Monthly Archives: February 2012

Oak Canopy & Logs – Questions

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Dead wood cut from the oak trees

The tree work has generated many questions.

One recent one is ‘why the oak tree canopy has been cut back, as it was lovely to walk under?’  Answer – It is dead wood that has been cut out of the trees.   If left these 100 year old oak trees would deteriorate, and there are signs that the neglect of the past 10 years has started that process.  By cutting out the dead wood the trees will hopefully put on new growth and last another 100 years.  In addition,  dead wood, wind and a path do not make for a safe environment in a world where ‘ambulance chasing’ is rife. Continue reading →

RIP Sycamore

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Seconds to go

At around 9.40am this morning,  a piercing ‘crack, crack’ echoed across Clapper Brow,  quickly followed by the shout of FALL from Paul Elbourne, of Beechfield Tree Services; then, the sycamore on the edge of the park gracefully fell over; small branches and twigs exploding in all directions like a bursting firework.   Luckily, David Myers, FOPP’s intrepid film maker, was there to capture the moment for posterity.

It was unfortunate that the sycamore had to be felled, but, it has rotted from the base.  This had allowed squirrels to burrow inside to make a nice cosy ‘executive home’.   The result was a core of black rotting wood and soil (as can be seen in the picture)  with a circle of only around 4 inches of good wood left holding the tree up: threatening Steve Salt’s house.

Paul was extremely pleased with the delicate operation and the lack of damage to the surrounding area, whilst David compared it to a Fred Dibnah ‘extravaganza’  (David knew Fred).

The tree may have ended its growing phase of life, but it will not be leaving the Park.  The trunk will be moved to a safe area nearby so that it can become a ‘housing estate’ for wildlife and insects and a part of the ever turning circle of life.   The smaller branches will be made into woodchip,  and used around the Park.

Taming the Copse

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Daylight is let into the copse to encourage scrub and healthy trees

We know, from all the feedback we have received,  that the ‘taming’ of the two copses in the Park has been a priority with a lot of people.  The main reason being their use as a ‘drugs den’ (both plastic packets and needles have been found in quantities)  and the associated  accumulation of unsightly rubbish and bottles – a danger to both children playing in the Park and dogs.  The situation got so bad, that ‘vigilante’ groups threatened to chop the hawthorn down themselves.   So,  the sight of the thicket coming back under management between now and April will be a welcome sight for many.

The idea is to lay the hedges Yorkshire style and thin out the wood in the middle so that light floods back in, thereby encouraging brambles and scrub to flourish and provide a quiet, undisturbed habitat for wildlife; including the nesting birds.  A lighter, airier atmosphere will also help preserve and strengthen the pine trees and silver birch in both areas.

First Friends Meeting – Next Steps

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Communication and Collaboration !

Thank you to all those who came to the first Friends meeting last night.  We hope you found something of interest, and will become a Friend and help build this important part of Guiseley’s ‘philanthropy’ heritage.

We are about to embark on Phase 2 of the regeneration which is about the Friends outlining what the Park should be,  and working together on different projects.   You can be involved as much or as little as you want to be, and more importantly, if you have ideas for further projects we can try and facilitate that. (To kickstart thoughts there is a new poll in the sidebar on ideas  suggested for the Park.)

Just to remind you,  here are some of the projects already planned (subject to Bellway’s confirmation), which, this year, have the Queen’s Jubilee as the main theme.   Email Continue reading →

Mystery – Can You Help

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Tyre Tracks in the Bank

Between 8pm on Monday evening and 7am Tuesday morning,  someone decided that they didn’t like the new handrails on the steps.  Instead of just informing someone of their issue; they kicked the handrail down with heavy, muddy boots.  They then threw the handrails to the bottom of the steps.  Meaning, of course, that the steps are now less secure for the older people who use them to get into the Park.

The mystery is, however, that besides the wrecked posts are tyre tracks from a not-very-big,  four wheel vehicle.  Now,  how long has it been since a vehicle went along Kelcliffe Lane?  This track went from Hillside all the way along to Oxford Avenue.   The vehicle, at some points, mounting the side banks at Continue reading →

Oooo; That Looks Brutal

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Managing the Decline of a Sycamore

Unfortunately several trees in the Park,  mostly the horse chestnuts,  are dying.   Instead of felling them,  it has been decided to ‘manage the decline’, and carry out a form of pollarding.   By taking out a lot of the head and lower branches,  the tree will be less likely to be blown over in a high wind – as happened in the recent gales with some of the nearby conifers.   Secondly,  children will not be able to swing on the lower branches, thus endangering themselves and the tree.   The tree may well also put on some new growth.

We will have to fell one of the large sycamores in the wall of the Park, as it is dangerous, and in danger of falling on a nearby house.

Membership Form Number one – the First of Many

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Beth Cheetham Signs a FOPP Membership Form

Friend of Parkinsons Park, Beth Cheetham, becomes the first person to complete an “official” membership form and as such will be added to the official register of  Friends. Beth wants the park to become a haven for wild life and she would also like it to be a nice place to sit and enjoy the sun in the Summer.

Registration forms will be available to complete at our meeting in the Methodist Church at 7pm on the 21st February. You can also download one here and complete in advance as that might be easier.

Bird Watch – Bird of Prey Seeks Mate by Darren Shepherd

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Rough Legged Buzzard (source: copyright Graham Catley, pewit.blogspot.com)

Well,  spring is just around the corner, and with that the birds are getting excited and singing their hearts out in order  to claim their territory and attract a mate; St Valentine’s day is not just for humans.  Folklaw in some parts has it as the day birds choose their mate and Geoffrey Chaucer mentions ‘Saynt Valentyn’ in his mid-fourteenth-century poem “The Parlement of Fowles” – where three male eagles seek the’claw’ of a female eagle .  In Parkinson’s Park, you may have heard the resident great tits chirping away with their “teacher teacher teacher”calls, along with their pals, the blue tits. Continue reading →

Attention Turns to Wood

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Sycamore Trees on Clapper Brow , About 150years Old

Around 1861, when the American Civil War was raging,  Prince Albert was breathing his last, and Mrs Beeton was publishing her cookery book, someone in Guiseley, planted, these magnificent sycamore trees.  It is said that to “plant a tree is to give body and life to one’s dreams of a better world” (Russell Page).  Well,  it is a matter of opinion if the world is better, or not, in 2012; but it is now our turn to look after these trees for future generations.  Fortunately,  they are all healthy and just need dead wood removing.   Around this area in the summer,  we are also hoping to run a project to establish a wild flower meadow for the Queen’s Jubilee as part of an RHS programme;  but more of that later, when we have got permission from Bellway. Continue reading →