A beautiful morning and a magnificent group of sixteen volunteers gathered at 10 am by the cricket pavilion – but not to watch the cricket coaching underway on the pitch!
Litterpicking
Eight of us chose to litterpick and set off in all directions into the woods.
Carol:. “Today’s litterpicking dog walk took me around the Village Green, up through the woods on the other side of Crag Lane, through Gemma’s field, through the woods between Gemma’s field and the rabbit field, and across the rabbit field, before heading back across the Village Green. I left Coco at home, and then returned to the Village Green, walked down the side of Buckstone Road and did a short loop up to Adel Moor before heading home.
“I collected one and a half bags of litter: the usual selection of bottles and wrappers from the Village Green, much of which was shredded during the recent grass cutting. In addition there were many poo bags and other assorted bits.”
“Great weather – lovely to see the bluebells out in the woods”
Sue and Cathy: “We gathered two bags of litter between us. Most of it was by the cricket and rugby grounds. We picked up a lot of heavy glass bottles and two thin rugby tops and a towel. The main paths and car parks were almost clear of rubbish. I think because litterpickers must have beaten us to it. “
Rob, Tina and Lindsey: Rob and Lindsey went up to Crag Lane and then along to the car park on King Lane. Rob then went around the car park, while Lindsey went across the road to litterpick around the shops. Tina started litterpicking at the entrance to Crag Lane went litterpicking in the woods. In all we collected six bags.
“Lindsey found a dummy and I found a pregnancy test!”
Gail: I walked across the moor down to the Slabbering Baby, up the steps to the pond and straight up the path to the Stairfoot Lane carpark. From there I turned back, past the Crag, across the rugby field, back down to the cricket pitch, and then up to the moor.
“I picked up about 20 poo bags, pop bottles, lots of tissues, crisp packets, and glass beer bottles.”
Adel Moor
The mission of the nine of us who chose to work on Adel Moor was to remove brambles and as many saplings as possible.
The reason for doing this is that Adel Moor is the last remaining heathland in suburban Leeds and if left to nature, it will soon be taken over by trees. It is a special habitat worth protecting as the home to moorland plants like bell heather, ling, bilberry and gorse, and also, touch wood, a population of viviparous lizards.
It is a fine sight – particularly in the Summer when the heather is in bloom.
We had a successful morning and removed a lot of brambles and many young trees. Young tree seedlings were easy to pull up. Saplings with a trunk diameter of up to an inch we were able to remove using our three tree poppers purchased with grants from Alwoodley Parish Council. Some of the saplings with bigger roots were dug up using mattocks.
Join Adel Woods
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us. The mental and physical health benefits of getting out in the countryside and social contact are well-known.
Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events such as bat walks, fungal forays and birdsong walks. Our next birdsong walk is on the 17th May 2026 – and you can find details on our home page
We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air, exercise in the woods, and make new friends.
If you would like to take part in our activities, keep an eye on our Home Page. You don’t need to book to come along to one of our work “parties”: just come along!
If you would like to join our email mailing list, please get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment box at the bottom of this page.
Friends of Adel Woods 