The Summer Copse

The jobs are mounting up for the Friends of Three Cornered Copse. There are paths to clear, fallen trees to move and brambles to tame.

Brown Knapweed flowering near the silver birches

But we're still bound by the rules of the day which prevent groups meeting up, and so we haven't been able to take care of Hove's largest woodland for some time. Individually, our members have been picking up litter, clearing around the signs and the benches, but the larger tasks that we need to do in the summer months remain un-tackled.

The copse, otherwise, is largely un-managed, Only when trees threaten to drop onto the busy areas do the council's contractors take action to bring them down safely, The benefit of this is the wildness of some areas which develops into a feast of wild flowers and dense vegetation for many species of insects. It's been another record year for butterflies. 2019 was a great year, but 2020 can be even better. The warm spring weather followed by the sunniest May since records began led to the early emergence of many butterfly species. In the right conditions they are to be found on the edges and hedges of our green space, a feast for the eye. One of our members has spotted a Painted Lady, which was in decline until the recent two summers.

The copse has been very popular this year due to the increased leisure time some of us have had, and the sunny warm weather. Unfortunately one or two bonfires have been started, which could have dreadful consequences in these dry months. The Fire Service has had to attend on one occasion to ensure the heat of the fire has subsided. In a woodland the fire heats the underground, and it can flare up after the original flames have burned away.

The Keep Britain Tidy organisation has moved the Great British Spring Clean, (which was cancelled), to the Great British September Clean. Slightly different to the previous years, when our group has always participated, the September event will only be small groups of up to six people over a week or so, again to avoid large group meetings. The intention is exactly the same, to fill as many black bags as possible and clear the space of all the litter that has accumulated over the summer. We will post details of the event on our Facebook page in due course. All welcome, in small groups, of course.

Simon Baxendale