Litterpickers and bin bag hoops purchased with a grant from Leeds Together Fund
Today’s work party was a special event to celebrate a grant of £165 which the Leeds Together Fund awarded to Friends of Adel Woods this month to enable us to purchase three new litterpickers and six bin bag hoops. Bin bag hoops hold the mouth of bin bags open and make litterpicking a lot easier.
We had two aims today: first, to use our new equipment on a community litterpick around the Village Green and in Adel Woods; second, at the request of the Parish Ranger, to clear Himalayan Balsam from the woodland on the northern fringe of the Village Green.
We met in the Village Green carpark and had a record turn out of twenty six volunteers including a baby and your correspondent! Alwoodley Wombles also came with a supply of additional litterpickers in case they were needed.
Our happy and excited litterpicking team – brandishing litterpickers and bin bag hoops
Fourteen of our group were there to pick up litter. We furnished them with litterpickers, purple bags and bin bag hoops and despatched them to pick up litter around the Village Green and in the woods.
“Thanks so much for organising the litterpick – the boys and I had a great time…I hope we’ll join you again”.
The rest of us, including your correspondent, set off to pull up Himalayan Balsam.
The Himalayan Balsam team with Mark, the Parish Ranger
Himalayan Balsam is a non-native invasive plant which, left to its own devices, will cover large areas of land and shade out other plants. We discovered this morning that that is certainly the case to the north of the Village Green.
Massed Himalayan Balsam on the northern edge of the Village Green
Fortunately, Himalayan Balsam has extremely shallow roots which meant that in the space of an hour and three quarters we were able to pull up many thousands of plants.
In the course of our work we found a number of piles of dog mess. Your correspondent went to Fetch, the pet supplies shop opposite the Village Green, to purchase some poo bags, and Diane generously donated to Friends of Adel Woods a box of three hundred!
We were due to finish at 11.30 am but more than half of our balsam team enjoyed it so much that they stayed until 12 noon!
Friends of Adel Woods next to a pile of uprooted Himalayan Balsam
Thank you to the Leeds Together Fund for their generous grant, to Fetch for donating some poo bags, to Alwoodley Wombles for their support, and to all our wonderful volunteers who came and made the event a great success.
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.
Our next work party is on Sunday the 15th June 2025 when we will be litterpicking and working on Adel Moor. You can find out more here.
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.
Friends of Adel Woods at the Buck Stone in July 2024
We are just about to complete our sixteenth year since Friends of Adel Woods came into being, and the last twelve months have been successful with many work parties and educational walks and talks.
Work parties
Usually, our work parties comprises a team of litterpickers and another team carrying out a task such as path clearing.
In the last year we have had twelve mornings of litterpicking and picked up about fifty bags of rubbish – so hats off to our dedicated band of litterpickers! We haven’t kept a tally, but it seems likely that since Friends of Adel Woods was formed, we have picked up over eight hundred bags of rubbish – in addition to disposing of larger items such as tyres and beer barrels!
Some of the rubbish we have collected over the last year
As well as litterpicking we have completed fifteen and a half mornings on the following tasks:
one morning working on Adel Moor with David Preston removing bracken, brambles and saplings.
one morning clearing bracken from around the Buck Stone
three mornings mowing the orchid meadow
four mornings clearing paths and fallen trees
three mornings working on Adel Bog (1 with David Preston)
one morning dredging Adel Pond with David Preston
one and a half days of nest box cleaning and surveying with Steve Joul
one morning putting tree guards on the orchard in the practice rugby field
Working on the orchid meadow with David Preston
Educational events
Since the last AGM we have had six educational walks – five with Steve Joul, and one with Leeds City Council ranger, David Preston. They were all a great success.
A fungal foray with Steve Joul on 17th November 2024
Steve led a variety of walks:
30th June: exploring biodiversity – a joint event with Alwoodley 2030
20th July: a stream and pond safari
29 September: a fungal foray
17th November: a fungal foray
4th May this year, a birdsong walk
On 28th August David led a guided batwalk attended by twenty six adults and nine children.
A bat walk with David Preston on 28th August 2024
I know from speaking to people who attend, and the messages I get from participants after these events, that people really enjoy them.
The Friends of Adel Woods Blog
If you would like to know more about our activities, please have a look at our blog entries.
Grants
Putting tree guards on the orchard in bitterly cold driving rain
We have received two grants in the last year.
In February we received a grant from Alwoodley 2030 to purchase tree guards for the orchard in the practice rugby field as the trees were suffering damage from deer and rabbits.
