Old Berkeley Golf Course, Boars Hill, Saturday 8th April

By -

 this weeks' blog was written by Eleanor D


We were at Old Berkeley Golf course, next to Abrahams Wood on Boars Hill, working for the Oxford Preservation Trust. It was a fine, sunny day but as it was Easter Saturday there were just ten of us. Our task was to clear rush and creeping bent grass from the stream to make room for ivy leaved crowfoot, which is quite a rare plant. You can see a photo of it.

Rod d’Ayala arrived, to instruct us on what to do, which was quite a relief as we wouldn’t have been sure we were doing the right thing! We set to work digging up rushes with forks and small mattocks and pulling grass out of the water course while Sally scythed rushes. Rod showed us how to make bunds out of sections of turf and lay them across the stream in order to slow down the flow of water and spread it out. We put the rushes into the two wheelbarrows to transport to piles under trees at either side of the stream.

We were glad of our break, as the work was tiring and the sun was surprisingly strong for April. An extra treat awaited us, as Sally had brought along some mini Easter cupcakes. Then it was back to work.

However, after doing about half an hour’s work, a small group of us sneaked off to Abrahams Wood to follow the Easter treasure hunt trail. It was a pleasant change to be in the cool, shady wood. A few of the bluebells were just starting to come out. In two or three weeks’ time there will be a spectacular display.

Back at the workplace there were heaps of reeds, the result of Sally’s diligent scything, to be cleared away. She found a female toad, which we all went to look at and which you can see in the photos.

We were pleased with what we had achieved during the morning, although there is still plenty more to do



instructions!



lots of digging going on 


moving clumps of rushes






well earned tea break






spread out wetland





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, Farmoor Reservoir, 16th March 2019

By Andrew -
Image
Another week, another new site for the Abingdon Green Gym! We met at the car park at Farmoor Reservoir, a healthy turn out of 17 of us, including French father Sebastien, and his eleven-year old son, Maelo, who was joining us for a school project. The session was led by James under the instruction of Hanna Jenkins, the warden of Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, so called because it is right on the banks of the River Thames, just near Pinkhill Lock. It was another blustery day. Will this crazy wind ever let up? We followed Hanna in convoy round the edge of the reservoir, which was choppy to say the least, and parked up on the other side where it was thankfully a little calmer, the high banks of the reservoir providing some shelter. Equipped with our tools, gloves and goggles, we made our way onto the spot on the nature reserve where we were to do our work. Hanna told us that the reserve had been formed in 1991, but some aspects had been neglected over the last ten years. The aim
Read more

Kennington Memorial Field, 29th October 2016

By Andrew -
We have been working at Kennington Memorial Field for a number of years now, clearing scrub from the slopes so that the valley remains an area of grassland and wild flowers. This time Rachel from Oxford Preservation Trust was in charge and led us down to the lower end of the field, where we were to cut back the trees and bushes by several metres and burn the scrub on a bonfire. We were joined by some families with children of varying ages, the youngest only three, who had answered a local appeal for volunteers. We set to work and soon we had a bonfire going. Even the children who were too young to use loppers and saws joined in, carrying branches to the bonfire pile. Despite the drizzly weather they all worked cheerfully. At tea break time we enjoyed some delicious snacks that Rachel had brought and a tin of chocolates supplied by Michele. We found two old birds' nests in the course of the morning and cutting back the scrub revealed a log pile with a rabbit hole under
Read more

Ock Valley Walk, Town End, 22nd June 2013

By Andrew -
Image
Quite a small group gathered for this session and the weather didn't look promising. However, we were pleased to welcome a new member, Laura. We set off for the woodchip path,where we made our encampment. The nettles had grown high and dense since our previous visit, almost concealing the young trees, compising beech, oak, silver birch, cherry and rowan, which we had planted as whips almost two and a half years previously. One of our tasks was to clear the nettles and other vegetation immediately around them. As you can see from the photo of the young cherry, most of the trees are flourishing. Other tasks were to cut up and clear fallen branches into piles and the inevitable litter picking. There was a sharp shower shortly before 11 o'clock but it had stopped when we gathered for a welcome tea break. By the end of the morning we had finished clearing round the trees, tidied away the dead wood and picked up quite a respectable amount of litter, though I suspect t
Read more