On Sunday the Friends had their last work party of the season; an event celebrated with bacon butties and banana bread.
Every other year we clear the vegetation from one bank of Southoe Brook. That means that each bank is cleared every four years.
Because the brook is the only fast flowing water on the site, it holds a lot of species that depend on a high oxygen level. It is therefore important to keep the water flowing without removing all the plants and animals that are there. For fish (especially eels) and otters, it is an important route between the river and the lakes. The brook also marks the boundary between the parishes of Little Paxton and Southoe.
The gales of Monday didn't seem to do much damage. In fact, Monday was a good day. Matt Fox saw an otter from the Kingfisher Hide and the volunteers in the visitors' centre were treated to a weasel in the garden. Smew, goosanders, sand martins: What more can you ask?
