Blog Archive (3) Posts Made in September 2023

Reserve closed Tuesday 26th September 2023

Monday, September 25th 2023

Due to a planned power outage, which will affect the main gate to the reserve and any emergency access, we are reluctantly closing the Field Centre and the reserve for the day on Tuesday 26th September.

We'll be open again on Wednesday 27th - and we hope to see you soon!

The Revolution has begun!

Thursday, September 14th 2023

Well, the scything revolution at Foxglove Covert has begun, to be precise!

At the weekend we were delighted to host Steve Tomlin, sythe tutor, who led a 'Learn to Scythe' course for people keen to learn this skill. Six participants went through the process of setting up, learning about mowing and then they headed out to start cutting a strip of our wildflower meadow.

Steve also brought along four scythe kits, which we've purchased to improve the management of our grassland (though scythes are also excellent for controlling bracken and bramble - as well as helping to manage reedbeds too). On Tuesday, these new scythes were put to good use by Sue, Becky, Freddie, John, Peter and Emma, who showed that they all had the knack very quickly. Not only are scythes better for the environment in terms of reducing the use petrol, upon which strimmers and brush-cutters are dependent, but they also reduce annoying noise, fumes and make a lovely, clean cut through vegetation rather than chewing at stems with a nylon cord.

Watch this space as there will be more to come on our new use of a 3000 year old technology.

Thanks to all for being part of our new scything team!

Learning to Scythe with Steve Tomlin

Friday, September 1st 2023

Sunday 10th September 9.30am - 5.00pm

We're just one week away from hosting scythe tutor Steve Tomlin's course on learning to scythe. We've started to use scythes here at Foxglove Covert with fantastic results - managing grassland, bracken, brambles and reeds in a much more environmentally sensitive way.

There are still places available for this one day course - you can find more details at www.stevetomlincrafts.co.uk/learn-to-scythe

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Access to the Reserve: OPEN with limited access

Monday 18th March 2024 |

The reserve is now open, although again with limited access.

Visitors will be able to access the reserve with the use of key fobs provided at the pass office upon entrance to the camp, or will be provided entrance and exit through the access gate by an officer from the camp Guard Room. In this case visitors will need a mobile phone to call the Guard Room when they wish to exit the reserve.

Please be aware that due to these circumstances, entering and leaving the reserve might take a little longer than usual.