Category Archives: litterpicking

Sunday, 16th February 2025: litterpicking and path clearing

Posted on February 16, 2025 | 1 comment

Friends of Adel Woods on the 16th February 2025

Despite it being a rather cold and damp morning, we had an amazing turn out of twelve Friends (including a toddler) and a spaniel!

Nine of us chose to do a litterpick and two of us to do some path clearing.

The litterpickers

Friends of Adel Woods litterpick on teh16th February 2025

The litterpickers split into two teams. One team picked up litter along Crag Lane, along the track to the cricket pavilion, and then along Buckstone Road and across the Village Green.

The other team focused on the Village Green, the area around the edge of the Village Green, and the playground area.

Between them they picked up nine bags of litter. A fantastic achievement.

Path clearing

Friends of Adel Woods clear paths in Adel Woods — ***Before (looking down the path towards Crag Lane)…***

We two path clearers made our way along Crag Lane and onto the “diagonal” path on the right, just before Old Leo’s carpark. A short way up this path, a tree had fallen and although part of it had been cleared from the path, it was still making the path very narrow.

Friends of Adel Woods path clearing in Adel Woods — ***….and after***

Having cleared away the many branches, we made our way further up the path and trimmed back a holly bush which was growing over the path.

We then made our way westwards along the path towards the former rugby field and tackled another large tree which had fallen across the path.

The trunk of the tree was too big for us to tackle, but we were able to clear away many of the branches.

Finally, we made our way down to Crag Lane, and towards the picnic area. Part way along we cleared away the branches of another fallen tree.

Whilst on Crag Lane we took the opportunity to have a look at some improvement work which Leeds City Council is carrying out to its surface.

Crag Lane in Adel Woods on the 16th February 2025 — ***Resurfacing work to Crag Lane, looking in the direction of the Stairfoot Lane carpark***

Come along to Friends of Adel Woods events!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us.

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.

We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and 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 and come along to one of our work parties.

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 button at the bottom of this page.

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Posted in Friends of Adel Wods, litterpicking, Path clearing, Uncategorized

Tagged Adel woods, community, environment, litterpicking, Meanwood Valley Trail

Saturday, 18th January 2025: Litter picking and path clearing

Posted on January 18, 2025 | Leave a comment

A fine morning and nine of us met in the Stairfoot Lane carpark at 10 am – four volunteers for litterpicking and five for clearing footpaths.

Friends of Adel Woods and six bags of compost dumped in the Stairfoot Lane carpark

Some kindly soul had left half a dozen bags of compost – possibly from a cannabis farm – just over the fence from the carpark. Before we left we emptied the compost into the undergrowth and put the plastic bags in the carpark waste bin.

Litterpicking

Our litterpickers made their way along Crag Lane to Old Leo’s rugby club carpark. They found little litter on Crag Lane or around Adel Crag. However, there was plenty in the Stairfoot Lane carpark and around the rugby club and they picked up about two bags including lots of bags of dog faeces, many bottles and a filled disposable nappy.

A special mention goes to Rowan, our youngest volunteer this morning, who was very enthusiastic and very good at spotting difficult to see bits of glass!

Path clearing

Our path clearers first of all tackled a birch tree which had fallen across the path from the Stairfoot Lane carpark up to the hospice woodland. We then pruned back some holly a little higher up the same path.

Friends of Adel Woods pruning holly on the path from the Stairfoot Lane carpark up to the hospice woodland — ***Clearing holly on the path up to the hospice woodland***

Our next destination was Adel Crag where another silver birch had fallen over between Crag Lane and the Crag. We also took the opportunity to prune some of the scrub in that area.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing a fallen birch tree in front of Adel Crag in January 2025 — ***Clearing a fallen birch tree in front of Adel Crag***

In August Storm Lilian blew two very large oak trees over onto the Crag. The trees are far too big for Friends of Adel Woods to tackle, but we completed our morning’s work by clearing away some of the smaller branches to the side of the Crag.

Friends of Adel Woods at Adel Crag — ***Adel Crag at the end of our morning’s work***

Finally, we cleared away a pallet which had been left by the Crag.

Join Friends of Adel Woods!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us.

Over the last fifteen years we have picked up over four hundred bags of rubbish – which makes you wonder what the woods would look like today without the loving care our volunteers have given them.

In our first two litterpicks alone in July and August 2009 we picked up fifty three bags of litter plus many things which will not fit into a plastic bag – like a chair and a shopping trolley. You can find our reports here – July 2009 and August 2009.

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 button at the bottom of this page.

Friends of Adel Woods: litterpicking in Adel Woods in July 2009 — ***Our very first litterpick in July 2009***

Saturday the 14th December 2024: litterpicking and working on Adel Pond with David Preston

Posted on December 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

A Spring-like day and twelve volunteers turned out to pick up litter and to work with David Preston, our local ranger, on Adel Pond.

Adel Pond

Adel Pond is near the Slabbering Baby and was constructed originally as a water supply for a flax mill. Now it is an important breeding place for newts and frogs.

