Bug Hotel Construction on Battyeford Island

Here's an important date for your diary: Monday 18 June, at 11 am, at Battyeford Island. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Canal and River Trust and Mirfield Community Partnership have worked together to fund and construct more Bug Hotels - as seen on Trip Advisor for bugs.  

We now need your help.  The hard graft of building and siting will be done by YWT trainee environmentalists BUT we need you to collect materials for bedding.  We need teasels, straw, twigs, pine cones, wool, feathers, grasses etc etc and you to come along and fill the  beds.  

Please come along and bring friends, family, children and circulate this widely.

Himalayan Balsam

This is from the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) newsletter:

If you are out for a walk along a waterway this summer, don’t forget to look out for Himalayan Balsam and pull some up if you can.   Growing to a height of over three metres, the plant is a highly destructive invasive species which crowds out native plants and causes erosion. 

Here’s what to do:

Pull -  Check out the IWA Himalayan Balsam identification guide to be certain that it is Himalayan Balsam and  then pull up individual balsam stems – they pull up very easily,
Snap – Break off the root below the lowest growing node,
Stomp - Put into a small pile to rot down, away from the path.  Bigger piles can be stamped on to assist the rotting process.

Seeds - You need to be aware that if the seeds have already developed then please don’t pull the Himalayan Balsam as there is no benefit and you could spread it to new locations; 

Himalayan Balsam is non-toxic, but it is still advisable to wash your hands after carrying out this activity (and before eating) due to animal-carried diseases such as Weils Disease; be aware of the water’s edge or any steep drops and leave any plants that you can’t safely reach; don’t trespass onto private land beyond the towpath or bank, and if anyone asks what you are doing – refer them to the IWA's website.

Battyeford Ferry

This shows the ferry in about 1900

Courtesy of The Mirfield History Archive

Battyeford Island and the Canal