Mud and Marshmallows

A small group of students from Risedale Sports and Community College spent their morning helping out on the reserve. The Risedale Rangers, as they are known, began their day by carrying the treated wooden benches (from yesterday) back to the outdoor classroom from the workshop. Later, they chopped up large Willow branches from Saturday's Winter Worky Day. They were given a choice of two different jobs and chose this one, prefering to spend their time on the moorland rather than in the woodland. The young people have been assisting with practical conservation work on a weekly basis since returning to school in September.

It wasn't all hard work though and as a reward for all of their efforts over previous weeks, they had a go at fire lighting with flint and steel and toasting marshmallows.

They have shown great resilience (often wading around in mud in freezing temperatures) and teamwork skills and have made a positive contribution during their 'worky' mornings! Our thanks to the group and their leaders and we wish them a Happy Christmas! 

There have been more familiar faces on site today with the return of staff from Custom Made Wooden Buildings. This time they are replacing the boardwalk between the lake hides and the main entrance. The new boardwalk is 'ready made' in sections and by this evening (working in floodlight) these were all lined up ready to be installed. It was quite a challenge moving the solid Larch structures from the access road to the footpath. However, as the saying goes: where there is a will, there is a way and where there is a way Trevor will find it!