Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team

Harmondsworth Moor is a Country Park located in West Drayton combining flower rich meadows, rivers, woodland & moorland to create a beautiful, diverse habitat.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

@NickyNutBar Gone!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Bit more work from yesterday.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Continuing the amazing by the @Colne_Valley River Rangers we've been opening up more 'viewing points' of the river. Still lots more to go but we're making great progress!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

A couple more photos of the works taking place along the Colne.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

We forgot to get a 'before' photo, but here is some of the river work we've been doing along the River Colne. Creating a bankside habitat where previously there was only bramble and fallen willow limbs. The brash piles are included to show how much we've cleared.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Didn't notice this typo until this morning! Obviously we mean 'Please be advised'.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Also, pleased by advised there are extremely high water levels around Saxon Lake - even the boardwalk is partiall submerged! This is a picture of the footpath (Though you would be forgiven for thinking it was the lake!).

[Wild Lakeland @WildLakeland]

Tree planting is important, but it must not destroy much rarer, valuable habitats. This wildflower-rich grassland in Cumbria has been planted without thought to the Butterfly Orchids, Betony, Scabious, Restharrow, Harebell and assoc'd biodiversity.
Please RT to raise awareness!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Large Ash down this morning - must have been weaked by the storms - so a few hours work with the chainsaw and you can access the footpath again.

Counting the rings we estimate it to be around 40 years old.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Litter picking does bring some interesting finds though - A fat toad hiding under a discarded frying pan!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

It's a never ending task!

I promise I'll stop with boring litter pick photos - it's just a great way to show how much we've been clearing this winter.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Another collection of newts - this group were hiding under a large plastic bag full of rubbish. We left the bag where it is, as it wont be long before they're leaving their winter hides.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Last week was spent mostly clearing the car parks - getting right into the plantations and trying to get every piece we could see. Not sure we got them all (This is just a small amount I took the time to photo) but I think it's looking much better in there now.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

We went out today to see the work done by the @Colne_Valley River Rangers and it was even more impressive than the pictures suggest!

So much Floating Pennywort removed - 3 or 4 large rafts that have been slowly getting out of hand for the last few years. Such a big difference!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Don't worry, I made sure they were all safely covered again after disturbing them.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

A few Smooth Newts I disturbed while litter picking. They were hiding under a large discarded drain cover. Newts hibernate over winter under logs/rocks etc, allowing themselves to become sort of desiccated. When spring comes round they'll crawl out to find water and a mate.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

What a fantastic turn out - and amazing job! Thanks for much to the volunteer River Rangers!

[Colne Valley Park @Colne_Valley]

What a difference a day makes: just look at what our volunteers achieved on #Harmondsworth Moor when they got to grips with invasive floating pennywort. Well done everyone!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

Here's some contact details if you're interested in helping this Sunday.

Massive thanks again to everyone involved!

[Colne Valley Park @Colne_Valley]

Our River Rangers did a great job removing Floating Pennywort from the River Colne at #Harmondsworth Moor yesterday. A big thank you to everyone who helped. Our next session is this Sunday, contact [email protected] if you’d like to join us. It’s great fun!

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

If you missed the first volunteer day and would like to help remove Floating Pennywort from your rivers, there's another opportunity coming this Sunday (19.01.20) meeting the River Rangers from @Colne_Valley between 10/10:30 on the main bridge into the parkland.

[Harmondsworth Moor Ranger Team @HMRangers]

While the volunteers were pulling the Pennywort we went and removed this large willow, granting access to the next patch of Pennywort, creating an open area along the riverbank, and allowing more sunlight down to encourage bankside vegetation.