Cache placed with kind permission of the Allotments Officer at City of York Council.
This secluded corner of the allotments was hard landcaped by Warren Philliskirk and planted with a wide variety of native plants, trees and seeds during the winter of 2004-5 by members of the Allotment Association and pupils from the nearby Hempland Primary School. The vegetation is allowed to grow naturally, then mown off each autumn and the cutings raked up and removed to reduce the fertility of the soil, to provide the right conditions to encourage the growth of wild plants & flowers. The area is popular with a variety of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and the wetlands are home to frogs and newts too. Wetland sites are under threat nationally from drainage and destruction, so it's nice to have at least one new area created here in the City of York. Hopefully more will be created as time goes on.
The access paths can get overgrown with nettles and brambles at certain times of the year, in particular the entrance off Hempland Lane, please take care, especially if bringing children, and take particular care near the water.
Please keep dogs on leads and do not allow them to do their business in the wetlands area itself, as it is regularly used by children from Hempland Primary School for nature study. I know it's natural, but they really don't want to study that. There is plenty of dog walking space down by the riverside paths near entrance 2.
You're looking for a tiny magnetic nano. There's only room for the log inside, so please bring a pen or pencil. Watch out for allotmenteers (or anyone else) watching you, especially when retrieving and returning the cache! Please put it back exactly as found, others have placed it in full view in the past and it's gone missing and had to be replaced several times. I've tried larger containers but they keep getting muggled, so hoping this tiny one will last longer.