Abingdon Green Gym Blog

Our new programme for late autumn 2016 has just been published - see below, or click  HERE  to view a larger-text PDF file version (opens in new window).

When we were last at the Tesco End of the Ock Valley Walk, summer was in full-swing and the Himalayan Balsam was somewhat rampant.  Now, firmly in the grip of Autumn, the Balsam, along with much of the rest of the summer vegetation had begun to die-back.  The consequence being, that for this session, we were not inundated with invasive non-native plants to eradicate, but instead, gave priority to litter-picking - with the litter problem along this section of the path all the more obvious as the plant growth has subsided. A secondary task was to sweep the paths of fallen leaves, which when wet can become a slip hazard, especially on the recently-tarmacked sections.  In addition there were some potentially dangerous overhanging tree branches to deal with.  General path maintenance tasks in fact! In excess of fifteen members turned out on this mild and dry morning and the many hands did indeed make light work.  Several bags of recyclable and non-recyclable wast...

A group of around fifteen Green Gymmers assembled at the entrance to the Elizabeth Daryush Memorial Garden along the Ridgeway at Boars Hill.  We met with Rachel Sanderson, of the Oxford Preservation Trust - the organisation who manage the site.   Today's session leader, James, had met with Rachel earlier in the week to discuss the morning's tasks, and he had already briefed us on the jobs via email: 1) Severing ivy from trees that grow in the woodland belts near the boundaries with Sandy Lane and The Ridgeway.  OPT had a tree safety survey done a few weeks ago, and the tree surgeons asked if we could cut the ivy so that it dies back enabling them to see the condition of branches in the canopy.  This work is necessary because we don’t want dead branches, or trees, falling into the roads or on the paths that meander through the woodland belts.  It’s probably a job for bowsaws – plus some care so that the tree bark doesn’t get damaged. 2) Path clearance – ...

We didn't expect a large group for our session at Southern Town Park but in the end, ten people turned up. The main tasks there were bramble clearing and litter picking. We hadn't been there since March and there were a lot of brambles overhanging the fences and encroaching on the roadway as well as engulfing the trees in the enclosures. The weather was cloudy and at times drizzle threatened but it generally remained dry. We set to work and the piles grew steadily. By tea break we had also collected a few bags of rubbish, mostly drinks cans. Adrian brought some fruitcake, which was a welcome addition to our biscuits. As we continued to cut back and slash brambles, a lot more litter and fly tipping was revealed including several apparently quite full paint tins. Such was the Green Gymmers enthusiasm for slashing that, as 12.30 approached, it was difficult to tear them away from their task and encourage them to clear up. Meanwhile, Carolyn patiently swept the roadw...

There was a small team of seven volunteers from the Green Gym this Saturday, but we were supplemented with Lucy, Marjorie and four others from the Earth Trust which manage the Abbey Fishponds Nature Reserve - our venue for the Morning. The forecast was not good, with rain most of the time, thankfully it remained intermittent, largely just spitting with a downpour only at the end. We are regulars at this site and the task of raking and stacking the cut reeds is something that we have done often over the seasons.  We had two large areas to clear either side of the high bank which cuts across the reserve and where we decamp our equipment and have our coffee break.  One area was about 100m by 30m and the other about 50m by 50m. We divided into two groups and set to it. The reeds hadn't become too wet - making it easier to move them, however, there were a lot to move!  It was just a question of findin...