Boultham Mere was first excavated for materials used to build the railway, but it has now become an attractive reserve consisting of a small lake, reed beds and woodland. In the reserve there is a nature hide, where you can while away a few hours watching a variety of wintering wildfowl on the lake. The reserve is managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, and LCG previously visited in October 2021.
The reserve is located within the city of Lincoln and so is easily accessible by foot, in fact it is the only way to get there and so for the first task of the new year, our 12 volunteers had to carry our tools along a muddy path to reach the reserve.
The inclement weather of the past few weeks held off and while the mere in the reserve had
extremely high water levels, much of the woodland was workable. Our main task was to
coppice the accessible parts of the reserve to maintain a diverse habitat and allow light
to reach the woodland floor to encourage the growth of rarer flora.
extremely high water levels, much of the woodland was workable. Our main task was to
coppice the accessible parts of the reserve to maintain a diverse habitat and allow light
to reach the woodland floor to encourage the growth of rarer flora.
With the aid of loppers and bowsaws, our volunteers cut back the new growth of mainly silver birch and brambles. While most were on solid ground, some braved the muddy lake edge to cut down some larger trees. The high water level meant that many trees were not accessible, even with wellies. We also cleared selected trees along the path.
We built a number of nature habitat piles around the reserve and had a small fire to burn the excess material. It was a really enjoyable task to start the new year and nice to spend some time outside after Storm Henk.
Steve