The Puggled Mucker
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About the Puggled Mucker
We produce a new edition of our journal, the Puggled Mucker, every three months and send it to our members and our clients. Here are the articles from the most recent edition (Issue 142 - Summer 2008) that do not appear elsewhere on our web site.
Co-ordinator's comments
LCV recently held its AGM and formed the committee for the year ahead. Firstly, thanks to all last year's committee for their hard work and continued support. Through their efforts, LCV has had another successful year, with tasks often becoming booked days or even weeks in advance.
Greg Parker is stepping down as social secretary. I thank him for all his hard work organising a rich variety of social events over the last two years. He is being replaced by Emma Brown and Alexandra Costello. I also welcome David Nutter, who has kindly agreed to take on the role of fundraiser. This post has been vacant for two years and I'm glad to see it filled again. David's contribution will be greatly appreciated, especially with the organisation of our fundraising ceilidh.
The rest of the committee remains unchanged: David Monaghan-treasurer; Matt McCabe-task organiser; Debbie Tribak-transport secretary; Pauline Jones-membership secretary; Louisa Martin-leader/driver organiser; Sarah McConachie-publicity; Tony Irvine-tree nursery; William McSporran-minibus; Peter Gilbert-training organiser; Ken Humphreys-tool shed and Ruth Gilpin-newsletter editor.
Many thanks to everyone who led or drove on tasks during the last year.
Sarah Humphreys - Co-ordinator
News
Leading tasks and driving for LCV
We are always looking for new volunteers to lead conservation tasks. There is a description of how to lead a task elsewhere on the LCV website. Normally an experienced leader would be there for backup on the first few tasks led.
Minibus drivers are also needed - if you are a relatively experienced driver, the first step is to do an LCV familiarisation session with the minibus to see how you get on. Five drivers undertook MiDAS training this year, which involves theoretical and practical aspects of safe minibus driving. Our aim is that all LCV drivers receive this training.
If you might be interested in either leading tasks or driving for LCV, please contact Sarah H, our Coordinator.
Revised LCV logo and LCV tops
You will probably have noticed some volunteers modelling LCV clothing. Why not join them and support LCV at the same time? With winter drawing on, we are now offering fleece neck-warmers with drawstrings, so they also double as hats, for £7. The neck-warmers are one size and available in charcoal.
LCV tops are available in S, M, L, XL sizes in deep navy or khaki with the new LCV logo on the left breast. The cost will be £25 for a Fruit of the Loom Heavyweight Hooded Sweat, £20 for a Fruit of the Loom Heavyweight Sweat and £12 for Fruit of the Loom Super Premium T-Shirt. Please contact Pauline, our Membership Secretary if you would like one (or more!).
Keep up with LCV news
If you are on email, you can join our Yahoo! online discussion group. We use it for publishing LCV news, discussions about LCV activities and social events. To subscribe, send a blank email to lcvnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will get a message back from Yahoo! asking you to confirm that you really want to join. When you reply, you will be sent a second email telling you how to send messages to the group and how to unsubscribe.
Views
Pease Dean New Year resi: December 28th - January 2nd
Ten intrepid-Simon, Evelyne, Edel, Tim, Maddy, Greg, Sarah M, Ken, Sarah H, and Jackie-and one-me-less intrepid LCV-ers managed to tear ourselves away from the Christmas pudding for just long enough to remember that we were due to head off to Pease Dean for the New Year. We packed up the bus with everything we could carry, in the best attempt I have yet seen at breaking the axle, and set off on a somewhat dark but surprisingly swift trip down to the Borders. Calling for some lovely chips on the way at Dunbar, we provided a second Christmas for the lovely people behind the counter. Thence onto the cottage just beyond the site and just out of sight of Torness. And very comfortable accommodation it was too.
Next morning, the minibus got us most of the way to the site, although some human-power was required to release it from a more-slippery-than-it-looked field! The remainder of the way was on foot. Loaded with our various saws, axes, lunch, ropes and the imperative kettle, we set off across the field on a silvery morning and found ourselves at the top of a ridge to a small but steeply formed valley. We met up with volunteer reserve convenor Harry Edie, who explained that the task was simply to fell marked trees and leave habitat piles. Easy pease-y!
A S.W.A.T. team set off to tackle larger trees at the top of the valley, with the rest of us pairing up to tackle trees in the mid section of the valley. I soon realised that the pairing was as much about helping your mate down the slope as it was helping to fell the trees! The remainder of the day found us happily felling trees to echoes of 'Vonderba' around the valley at each successful tree-fall.