This month the Leeds Together Fund awarded Friends of Adel Woods a grant to purchase three litterpickers and six bin bag hoops. The purpose of the grant was to put on a community event during May and on the 31st May we are having a community litterpick.
Improvements to the Stairfoot Lane Carpark and Crag Lane
The Stairfoot Lane carpark after improvements
In December Leeds City Council resurfaced the Stairfoot Lane carpark and created a separate fenced off path through the carpark for the route of the Meanwood Valley Trail to keep pedestrians away from vehicles. This was clearly a big improvement.
In February the council resurfaced Crag Lane from the Stairfoot Lane carpark to Old Leo’s rugby club. This involved scraping off the mud from the surface, laying hardcore and then creating the new surface. This end result is a great improvement to Crag Lane.
Crag Lane after resurfacing work
However, my particular reason to mention this is that one of our regular volunteers, Matthew, contacted me on the 9th February, before the work was completed. He was very concerned because he had noticed that the hardcore used was of poor quality – containing crushed bricks, concrete, white ceramics and plastic piping – which was completely unacceptable in a woodland area. I contacted our local councillors and David Preston and passed on Matthew’s concerns and the result was that the worst hardcore was scraped off, and replaced with better quality hardcore.
So thank you very much to Matthew.
Water Quality in our Local Streams
Possible pollution in Adel Beck
Pollution of our rivers is a hot topic at the moment and in the past it has been raised with me by members of Friends of Adel Woods. One of the problems about looking into this is having accurate information about whether the streams are polluted or not.
In October last year I met up with a PhD student at Leeds who is active in promoting citizen science projects relating to water quality of our local streams. On 10th October, I walked with her along Nanny Beck and Meanwood Beck to look for signs of pollution and in February I organised a meeting of members of Friends of Adel Woods who would like to get involved in a water sampling project. About fourteen people attended the meeting. I am organising a meeting to form two or three groups who will take responsibility for the sampling. While it makes sense for Friends of Adel Woods to help steer this project, I am hoping that this will become a separate self-sustaining project.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust event
On the 19th November, three of our committee – Steve, Sue and myself – went to an event organised by Alwoodley 2030 when Yorkshire Wildlife Trust gave a talk on the state of nature in Yorkshire.
Thank yous
Working on Adel Bog
So as usual, I would like to thank our committee and volunteers for all the work they have done over the last year. FOAW would not exist without the committee and volunteers. And I am looking forward to another year of fun, laughter and friendship. New members are always welcome!
I would particularly like to thank Judith for all the work she has done as treasurer over the last 16 years, and Stephanie who was our secretary from 2009 until July of last year.
Steve Joul on a stream and pond safari
Thank you to Steve Joul for leading five educational events this year – and helping to raise funds for Friends of Adel Woods.
Thank you to David Preston for the work he has done with us the last year. David is changing jobs to join the Public Rights of Way team imminently, and so we may not work with him again.
Looking to the future
As I and the rest of the committee get older, I get more concerned about how to ensure that Friends of Adel Woods continues for years to come. This is something which we need to consider over the coming year. New volunteers are always welcome!
Roger Gilbert
Chair of Friends of Adel Woods
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.
Another lovely day, and fifteen of us met up to work on Adel Bog and to pick up litter.
Litterpicking
Four Friends chose to litterpick this morning, and they split into two “teams”.
One team worked their way along Crag Lane, to the picnic area, Adel Crag and the Stairfoot Lane carpark and collected two bags of litter.
The other team focused on the Village Green and around the children’s play area. There was a lot of litter and they picked up two very full bags. They found two sun hats, socks, and woollen gloves in the play area and positioned them on railings in the hope that their owners might return to collect them.
Adel Bog
The rest of us worked on Adel Bog. Despite the period of almost two months of drought, the bog was looking quite green – with wild flowers beginning to appear, and lots of rushes.
Tormentil (potentilla erecta) coming into flower on Adel Bog
We focused on clearing saplings and brambles from the northern boundary of the bog, and using them to make the northern boundary clearer, and to build up the dead hedge we have constructed on the southern boundary.
Inspecting the job: saplings and brambles on the northern boundary of the bog
The removal of saplings was made much easier by our tree popper purchased with a grant from Alwoodley Parish Council.
As we cleared the saplings we came across two nests from last year – a small one, probably a robin’s nest; and a larger song thrush nest, identifiable by its smooth lining of mud [the larger mistle thrush also uses mud to construct its nest, but lines it with grass].
A robin’s nestA song thrush nest – with a smooth mud lining
We finished work at 12 noon and it was a very satisfying morning’s work.
About 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.
