Essex & Suffolk National Trust Volunteers

Clearing saplings and gorse to maintain the open heathland. Tree planting

Clearing gorse and footpath maintenance. Removing Silver Birch saplings from the heathland

Gorse clearance and footpath maintenance. Clearing gorse and bramble.

Clearing saplings and gorse to maintain the heathland. Clearing and moving the tree guards to allow light and space for

Clearing the path through Lady Geraldine’s Walk. Painting the Granary and grouting the patio slabs.

Weeding the dry moat and gravel paths. Digging drainage channels and clearing the courtyard.

Clearing and mulching the borders. Mulching the hedgerow saplings, clearing paths and drainage pipe

Clearing scrub from the fence line and thinning the hedgerow.Litter picking and cutting back the hedge from the track

Tree planting and fencing. Weeding turning over and mulching of Walled Garden border.

Gorse clearance. Removing old fencing and a bridge and clearing scrub from around the bird hide.

Scrub and Gorse clearance at Danbury and Pin Mill

40th Anniversary of the group and clearing the Mill Pond of reed mace and vegetation

Hedge cutting and verge clearing along the Albana Walk.

This week our task was at Bridges Farm working with Stephen the new Ranger. We spent the morning looking and

This week we returned to Flatford working alongside Countryside manager Dave Piper. We were tasked with replacing a stretch of

Despite the wet and cold weather conditions we made a welcome return to Northey Island for our task this week.

For our task this weekend we returned to Lower Barn Farm Dedham to continue working alongside Dave Piper and helping

We returned to Danbury Common this week to help and work alongside the ranger Matt. We were tasked with cutting

We returned to Pin Mill for our task this week and continued our work on widening the pathways to allow

Here are a few photos from our first task out for the year. We worked at Lower Barn Farm, where

Our last task of 2022 was with Dave Piper at Lower Barn Farm , Dedham. We were tasked with cutting

We returned to Danbury Common for our task this week and thankfully this time the day although very cold, was

For our task this week we returned to Pin Mill to work alongside Ranger Dave Mason. We started the day

We returned to Ickworth House this week to continue assisting in the preparations for their Light Nights. We worked in

In a rearranged task we were at Mount Pleasant Farm ,Dunwich Heath this week. We were tasked with removing a

We made a very welcome return to Ickworth House for our task this week where we had the pleasure of

We returned to Flatford this week for our annual task of clearing mace reed from the mill pond.On recent visits

Our task this week was on Orford Ness where we worked with Karen, a new ranger to the site who

A change of date, led to a change of task too at Dunwich Heath, where we worked to clear a

Our task this week was at Pin Mill working in the Cliff plantation area. We cut back a lot of

On Sunday 24th we gathered with Matt the Ranger at Danbury Common to carry out a walk through ecological survey

Our task this week was at Dunwich Heath working the ranger Lloyd. On a rotational basis old woody gorse is

Our Sunday destination did not take us far from the day before, as we visited Sherman’s Hall in Dedham We

This was an additional task for us, and – unusually – a Saturday out, having been invited to join ‘Bioblitz’

Our task this week was at a new venue for the group at Hatfield Forest in Essex, a well preserved

We made a welcome return to Northey Island to continue our work there. The new bird hide needed another coat

This week we were working alongside the Drovers Way installing a new fence line across the field. This involved completely

We made a visit to always popular Dedham – but this time walking shoes weren’t required, as the worksite was

Sometimes, the best laid plans go awry. It doesn’t usually happen to us, but this was one of those tasks!

We returned to Northey Island this week to help clear the foreshore of rubbish , litter and driftwood after the

Our task this week was to continue the clearance work we had previously undertaken at Backwarden Danbury. This was our

We returned to Backwarden to continue clearing the area of birch saplings and gorse prior to the nesting season. With

This week the group returned to a rather bracing Dunwich Heath. We were tasked with removing the old chicken wire

This time we returned to Dedham where we split into two groups with one focusing on continuing to clear the

This week we returned to Backwarden Danbury for the first task of 2022. We continued our work removing silver birch

This week was our last task for the year which included the Christmas Barbecue. We continued clearing overgrown hedge rows

This week the group returned to Danbury supporting ranger Matt in an area called Backwarden. The task involved cutting down

This week we returned to Dedham. We split into 2 teams with one group tasked with clearing the garden of

This week we returned to Dawns Covert to continue the work we started a month ago. We repaired the fencing,

This week the group visited Melford for the first time this year. We were tasked with thinning out the woodland

This week we made a return visit to Dawns Covert at Pin Mill. We removed undergrowth to clear the fence

This week we returned to Mount Pleasant Farm working alongside ranger Lloyd to continue removing the old perimeter fence and

This week it was our annual task of clearing the Mill Pond at Flatford working along side Dave Piper. A

Our second visit of the year to Orford Ness, this time around we continued clearing gorse bushes we started earlier

A great turnout in the heat, for our second visit of the year to Copt Hall Marshes. This time we

A visit to the other end of our region this week, to work with Ranger Lloyd at Dunwich. There were

A handful of us braved the hottest day of the year at Danbury Commons, primarily to undertake a Land Condition

Some sore heads this morning were quickly cleared by the North Sea air at Northey Island. This is another site

We were out of sequence this week, as circumstances beat our last planned task. And we visited Copt Hall Marshes

This task – we returned to Thorington Hall, to support gardener Lisa. Once again, we helped to blitz the grounds

This Sunday, we were back to a familiar property – Pin Mill, and working with a new Ranger – David

A second visit for the year to Dedham – this time working at Bridges Farm – and once again we

This Sunday, we were back at Lower Barn Farm in Dedham Vale, where there were a variety of tasks to

Our second post-lockdown-3 task was an unusual one for us – working at a National Trust Holidays property. It was

This Sunday we were back to Danbury Common for the first time since March! In addition to scrub clearing, this

A visit to Moorats Park in Dedham for this task saw us working to repair a section of fence, including

A very cold, frosty start to our last task of 2017. We worked at the far end of Dedham Hall

A great turnout of volunteers on a lovely sunny day meant we were able to really attack the exterior hedge,

Second visit of the year to Bourne Mill in Colchester to do a site tidy. Most parts of the grounds

A day of laurel-lopping! The saying that many hands make light work was never truer than today, as a hard-working

This week it felt great to get back to a classic slash and burn task! We were on the heathland

A change to the original programme saw a number of us convene on Orford Ness for our second task of

That time of year again! This task was the annual clearance of the mill pond at Flatford. This maintenance is

Third task in a row at Ickworth, but this time we were working in the walled garden, weeding/clearing a couple

Another session cutting back the hedge along the Albana Walk, and this week we finished it! Well, the field side

More hedge-trimming along the Albana Walk this week at Ickworth House. We’re making good progress! Well done to everyone who

Adam kindly hosted a BBQ at his house after the task at Orford Ness, and it was very much enjoyed

This week’s task was a rare visit to Orford Ness to tackle some Red Valerian that was unwanted. This Red