Abingdon Green Gym Blog

 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Kevin and Michele This Saturday we were back at Hinksey Heights Nature Reserve to carry on with work along the nature trail. It was a beautiful, sunny day, promising to be very warm,  as we set off from the car park along the track leading to our work site. We made our encampment by the pond, where there are two picnic tables. There are a number of diverse habitats along the trail - grassland, large ponds, a stream, woodland, wet woodland and fen.   There were still some brambles to be cut back by the path and along the side of the dell. This had to be done carefully so as not to disturb nesting birds. Next to the path was a massive oak tree (quercus robur) where we saw a warbler of some kind. We could also hear a cuckoo nearby. There was a lot of scything to do in the dell and raking up the grass and moving it to heaps under the trees. We were glad of our tea break by the pond, and it was difficult to get back to work. There were a number of young trees pla

 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Sally, Kevin and Eleanor It was a beautiful, sunny day as a good number of Green Gymmers met in Berkeley Road for our task on the Old Berkeley Golf Course next to Abrahams Wood. We were also joined by three Oxford Preservation Trust volunteers. The site was looking at its best, covered in buttercups and the hawthorn blossom out. Our main task was to scythe and dig up rushes growing along the watercourse at the bottom of the valley, to encourage ivy leaved crowfoot. The dug up rushes would then be made into bunds which would make the water spread out into pools. Another task was to clear around the lower gate into Abrahams wood. Ivy leaved crowfoot We set about our various tasks, scything, raking, digging and clearing. After tea break some of us went on a tour of Abrahams Wood to see the bluebells before it was too late, as they were almost past their best. This is a great site to see English bluebells (hyacinthoides non scripta) between mid April and early M