I retired in June 2018 and was looking for something meaningful to do with my extra time, I have lived in Horwich for over 30 years and have spent many happy hours exploring the footpaths up onto the Estate from Horwich so I felt it was time to give something back to this wonderful environment. I love the outdoors, I love walking, and birdwatching, I love the moorland and am completely used to being out in all weathers. I think after 30 years of living in the northwest I have become waterproof!

 

The woodland trust welcomes people who are interested in the environment and may be willing to get involved in any of a huge variety of ways. Task days tasks vary depending on the time of year, and what the estate managers feel needs doing. I have personally been involved with litter picking, tree planting, planting wild flower seeds, and removing trees from an overcrowded woodland. I have joined in with community tree planting, and have helped promote the work of the woodland trust at the Bolton food festival. Other tasks include things like clearing rhododendrons, and balsam bashing.

 

I have always been interested in wildlife especially birds, and I joined the ‘wildlife monitoring group’ and I have been blown away by the passion and knowledge of other members of this group, and now find myself looking at bumble bees butterflies, amphibians, and of course trees! The group look for wildflowers, grasses, ferns and mosses, beetles, spiders lichens fungi, dragonflies… who knows what we will find? As a team we monitor the various environments on the estate-woodland, moorland, and streams. In order to maintain and protect the biodiverisity in our range of habitats. I also joined the photography group as a beginner and have found that the knowledge and skill of other members has encouraged me to go out and about with my camera, and record the changes of the seasons, the lovely colours and scenery, and sometimes if I’m lucky, the activities of the creatures that we share the estate with.