Parish Council
About 20 residents volunteered on the Saturday morning to do some clearing on the Sticklepath Moor and around the village.
The turnout for the work on the Moor was lower than in previous years, but there were still significant achievements. Gorse and bramble were cut back on the moor. There was no fire this year to clear up the cuttings. Rob Taylor, the Dartmoor Ranger also recognised that moving this annual event from a Sunday to a Saturday made it a bit more difficult for some residents to take part. However, it gave Rob an opportunity to meet a good bunch of volunteers and to learn a bit more about the area and the tasks required in his expanded patch to be covered as a Ranger. He had visited Sticklepath moor with the DNPA Ecologist previously and told us that this is an important, unspoilt area of acid grassland which contains 40+ varieties of important plants. There is a need to graze the moor as well as to have the workdays to help prevent the invasion of a few dominant species and to keep the drainage clear. Rob will be looking for the opportunity for someone to provide cattle, ponies or horses for grazing.
Back in the village, 12 volunteers took on patches of the main road which needed weeding and tending. These were on the pathways below the Old School and around Ladywell, Sticklehenge and on the Taw Bridge.
Thanks to all those who turned up, but specific thanks to Rob for taking on this role alongside so many other responsibilities, StOC for providing most of the tools and to Steve Matthews for very popular lardy cakes to add to the refreshments.
The next Village WorkDay is planned for 8th May as part of the Coronation volunteering day. The work around highways will be coordinated by Jake Powell in his role as Road Warden. Other tasks on Billy Green and in the Bus Shelters will need to be coordinated by another volunteer on behalf of the Parish Council.
The Workday in February 2024 will be arranged for a Sunday.
Cllr Derek Moore
27/02/2023