TASK TEAM NEWS

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RECORDER The autumn has come all too quickly.
The multi-coloured woodlands were an absolute
feast during October and something I would dearly
miss if I were to emigrate to warmer climes. The
almost guaranteed sun of the Mediterranean may be
fine for a holiday but if it was the same
everyday with hardly any rain Im sure I would
get terribly bored with it. The rolling
hillsides of South Yorkshire mixed with the four
seasons is a recipe for an enormous variety of
flora and fauna and when that sun does finally
break through we have some of the finest scenery
in the world, right here on our doorstep. There
were some interesting snippets on the news
recently. A particular species of Ladybird was
introduced into the orchards of Italy to help
control pests. These particular ladybirds have
made their way into Britain now and are killing
our local species of ladybird and theyre even
capable of biting a human apparently! There was
also a sad tale of Red Leg virus affecting the
British frog population. During September there
were noticeable communities of Red Admiral
butterfly and Shield Bugs. Keith Kendall also
remarked on the sparrows disappearing from his
garden for three weeks only to suddenly
re-appear. Had they been on their holidays? Cats
and gardeners sometimes are at odds with each
other but we are a committee of cat lovers and we
were discussing keeping cats away from our
freshly dug soil. Dave Lyon has a wooden board,
stuck in the ground with a picture of a big black
cat painted on it and he says this is very
affective. We also have recent reports of a swan
on Havelock Dam, Lapwings seen at Redmires middle
dam and Roger saw a large flock of geese fly
over. Derek Hastings returned a wildlife form to
me a while ago and I missed it in the last
newsletter and so apologys. On the 5th June
Derek saw a flock of some 20 plus gold finch and
green finch just off Roper Hill Lodge moor. That
must have been quite a site but why they were
flocking in the middle of June I cant imagine.
Its a sight I would expect to see towards the
end of the summer. He also reported four
lapwings on 18th June and two Red Grouse on the
20th June on fields just off Roper Hill. The RVCG
now has its own stock of birdseed and feeders and
so if you would like some advice on how to best
to provide food for birds in your own garden
throughout winter contact Roger Kite or Keith
Kendall or email rvcg_at_supanet.com. I would also
like to hear your own reports or stories from the
depths of the Rivelin Valley to your own back
garden. So please return a report form or email
me at grahamappleby_at_btopenworld.com or submit a
report through our website at www.rivelinvalley.or
g.uk Graham Appleby
TASK TEAM NEWS
We have been concentrating our efforts on Upper
Cut Wheel. This is just to the left of the S
Bend driving towards the Rivelin Post Office.
The Sheffield City Council have made a
significant contribution to the footpath and goit
retaining wall to make it safe for passers-by.
The goit is the manmade waterway which fed the
old water wheel and is currently an interesting
little waterfall where the old wheel pit used to
be. The RVCG have also made significant repairs
to this wall further down towards Hind Wheel
although our repairs used the original stone.
The Council have used stone chippings in wire
mesh cages. Ill leave you to decide which looks
best. The RVCG have continued improvements at
this site with the use of heavy machinery thanks
to Frank Revitt, our resident farmer, which was
used to dig out the old millpond. The following
Sunday, 28th Nov saw a lovely autumn morning
welcome lots of volunteers and their young
families. This involved cutting back lots of
trees and shrubs and creating a huge bonfire.
Others waded around in heavy mud to reconstruct
parts of the old millpond wall so that it could
once again hold water as a wildlife pond. This
was a thoroughly enjoyable day although still an
ongoing project. The area is to be grassed,
planted with specimen trees and have benches
installed all for the pleasure of local ramblers
and passing public. Graham Appleby
Upper Cut Wheel Excerpt from Walking The
Rivelin by Keith Kendall Some of the best
remains of a wheel housing can be found at this
wheel. Not only the wheel housing but if you
study the surrounding area closely you may get
some idea as to the layout of the buildings. The
Upper Cut wheel was only a small wheel working 8
trows (a trow is a set of three grindstones,
fine, medium and course) and was rented by
Bradshaw Co for a rent of 7 per annum in 1818.
The buildings for this dam stood between the the
wheel arch and the river just about where the
path is now. Whilst only a narrow dam, it is
said that the Upper Cut Dam was used for the hire
of rowing boats. Having seen one post card with
a rowing boat in front of the mill, I still
remain sceptical but I am reliably informed it is
true.
THE RIVELIN VALLEY CONSERVATION GROUP   WILDLIFE
REPORT FORM   If you would like to report
anything you feel would be of interest to our
members then please return this form or contact
me on the number shown. Do you know you can also
submit this form from our web page on
www.rivelinvalley.org.uk under recorder   Name
Tele.
..   What...When
..   Where.
...   Any further
information?.
.  
.  
. Please return to
group recorder Graham Appleby, 30 Stephen Drive,
Crosspool, Sheffield, S10 5NX Tele 0114 2660203
email grahamappleby_at_btopenworld.com
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RVCG ATUPPER CUT WHEEL
The pond is re-discovered.
Upper Cut Wheel pit
Old trow mountings
In the background Keith Kendall carefully checks
the ladder is the right way round for the
installation of new nesting boxes.
Getting stuck inliterally!.
Whatever you can do..
..we can do better. Who said girls get all the
easy jobs?...
Penny for your thoughts.
And the result of all the back breaking work
..A new bench eagerly tried out by Roger and Dan