Category: Wildlife

Visit to the site

by Pete Lowdenin General, News, Volunteers, Wildlife

Visit to the site

On the 14th December Council officers paid a visit to the site. Jennifer Woollin, a City Council Ecologist and Adam McArthur, an Open Spaces Development Officer. They said that they were responding to a complaint. Both of them were initially taken aback at how clear the area behind the shops on Princes Avenue was now. They said they had not visited the site for over a year and, it is beginning to look a little different in there now.

Rear of the Princes Ave shops' path

The volunteers were advised by Adam about the planning permission needed to cutback within a conservation area. He was satisfied that the volunteers were working within those restrictions.

The wild corner

They were informed that no work was to be undertaken in the far north corner of the site. This is, at present, a large area of blackberry bushes. Below is an photograph of it in 1996. The officers were pleased with this decision. Two ash trees close by are to be felled by the Council after Xmas they said. This was due to resident complaints.

The INCA report of 2010 was discussed.

Bill Longbone said that the volunteers would like to place a wildlife pond but the idea had been discouraged. This was due to the potential health and safety issues. Jennifer thought it was a good idea and advised that a formal application should be made.

North Corner HGC 1996

Guided walk

The volunteers gave the representatives a guided walk around the cemetery, and they were genuinely impressed with the improvements that the volunteers had undertaken. We identified the problems with the muddy paths, and that we were continually spreading chippings to keep the paths passable. Andy stated that he would arrange for the council to deliver chippings to the site. This would allow the volunteers to spread them. This would save the volunteers time in chipping.

The officers were shown the ‘butterfly area and plaque, the hawthorn/buckthorn plantings, plaque and owl boxes. All of which were well received by the officers.

Agree with YWT

Both Jenny & Adam suggested that we should remove ivy from headstones and ‘specimen’ trees, but should generally leave it on other trees. They also recommended that much of the ground ivy, and sycamore saplings be cut back. This would encourage light and the diversity of plants and wildlife. They were in agreement with the recommendation of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust that we should create open glade areas to let in light.

We advised that the Friends had done a provisional tree survey in the cemetery, and of our ambition to plot these on a GPS digital map. Adam confirmed that he had such a map, and would undertake a detailed survey of the trees.

Summary

In summary, what could have been a tense meeting turned out very well. The officers were pleased with what the Friends were doing. They were satisfied that we were ‘environmentally and ecologically aware’. The officers offered their help and assistance in obtaining advice on planting and encouraged us to apply for ‘planting grants’ from the council. They also said to submit the proposal for the pond with their support.

In conclusion, Jennifer Woollin said, “One of the visions for the management plan and this city is the designation of additional Local Nature Reserves. General Cemetery has always been on my radar and the FOGC are clearly establishing well and community involvement is essential.”

Tree Survey

by Adminin General, Volunteers, Wildlife

On the 6th November 1976 Hull City Council conducted a wide-ranging tree survey of Hull General Cemetery. To build-on this information it is hoped* that the Friends of Hull General Cemetery (FoHGC) will conduct it’s own tree survey of the cemetery in 2020. Once the new survey has been conducted it will be possible to see how many of the original-survey trees remain and how the spread/variety of them has changed in the past 44 years.

*(Covid-19 lockdown permitting)

The Friends of Hull General Cemetery has created a xlsx spreadsheet using the 1976 survey results. Karen Towner our Wildlife Liaison Officer has added some (stock) images and a brief outline of the benefits to the eco-system of each tree. Please feel free to download this spreadsheet using the following link.

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1976 Tree Survey

1 file(s) 2.35 MB
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Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

by Adminin Volunteers, Wildlife1 Comment on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Wildlife Liaison Officer update:

On 24th February I met Andy a representative from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to show him around the Hull General Cemetery.  He offered some suggestions which he believed would enhance the cemetery and improve the diversity of wildlife. 

Suggestions

  • Create a woodland glade where wildflower seeds can be sown. This will attract insects, bees, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.  A couple of potential areas were identified which had plenty of natural light (See main photograph).
  • Restrict access to some of the lesser used paths. Use barrier plants or woven natural fences of branches.  This would create larger, quieter spaces for wildlife habitat.
  • Replace some of the non-native shrubs with native species.  Remove all rhododendron before it takes over.
  • Pollard the holly to encourage a thicker base and better screening.
  • Plant native honeysuckle and only plant/sow native flowers.
  • Install two Tawny Owl boxes.
  • Extend area of brambles on workhouse mound.
  • Speak to the Council about free delivery of wood-chippings.
  • Do not to cut fallen trees into short pieces. Keep as much of their length of possible/practical.

Summary

Andy said he had never visited the Hull General Cemetery (HGC) before and admitted later that he was sceptical about what he would see.  I am delighted to tell you that he was very impressed with the site. He liked the wood-chip paths, our installation of bat and bird boxes, and the lack of litter.  He was delighted to hear that we had Pipistrelles (bats) visit HCG. As a bonus we also saw a number of birds including a Goldcrest during our walk around the cemetery. This was an excellent visit. We hope to build upon our relationship with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for the future.

Karen Towner, Wildlife Liaison Officer.

Wildlife Liaison Officer

by Adminin Volunteers, Wildlife

The Friends of Hull General Cemetery has a new Wildlife Liason Officer, this is a short introductory message from Karen…

“Hello, my name is Karen Towner and I was recently persuaded to take on the vacant role of Wildlife Liaison Officer for Friends of Hull General Cemetery. We see my role as engaging with various wildlife groups and organisations to get the best support and advice so that the Friends of Hull General Cemetery (FoHGC) can deliver the dual task of preserving the valuable historical monuments for future generations and encouraging a diverse wildlife within it.

In August last year (2019), with the help of East Yorkshire Bat Group, we established that we had at least two Pipistrelle bats hunting in the cemetery. We look advice from experts on how we can best support these small mammals and subsequently erected a set of three bat boxes in the autumn. Later in the spring we hope to arrange an evening ‘bat walk’.

I have organised for volunteers from Tophill Low Nature Reserve to undertake a survey of bird species in early March (2020). By that time we will have erected 30 bird nest boxes as well as adding more bat boxes which have kindly been made by some of FoHGC volunteers. There will also be an invitation to Friends and supporters to join the Dawn Chorus walk on Sunday 3 May at 6.30am.

In the summer another volunteer from Tophill Nature Reserve, who lives locally, will assist in identifying and photographing insects and other invertebrates which inhabit Hull General Cemetery (HGC). He has kindly agreed to share his findings and photos with us.

Finally, I am in the process of liaising with other organisations with a view to establishing the best way to maintain and improve the cemetery and flora and fauna within it. I will post regular updates here and on our Facebook page to keep you all informed.”