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.
A beautiful but chilly morning to meet at 6.55 am in Alwoodley Village Green carpark for our annual birdsong walk with Steve Joul.
The walk was attended by about twenty adults and three children and we raised £100 for Friends of Adel Woods funds – so thank you to all who attended.
Steve had visited the woods earlier in the week to plan the route and clear any vegetation which might hinder our passage.
Starting from the carpark, we made our way down the cycle path to the bottom of the village green where we could hear a chiffchaff; from there we went through the strip of woodland between the village green to the cricket pitch where we heard woodpigeons and robins.
On the cricket pitch we observed a pair of thrushes foraging for food. From their coloration they were almost certainly song thrushes, rather than the larger mistle thrushes. We often hear song thrushes in the woods.
Approximate route of our walk – follow the numbers 1-7
We then made our way up to Alwoodley Plantation (the area north of Crag Lane) where a group of magpies were making a heck of a racket at the top of a Scots pine. The frenzied activity continued for perhaps half an hour. Steve managed to see more of what was going on than I did. His account of what was going on is:
“I believe I saw a carrion crow in or on a nest in the top of the tree. I only saw this bird when it moved to the edge of the nest when fending off several magpies which it did vigorously. Whether the crow was defending its own eggs, was defending the eggs of a woodpigeon which it was consuming, or was defending itself against magpies whose eggs it was consuming I cannot say for sure. However, the nest appeared to be too shallow for a magpie nest and more like a woodpigeon platform, though the amount of nesting material made it look most likely to be that of the carrion crow.”
Leaving the magpies to continue with their battle, we continued up to the northeastern edge of the plantation to look across the farmer’s field down to King Lane. There we were fortunate to see a kestrel hovering over the field.
The area between the plantation and the hospice woodland (in the background)
We then went westwards towards the Hospice Woodland, before making our way back to Crag Lane and returning to the carpark.
Steve had organised a very interesting route through a variety of habitats – birch woodland, open field, pine plantation, beech woodland and scrub. So thank you Steve!
Last year we saw or heard twenty five species of birds, but today we only recorded sixteen. Nevertheless it was still a very beautiful, and uplifting walk. These are the birds we saw or heard (in approximate order):
Chiffchaff
Woodpigeon
Robin
Song thrush
Crow
Jackdaw
Wren
Blackbird
Blackcap
Magpie
Kestrel
Goldcrest
Dunnock
Great tit
Nuthatch
Blue tit
Red kite
Starling
Additional species which we noted last year (but didn’t see or hear today) were coal tit, goldfinch, great spotted woodpecker, greylag goose, heron, jay, mallard, redpoll, sparrowhawk, stock dove, and willow warbler.
Adel Woods are looking particularly lovely at the moment, with native bluebells in flower in many areas. Here are a couple of photos of bluebells and wild garlic photographed in the woods on the 6th May.
Bluebells in Adel WoodsBluebells by the path down from the Slabbering BabyWild garlic in Adel Woods on the 6th May 2025
Friends of Adel Woods: get involved and make a difference!
Friends of Adel Woods is a group dedicated to protecting, preserving, and celebrating the natural beauty and biodiversity of Adel Woods, a treasured woodland area in North Leeds. Our mission is to ensure that this vital green space remains a thriving habitat for wildlife and a peaceful retreat for local residents and visitors.
Through conservation projects, guided walks, educational events, and collaborative efforts with Leeds City Council we work to foster a deeper connection between people and nature. Whether you’re a seasoned naturalist, a weekend walker, or someone who simply enjoys the calm of the woods, there’s a place for you in the Friends of Adel Woods.
Join us in caring for this special place—together, we can ensure its legacy for generations to come.
Our next “work party” is on Saturday the 17th May when we will be litterpicking and path clearing.
If you would like join us, come along. No experience necessary – just enthusiasm and a love for the natural world.
If you would like us to add you to our mailing list, please click on the comment button on this page.
Another glorious Spring day, and seven of us gathered at the Slabbering Baby entrance to the woods on Buckstone Road at 10 am to litterpick and work on Adel Bog.
Litterpicking
Only one of us chose to pick up litter but in an impressive effort lasting over two hours, she picked up litter around Nanny Beck, the Village Green, along Crag Lane and around Adel Crag.
She picked up two bagfuls of litter, including a lot of bagged dog poo, plastic bottles and paper towels. There was litter in Nanny Beck but she was not able to get to it.
She also found a sunhat which she left on a bench in the hope that it would find its way to its owner.
