Caldecott School, 16th August 2014
This was our maiden outing to Caldecott School. Our task there was to assist a group to rake up the cuttings from a recently-mown wildflower meadow that has been created beside the playing fields. We were relatively few in number, but were also joined by some volunteers from the Abingdon Carbon Cutters, thus boosting the workforce somewhat.
The raking was begun in a small enclosed area and once completed there, our activities moved on to the larger meadow, where wild flowers had been sown in and around a number of trees. A small orchard has been planted, along with an area of hazel saplings and a variety of other native trees.
As some of us raked the grass cuttings into piles, others transported these cuttings to a compost heap besides the school gate. Some tarpaulins and builders' 'drag bags' had been brought along to make this task a little easier. It was soon apparent that due to the large volumes of grass, a second heap was required, with a frame to hold the contents in place hastily constructed!
The refreshment break was taken beneath an awning, with a number of makeshift seats available (i.e. a collection of logs!), so that we were in relative comfort. A variety of biscuits and cakes appeared along with bacon rolls, kindly supplied by the neighbouring childrens' centre.
We were rather spoiled.
Fully victualed, we continued apace up until the 12:30pm deadline with some furious raking and clearing activities. Kevin managed compress the cuttings as best he could by jumping up and down on them to keep the volume down, so that they could all be contained within the frame.
A job well done. Hopefully the wildflower meadow and the trees will remain well looked-after and perhaps we will be back next year to help out again.
-Andrew
The raking was begun in a small enclosed area and once completed there, our activities moved on to the larger meadow, where wild flowers had been sown in and around a number of trees. A small orchard has been planted, along with an area of hazel saplings and a variety of other native trees.
As some of us raked the grass cuttings into piles, others transported these cuttings to a compost heap besides the school gate. Some tarpaulins and builders' 'drag bags' had been brought along to make this task a little easier. It was soon apparent that due to the large volumes of grass, a second heap was required, with a frame to hold the contents in place hastily constructed!
The refreshment break was taken beneath an awning, with a number of makeshift seats available (i.e. a collection of logs!), so that we were in relative comfort. A variety of biscuits and cakes appeared along with bacon rolls, kindly supplied by the neighbouring childrens' centre.
We were rather spoiled.
Fully victualed, we continued apace up until the 12:30pm deadline with some furious raking and clearing activities. Kevin managed compress the cuttings as best he could by jumping up and down on them to keep the volume down, so that they could all be contained within the frame.
A job well done. Hopefully the wildflower meadow and the trees will remain well looked-after and perhaps we will be back next year to help out again.
-Andrew
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| Work commences |
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| Raking the larger wildflower meadow |
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| Raking around the trees |
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| One of the young Apple trees |
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| The orchard area |
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| Colin and Margaret loading a drag bag |
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| Kevin compresses the cuttings |
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| Evidence of a job well done! |
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| The end of the session |
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