Friends of Adel Woods working on Adel Pond on the 14th December 2024 — ***Adel Pond – it can be seen that nearly half of the pond is silted up***

Water flows into it from a ditch on the northern edge but the pond silts up from the mud brought in from the ditch. Each Autumn since 2010 Friends of Adel Woods have dredged mud from the pond and the ditches which feed it in order to keep sufficient depth of water in the pond for newts and frogs to breed.

Friends of Adel Woods dredging Adel Pond on the 14th December 2024 — ***Dredging the pond***

It’s not just mud that finds its way into the pond. Each year we fish out a surprising number of logs – which are presumably thrown into the pond by passers-by. We also find each year, in the mud where the water flows into the pond, pieces of broken china cups, saucers and plates which must have been thrown into the pond by picnickers or patrons of Verity’s tea rooms which used to be situated nearby.

***Digging out mud where water flows into the pond***

Friends of Adel Woods clearing the ditches feeding Adel Pond on the 14th December 2024 — **Clearing the ditches feeding Adel Pond**

This year there is another problem with the pond: the water level has dropped.

***Dropping mud onto the*** ***outflow*** ***channel of the pone in the hope it might help to raise the water level***

Water flows out of the pond from a channel on the South side of the pond. The level of the water is maintained by a barrier across the channel. Upon inspection today, it seems that water is leaking out from beneath the barrier. Today we tried a temporary fix by putting mud in the area of the leak. However, this is probably not going to work and we need to find a permanent fix in 2025.

Friends of Adel Woods working on Adel Pond — ***Part of the pond dredging team after a hard morning’s work***

Litterpicking

At 10 am we had one litter picker who picked up litter along Buck Stone Road, around the Village Green, the playground and the Village Green carpark, along Crag Lane, around Adel Crag and in the Stairfoot Lane carpark, picking up two bags of litter.

Later on another volunteer arrived and picked up litter in the vicinity of the cricket club.

Join Friends of Adel Woods!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join in our activities in 2025. Our next planned event is on Sunday the 12th January when we will be cleaning and surveying our nest boxes. The following Saturday we will be litterpicking and path clearing, and then on Sunday the 26th we will be completing our nest box survey and clean up.

We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods, and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Friends of Adel Woods: a fungal foray in November 2024 — ***Our Fungal Foray in November 2024***

Sunday, 24th November 2024: Storm Bert didn’t stop us!

Posted on November 24, 2024 | Leave a comment

Litterpicking with Friends of Adel Woods in Adel Woods, Leeds.

Our plan today was to litter pick and to work with Leeds City Council ranger, David Preston, on Adel Pond. However, as Robert Burns so aptly wrote:

“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley” [go awry].

Yesterday we woke up to find an inch of snow on the roads, the roofs and our gardens, with snow and sleet continuing to fall. Whilst the temperature rapidly rose to double figures during yesterday morning, the sleet turned to rain, and the snow disappeared by yesterday evening, Storm Bert brought further heavy rain overnight, with the forecast being for heavy rain which would continue until this afternoon.

Amid this weather, it was not surprising that David was not able to make it to Leeds due to flooding.

A decision was therefore made to change our plan to an hour or so’s litterpicking.

In the event, whilst Storm Bert caused havoc and mayhem elsewhere across the UK, in Alwoodley and Adel the rain had stopped by 10 am, and eight volunteers met up at the Slabbering Baby entrance to the woods – four old hands, and four newbies. It turned out to be a very pleasant morning.

Friends of Adel Woods litterpicking in Adel Woods

We separated into two teams.

Two of our regulars set off and picked up litter from the banks of Nanny Beck (the stream running alongside Buck Stone Road), the recreation ground and the trees around it. They picked up two and a half bags of litter including a child’s wooden rattle.

The remaining six of us started by picking up litter from the path down to the Slabbering Baby – an unusual find being a fire extinguisher! We then made our way back to the cricket pavilion, taking a look at Adel Moor on the way.

Adel Moor in August 2024: Friends of Adel Woods — ***Adel Moor in August 2024***

From the cricket pavilion we picked up litter along the path up to Crag Lane, along Crag Lane, around Adel Crag, and in and around the Stairfoot Lane car park. Just outside the carpark we found four car number plates – no doubt discarded in the course of criminal activity.

From there we made our way back to Buck Stone Road, having collected five and a half bags of litter – making the total haul eight bags.

JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us.

We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods, and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Category Archives: litterpicking

Sunday, 16th February 2025: litterpicking and path clearing

The litterpickers

Path clearing

Come along to Friends of Adel Woods events!

Saturday, 18th January 2025: Litter picking and path clearing

Join Friends of Adel Woods!

Saturday the 14th December 2024: litterpicking and working on Adel Pond with David Preston

Adel Pond

Litterpicking

Join Friends of Adel Woods!

Sunday, 24th November 2024: Storm Bert didn’t stop us!

JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS!

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