One of the rubbish bins on Alwoodley Village Green
The two council litter bins on the green were overflowing – which is a good sign that the majority of the good folk of Alwoodley use the bins provided.
Adel Bog
Today six of us continued the work we have been doing with David Preston, our local ranger, to keep Adel Bog in good condition.
Removing a bramble
While the bog looks very dry – which is not surprising after the long period of sunny dry weather we have had in the last few weeks – there was plenty of water underfoot, and there were very many rushes springing up all over the bog.
Today we focused on removing saplings, and brambles from the northern and western edges of the bog.
Working on Adel Bog – with the dead hedge in the background
The bog is a fragile environment and we would like to keep dogs and walkers away from it, so we used the materials we removed to build up the dead hedge which we created with David Preston on the southern and western perimeter of the bog in 2023. A dead hedge is – as the name suggests – a hedge consisting of non-living plant materials.
We were delighted to find a lovely patch of well over a hundred wood anemones in flower in the central area of the bog.
Five happy Friends of Adel Woods
Friends of Adel Woods: get involved and make a difference
Friends of Adel Woods is a community-led group dedicated to protecting, preserving, and celebrating the natural beauty and biodiversity of Adel Woods, a treasured woodland area in [North Leeds. Our mission is to ensure that this vital green space remains a thriving habitat for wildlife and a peaceful retreat for local residents and visitors.
Through conservation projects, guided walks, educational events, and collaborative efforts with Leeds City Council we work to foster a deeper connection between people and nature. Whether you’re a seasoned naturalist, a weekend walker, or someone who simply enjoys the calm of the woods, there’s a place for you in the Friends of Adel Woods.
Join us in caring for this special place—together, we can ensure its legacy for generations to come.
On the 4th May, our expert naturalist, Steve Joul, will be leading a birdsong walk in the woods. Our next “work party” is on Saturday the 17th May when we will be litterpicking and path clearing.
If you would like to make a difference to your local environment, there’s a place for you here. No experience necessary—just enthusiasm and a love for the outdoors.
If you would like us to add you to our mailing list, please click on the comment button on this page.
A fine Spring morning for litterpicking and working on Adel Bog.
Today we had five litterpickers, who between them picked up four full bags of litter from Buckstone Road, around the Village Green, around the rugby ground and along Crag Lane.
Four of us worked on Adel Bog. Although the bog looks very dry in the photograph above, it was in fact quite wet.
Today we were removing brambles and using our tree popper to remove saplings from the northern/top part of the bog, and using the brambles and saplings to build up the dead hedge which we have been creating around the perimeter.
We had a very satisfying morning.
After packing up work on the bog, two of us carried out some repairs to damage to the fence running between Buckstone Road and King Lane.
ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS (ACCORDING TO CHAT GPT)
Friends of Adel Woods is a community group dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of Adel Woods, a picturesque woodland in North Leeds, England. Established in July 2009, the group has been instrumental in maintaining the woods and fostering community engagement.
Formation and Early Activities
The group was founded with the aim of preserving the natural beauty of Adel Woods and promoting its enjoyment among local residents. Since its inception, Friends of Adel Woods has organized monthly meetings to carry out various conservation tasks, including:
Clearing paths to improve accessibility.
Installing bird and bat boxes to support local wildlife.
Removing litter and fly-tipping to maintain the woods’ cleanliness.
These efforts have significantly contributed to the upkeep and enhancement of the woodland area.
Educational Initiatives
Beyond conservation work, the group has organized numerous educational walks and talks, enriching the community’s understanding of the local environment and its history. These events have covered a range of topics, from local flora and fauna to the historical significance of the area.
Community Impact
Friends of Adel Woods has played a pivotal role in fostering a sense of community among local residents. By actively involving individuals in conservation efforts and educational activities, the group has strengthened the bond between people and their natural surroundings. Their ongoing dedication ensures that Adel Woods remains a cherished and well-preserved space for future generations.
Be part of Friends of Adel Woods!
If you would like to be part of FOAW, please come along to one of our monthly meetings or get in touch through this website – you should find a “comment” button below.
A very, very chilly morning, but ten of us gathered at 9.45 am for the first morning of our annual nest box survey and cleaning session.
The morning
We took our usual route – along Crag Lane, taking the diagonal path into the plantation, cleaning all the nest boxes around the plantation and then heading south back to Crag Lane, and finishing at lunch time with box 53.
As in every previous survey, we found that most of the tit boxes had been used for nesting. The robin boxes had not been used by robins but one had been used by a family of great tits or blue tits – we can tell by the nesting material.
