Fungi are flourishing across our woodland reserves. Fungi are neither plant nor animal, and come in a fantastic array of shapes, with some weird and wonderful names! Please do not pick or eat fungi (several are very poisonous), - leave them where you find them so that others can enjoy their beauty. 

A rewarding and productive day was had mastering the art of steam bending at Bradfield Woods last weekend. Tutor David Wheeler is an experienced furniture designer who runs regular green wood courses. The group learnt the skills of steam bending and created simple tables or stools, whilst enjoying the warmth of the outdoor fireplace. 

Alex Lack and his team of volunteers have been busy with ride management at Bonny Woods. This involves cutting back this year’s vegetative growth along the wide woodland paths to allow more sunlight to reach the woodland floor and encourage greater botanical and structural diversity next year. 

Visitor Officer Michael Andrews has been snapping some more gorgeous signs of autumn at Lackford Lakes this week. 

The Carlton Marshes volunteers continued clearing the cut areas of fen this week. Although the cut area looks quite severe, it's already growing back and this rotational cutting and clearing maintains a high level of floristic diversity. Assistant Warden Frances Lear has been busy cutting some of the surfaced paths since last blog, keeping a big section of Carlton Marshes accessible to all. 

A group of students from the University of Suffolk visited Carlton Marshes this week to start a camera trap survey as part of the "snapshot Europe" project to capture images of local wildlife. They will retrieve them next month – we look forward to seeing the results! 

It’s a pleasure to start work early with misty views like this at Carlton Marshes. Imagine the sounds of water rail, Cetti's warbler, kingfisher and ducks for the full experience! 

The North East team installed two new gates at Reydon Wood to keep people to the reserve trails and protect sensitive parts of the reserve from trampling. Wooden materials were used to help blend into the surroundings. 

Assistant Warden Frances Lear and her team of brilliant volunteers cleared the meadow area of Hen Reedbeds this week – great work!