Sunday saw Tony, Debbie and Trevor add to our numbers and we were making fine progress. Although the temperature was dipping and the more we worked the valley the less grip we got, this is not a site for Berghaus! As we left the site in the fading light crossing the field back to the minibus, some members of the team were silhouetted against the skyline. With all their gear they could have been mistaken for miners of some description!
As it turns out, we had better weather in the Borders than in Edinburgh, where the Hogmanay appeared somewhat damp from the coverage that we saw. However, that did not prevent a few of us with remaining energy stopping up to see in the New Year with a drink and some chocolate!
Monday saw our leader (a.k.a. Tim) grant us all the day off and lead us on a beautiful walk around the nearby Dunglass gorge Listed Wildlife Site (complete with new 'John Muir' Pathway by East Lothian Council...and lots of lovely rhododendrons begging to be cut and burnt at some future New Year resi-any ELC rangers responsible for that path reading this???), heading down to the coast by the power station and back. Ken, Sarah and I released a sapling from its 'protective' plastic pipe, which had become more of a hindrance than help to the poor thing.
All of the food prepared by the volunteer chefs (thanks to all) was beautiful heart-warming fare but I have to hand it to Edel for the crème-de-la-crème when she produced a simply wonderful key lime pie, decorated in a style Picasso himself would have been proud to have produced!
Tuesday saw us back at the site for most of the day, where I was doing fine until one certain tree got hung-up, then fell awkwardly and ultimately buried itself into the increasingly Somme-esque mud! Ho-hum and thanks to all for the assistance and patience in trying to recover the situation! We all had a meerkat moment when a loud alarm sounded from 'nowhere'. Apparently no harm was done though and the cause remains unknown. The morning was nicely rounded off with fire-pit baked potatoes and lashings of butter.
We finally shepherded ourselves back up the valley sides before the light turned and headed back to the cottage. After a brief tidy round, we had another go at breaking the axle on the bus and headed for home, just in advance of the snow. Timed to perfection!
Many thanks to all who made the trip possible-leader, driver, chefs, provisions merchant and accommodation organiser.
P.S. this was my first residential outing, for all who have not tried it, give it a go as it's a lot of fun!
Simon Bonsall
Ben Lawers Resi: May 9 - 11th
On the evening of Friday 9th May, ten of us set out from Edinburgh to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) estate of Ben Lawers, by Loch Tay in Perthshire, for a weekend of footpath work. We had an uneventful journey to Killin, punctuated by the essential chippie stop in Callander, arriving in Killin at approximately 10 p.m.
Saturday dawned warm and hazy as we set off to the site above Lawers village, bolstered by two National Trust for Scotland seasonal rangers and Andy Warwick the full-time ranger. The task was to divert the path around a burn crossing that was becoming dangerously undermined by the water flow. To effect this, we took the path uphill via a series of steps and culminating in a boardwalk, prior to rejoining the existing route safely clear of the problem area.
Two small groups were dispatched to do essential offsite work, one to acquire rocks for construction and landscaping-gratefully assisted by the farmer who transported the rocks uphill using a materials handler. The other group collected surfacing material with Andy, who delivered it on site using his pickup and trailer.
As the day drew on, the sun came out, making for a baking hot day which was nice, though it was pleasant to have lunch by Lawers burn near a waterfall and rock pool. During the afternoon, the new path line became obvious and the boardwalk began to be constructed using environmentally-friendly salvaged timbers.
Saturday evening was quiet and remained sunny and we were well fed by David and Louisa.
Sunday morning was not as sunny as Saturday, but was dry and warm nonetheless. We carried on as before, using hard and soft landscaping to disguise the old path line and so persuade walkers to divert to the new line, a task aided by a hawthorn thicket and a large hole where the burn crossing formerly existed.
Construction of the boardwalk continued apace and by early afternoon we had completed the task. The weekend was nicely rounded off with lunch on the farmer's beach by Loch Tay.
After a brief stop in Killin for the essentials, and an unsuccessful hunt for a door mirror following an encounter with an errant camper van, we returned to Edinburgh where the weather was grey and cool, in stark contrast to that in the Lawers area.
Finally, thank you to all who catered and drove (and Willie for leading-Ed.).
Willie McSporran
(c) Lothians Conservation Volunteers 2008
Lothians Conservation Volunteers is a charity registered in Scotland, No: SC020384