We are incredibly grateful to The Conservation Volunteers<\/a> (Lockleaze Green Gym) who undertook the majority of this Winter\u2019s tree planting. Most of the trees were planted near the M32. The trees will enhance existing habitats and also hopefully screen out some of the traffic noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We pruned the pip fruits in our orchard under the guidance of the Forest of Avon Trust<\/a>. One of our volunteers recently wrote a blog post about her experience<\/a> of being taught to prune the trees. The stone fruits will be pruned in Spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More information about the orchard can be found on our Activities page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ponds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We are restoring two cobbled dew ponds<\/a>. We made a lot of progress on this during the Winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Four months ago, the Pale Plantation pond was completely covered by chest-high brambles. We\u2019ve now just about found the bottom of the pond and can confirm that the cobbles are indeed laid in a spiderweb pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the lower, semicircular dew pond, an interesting concentric pattern has been emerging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What next?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Spring and Summer we will be pruning the stone fruits in the orchard and re-starting our reptile and butterfly surveys<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stoke-park.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/20230327_1329122-1024x380.jpg\")
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