Jarn Heath, Saturday 29th July 2023

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Lumberjacks at work

An attractive toadstool

Graham raking

More raking

Long forgotten memorial bench revealed.


Adding to the heap

Path through the woods



Tea break

Helen cutting back elder







Final photo of workers





The open glade

 This weeks blog was written by Eleanor D

  This Saturday, we were back at Boars Hill, this time at Jarn Heath, part of the Oxford Preservation Trust land. Working under the direction of Rod d'Ayala, the task was to open up an area of woodland to let the light in and make an open glade, which would encourage wild flowers to grow.

We all set to work, scything, lopping and raking and carrying the cut vegetation to heaps in various parts of the wood.. There were some small elder trees to be cut and plenty of nettles, brambles and bracken. in the course of the morning, we uncovered a long  forgotten memorial bench, which had disappeared into the undergrowth. The photos show an attractive mushroom or toadstool and a pink hemp nettle flower. There were also some speckled wood butterflies.

Rod had previously taken a couple of volunteers to fetch bags, containing seeds from another part of the site, which they then scattered on the newly raked ground in the glade.

Luckily, the weather had remained fine and sunny, and by the end of the morning, we could see how much more open the area was, letting the sunlight through.




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