Ock Valley Walk, Tesco End, 28th March 2015

By Andrew -
Despite the windy weather there was a good turnout for the session at the Tesco end of the Ock Valley Walk.  We proceeded to our usual spot to commence the work programme.

Litter picking is one of the main tasks on this stretch of the path and the pickers collected many bags of assorted recyclable and landfill rubbish.

Brambles were cut back from the main path and were easier to see now that the summer growth of nettles and other foliage had died back.

With the rain keeping off and our backs to the wind we had our well deserved break of cake and hot drinks.

For the second part of the session, we continued with clearing and stacking the fallen branches, most of it residue of vegetation that was washed down from the flooding in the winter of 2013/14.

Also we diverted our attention to the early signs of Himalayan Balsam shoots, emerging from the undergrowth. Although very small, their distinctive leaf (once you zeroed your eye in) could be plucked out and disposed of. Hopefully by doing this now it will diminish the spread of HB and give us a fighting chance against it later in the season.
-Kevin











Early Himalayan Balsam growth

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