Blue tits and great tits both build their nests out of moss, grass, fur, feathers and man made materials – it is common to find in their nests orange, green or white material which seems to come from tennis balls!
As usual we found that the nest boxes were homes not only to tits but also to assorted insects – clothes moth larvae, and woodlice – and spiders.
A hibernating comma butterfly in Adel Woods
We also had a new discovery. As your correspondent lifted one of the nest boxes down from the tree, he saw a leaf stuck to the bottom of it. Fortunately, he did not brush the leaf off the box because the leaf opened up to show a flash of orange and turned out to be a hibernating comma butterfly! The photograph above shows how well the butterfly was camouflaged as a leaf, and the photograph below shows its open wings. Fortunately, the butterfly returned to its state of hibernation and we were able to clean the nest box and replace it on the tree with the butterfly still in place.
The comma butterfly gets its name from the white “comma” shape on the underwing – which can be clearly seen in the photograph above.
The same hibernating butterfly, sleepily opening its wings
The caterpillar stage of the comma is spectacular as can be seen in the photograph below. We came across this one back in August 2013 during a FOAW task. The white stripe along its back makes it look like a bird dropping.
A caterpillar stage of a comma butterfly (polgonia c-album) photographed by Steve Joul on 13th
August 2013
After surveying and cleaning box 53, we took a lunch break from about 1.30 to 2.30 pm.
The afternoon session
Refreshed after lunch, we continued cleaning and surveying the nest boxes along Crag Lane to the picnic area and Adel Crag, and then made our way down the Meanwood Valley Trail, finishing at about 4.45 pm.
Blue tits lay typically eight to twelve eggs, but sometimes as many as sixteen, one per day! Great tits are larger than blue tits, but lay a clutch of seven to nine eggs. The eggs of both species are similar – creamy white with brown spots – but the great tit eggs are larger.
A tit nest in Adel Woods photographed in the afternoon. Note the moss, grass and grey manmade material
It is common to find one or two unhatched eggs in the nesting material which probably indicates that most of the eggs hatched and the chicks successfully fledged. Sometimes though, as in the photo above, we may find more, which may indicate that the female was predated before laying all her eggs. Sometimes we find skeletons in the nest, indicating that the parents were predated whilst raising their young.
Having made our way down the Meanwood Valley Trail almost as far as the pond, we decided to call it a day in the fading light.
About 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.
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 just 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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
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.
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, 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.
Our second Fungal Foray with Steve Joul this Autumn.
We met in Alwoodley Village Green carpark at 2 pm and Steve gave an introductory talk about Adel Woods and fungi before we moved on to the area just behind the cottage adjacent to the car park.
Having pointed out a sparrow hawk perched in a nearby tree, Steve explained that there are about 13,000 different species of fungi in the UK and new species are arriving in the UK through travel and trade.
Blushing Rosette (Abortiporus biennis)
Whilst there are many thousands of species in the UK, there are about two hundred common species which we are likely to find in Adel Woods. These days we identify or categorise species of fungi by their DNA rather than by their morphology (ie their shape and structure).They often have more than one name and so it is best to identify them by their Latin name, or by their recommended English names.
Many species are associated with particular species of trees – for example, you will see on many birch trees in Adel Woods, the birch polypore (fomitopsis betulina).
A small specimen of the common earth ball (Scleroderma citrinum)
The part of the fungus that we see is the fruiting body, while most of the organism is underground or within the dead wood of the tree. The part of the fungus within the soil or wood is called the mycelium, an interconnected network of thin threads called hyphae.
Ganoderma bracket (ganoderma sp.): the brown powder that looks like cocoa is made up of spores dropped from the brackets above.
The fruiting body produces millions of spores which, when spread, will grow into new individuals. Some species allow their spores to drop from the fruiting body into the air below: others (like the puff balls) forcibly eject spores allowing the spores to travel long distances.
Fungi may reproduce asexually or sexually. Sexual reproduction is complex: there may be more than six different sexes!
During the afternoon, we made our way from the cottage, through the Plantation on the north side of Crag Lane, and eventually reached the Stairfoot Lane car park. From there we made our way back along Crag Lane to King Lane.
As we made our way, adults and children enthusiastically searched for specimens which they brought to Steve to identify.
Steve examines a specimen of rooting shank found on Crag Lane near Old Leo’s clubhouse
In the course of the afternoon we found eighteen species of fungi, some of which appear in photographs below. Here is a complete list – the species in red being a new one for Adel Woods:
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 just 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.
Our next event is on Saturday the 14th December, when we will be litterpicking and working with David Preston, our local ranger, on Adel Pond.
Friends of Adel Woods 