Hinksey Heights, 24th April 2021

By Andrew -

A jaunt to one of our furthest-flung sites was on offer this weekend - Hinksey Heights. A location that we'd only visited on a handful of occasions in the past. The meeting point this time was the golf club car park, where we formed a team of six and two teams of three, under the leadership of Sally. We were greeted by bright sunshine and mild temperatures as we gathered for our briefing, before going off to meet the owners of the site, John and Jenny who outlined the tasks in greater detail.

The first job to be assigned involved three of us clearing bramble and nettle roots, stones and other debris from a patch by the start of the nature trail that had been earmarked for wild flower planting. A mechanical digger had been brought in on an earlier occasion to prepare the ground, but there was still much for myself, Kevin and Graham to do in order to prepare the soil for planting. 

Elsewhere, another group was assigned to planting tree whips - rowan and crab apple in an area across the trail from the pond. Eleanor, Joan and Michelle set about doing this, with the area having been somewhat prepared in advance.

The remainder of our party, including new member Cathy, were involved in removing unwanted saplings, largely ash, as well as preparing further sites for planting additional young trees.

Also working close by were members of the Hinksey Heights tree group who had plenty of their own tasks to keep themselves busy.

As usual we achieved all that we set out to do, and we look forward to returning here in the future to assist where we can.

-Andrew


Sally instructs the group upon arrival.

Kevin gets digging.

The pond.

Sally instructs new member, Cathy.


Ash saplings being removed.

Members of the Hinksey Heights tree group, hard at work.

Tree whips ready for planting.
Michelle, Joan and Eleanor - busy digging.


The nature trail.

Views of the dreaming spires of Oxford in the distance.

Dappled sunlight.

Wielding a mattock to remove bramble and nettle roots from the wildflower patch. 

Graham and Kevin hard at work.

Red dead-nettle.

Graham surveys the completed wildflower patch.




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