Ock Valley Walk, Town End, 25th January 2014

By Andrew -
This Saturday's Green Gym was well attended with thirteen in all, including our two new members from the previous week, Tanya and Petra.

The group assembled beside the weir at the town end of the Ock Valley Walk for our second outdoor session of the year.  However, due to the recent floods and for safety reasons, a no-entry sign had been fastened across the footbridge.  Fortunately permission rights had been granted by the town council and providing that we had the right spanners to loosen the sign, we were allowed access so that our session could go ahead.

The Ock was still fast-flowing and at a higher level than usual, but the area where we usually work had either drained away or had not been affected by the flooding.

The task as stated in the program, was to clear areas ready for planting new trees once we acquire them. The trees that we planted a few years ago had unfortunately been depleted, with a few more casualties having become apparent during the winter. The ones that are left, including (former Green Gymmer) Chris Thomas's memorial tree, look more resilient and hopefully have the worst of the season's storms behind them.

Now that the nettles and brambles have died down it gave us easier access to see where the dead wood and general foliage lies, so that we were able to saw, lop and rake, while making habitat piles for the local wildlife.

The litter along the path is usually in much abundance, and this occasion was no exception, though we were pleased to be able to cover the whole stretch between St Helen's bridge and the Drayton Road.  Hopefully the general public will be able to appreciate our work soon enough, once the path is safe to open again.
- Kevin
 
Kevin opens up!

The Ock is higher than usual

Fast-flowing waters at the weir


The tools, ready to be transported to the work site

Snowdrops

Margaret raking

Sally, hard at work

Refreshment time
 

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