For the third summer in a row, we met at Caldecott Primary School for a session of grass raking - following the annual cutting of the wildflower meadow.
Our task was once again overseen by Marion Owen from the Abingdon Carbon Cutters group, with five or so of their members working alongside us for the morning.
The day was off to a dry start, but after some recent rain, the ground was a little wet, with many slugs and snails evident. Some common frogs were also spotted - finally some rather ideal weather for our amphibian friends after the recent drought conditions.
As previously, the rakings were transported via some builders' drag-bags from the meadow area to the compost heaps close to the gate of the field.
Some advice was taken from members of the Carbon Cutters on how best to construct these heaps to encourage the material to break down efficiently. Layers of new and old cuttings were thus alternatively piled on, sandwiched between dampened cardboard and other green waste. Some of the rakings were put to use this way, but given the sheer volume of grass, the surplus was piled separately and to be added-in at a later time.
In common with last year, we were finished before our usual 12:30pm deadline, such was the speed at which we worked along with the effort put in by all the volunteers. A job well done.
-Andrew
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| Let us begin... |
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| Attending to the compost piles |
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| Lauren rakes |
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| One of the many snails observed today |
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| A pair of plums |
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| Some cardboard - torn up, wetted and added to the compost heap |
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| Tea? |
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| A well-earned break |
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| A frog escapes his composting fate |
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| Colin wanted his blue sheet to be credited on this photo - used to transport the rakings! |
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| Andrew flattens the composting material |
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| Our youngest member, Charlie, joins in |
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| Home time! |
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