started with Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) clearance. Introduced to the UK by the Victorians in 1839, Himalayan Balsam is classified as an invasive non-native specie and under section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to allow the plant to grow in the wild. This means that along the banks at Barnwell, lake and river, rangers and volunteers must pull out the plant by hand. Luckily most of the plants have shallow roots so they come out easily. The Himalayan Balsam that was pulled will have been burnt once the school holidays finished.
Over the summer, the fantastic education rangers ran events to keep the children busy and learning. They learnt about the waterways at Barnwell by running pond dipping sessions. We hope that all who attended had a great time and discovered some of the very interesting species that call Barnwell home.
During the month of August, we rescued four young hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) who were dehydrated and in much need of medical attention. Three of the hedgehogs are doing well at a local rescue centre and have been named: Liam, Richard and Max and will hopefully be returned to the park in the coming weeks. The
fourth hedgehog unfortunately has died. If anyone sees wildlife looking in need of help, whether their large or small, then please report it to the rangers and we will try our best to help them.
With the summer over for another year we are now turning our attention to winter habitat work. This year the plan for habitat work is primarily to focus on Mill Lake: opening and restoring fishing swims for the anglers to
use, clearing areas that have been overgrown
to benefit pollinators come the spring and summer or working in the wild zone for various educational groups to enjoy. We will hope that Mill Lake will be transformed. But before all of this we have reedbeds to cut, hay meadows to harvest as well as many other jobs that crop up in the meantime.
If you are wanting to get out and enjoy
the countryside, then our brilliant education rangers run Weekly Wednesday Wellbeing Walks. If this is something you would like to join in with, then come along every Wednesday at 1pm. We meet outside the Kingfisher Café.
If you would like to get involved at Barnwell or know someone who does then please email: barnwellcountrypark.NCC@ northnorthants.gov.uk
Liam Claris, Barnwell Country Park Ranger
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