Ock Valley Walk, Town End, 28th April 2018

By Andrew -
This Saturday saw us return to the Town End of the Ock Valley Walk.  In an amendment to the programme, we assembled at St Helen's Court rather than behind the Ock Street flats. The footbridge over the weir has recently been replaced, after vandalism of the previous crossing last year. Therefore access to the path is possible from this point again. A second change to the programme saw Sally replace Eleanor as session leader for the occasion. 

 Fourteen Green Gymmers assembled at the appointed spot before heading off towards the work site to receive instruction for the tasks ahead. The weather was dull and somewhat chilly, in sharp contrast to the almost summer-like conditions enjoyed during the previous outing.

 The main job was to add another layer of woodchip to the path through the trees.  The council had left two piles of chippings at opposite ends of the route. With a pair of wheelbarrows and Colin's trolley to shovel the material into, we set about distributing it as evenly as possible, using rakes to achieve the desired surface. There wasn't quite enough material to finish this time around, but we will be back soon to get it completed.

 Other details included a litter pick and the removal of weeds from the bases of the recently-planted trees and from the path edges.

 It was apparent that many wildflowers have sprung up in the vicinity since our last visit. Both within the patches that we have sown ourselves and in the wider area. Particularly prolific were the forget-me-nots, speedwell and wild garlic. It was good to see that a number of the fritillaries we have planted are now in bloom.

 Several passers-by stopped to talk to us throughout the morning, seemingly grateful for our continued efforts here. However, upon recovering our sign upon finishing up - advertising our activities, all was not well. The leaflet holder had been removed and discarded in a nearby tree! An unfortunate occurrence at the end of an otherwise fun session.
-Andrew

The GG'ers assemble.

The new footbridge.

Ursula and Sally erect the Green Gym sign.

Spanish bluebells.

Sally instructs the group.

Robert slashes some nettles.

Dan tips a load.

Count the number of session participants!

Colin salutes the photographer, while the rest of the group are too engrossed in tea break activities to notice!

Cherry Blossom.

Hatched!

Wild Garlic or Ransoms.

Snake's Head Fritillary.

Forget-Me-Nots

Speedwell.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, Farmoor Reservoir, 16th March 2019

By Andrew -
Image
Another week, another new site for the Abingdon Green Gym! We met at the car park at Farmoor Reservoir, a healthy turn out of 17 of us, including French father Sebastien, and his eleven-year old son, Maelo, who was joining us for a school project. The session was led by James under the instruction of Hanna Jenkins, the warden of Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve, so called because it is right on the banks of the River Thames, just near Pinkhill Lock. It was another blustery day. Will this crazy wind ever let up? We followed Hanna in convoy round the edge of the reservoir, which was choppy to say the least, and parked up on the other side where it was thankfully a little calmer, the high banks of the reservoir providing some shelter. Equipped with our tools, gloves and goggles, we made our way onto the spot on the nature reserve where we were to do our work. Hanna told us that the reserve had been formed in 1991, but some aspects had been neglected over the last ten years. The aim...
Read more

Kennington Memorial Field, 29th October 2016

By Andrew -
We have been working at Kennington Memorial Field for a number of years now, clearing scrub from the slopes so that the valley remains an area of grassland and wild flowers. This time Rachel from Oxford Preservation Trust was in charge and led us down to the lower end of the field, where we were to cut back the trees and bushes by several metres and burn the scrub on a bonfire. We were joined by some families with children of varying ages, the youngest only three, who had answered a local appeal for volunteers. We set to work and soon we had a bonfire going. Even the children who were too young to use loppers and saws joined in, carrying branches to the bonfire pile. Despite the drizzly weather they all worked cheerfully. At tea break time we enjoyed some delicious snacks that Rachel had brought and a tin of chocolates supplied by Michele. We found two old birds' nests in the course of the morning and cutting back the scrub revealed a log pile with a rabbit hole under...
Read more

Jarn Mound and Wild Garden, Boars Hill, 12th November 2016

By Andrew -
Image
Four weeks after our last session with the Oxford Preservation Trust at Boars Hill, we returned, albeit at Jarn Mound this time rather than the Elizabeth Daryush Garden; which had been our venue in October. We again met with  Rachel Sanderson of the trust, who along with our leader of the day, James, outlined the tasks for the morning.  Primarily, we were to clear the mound itself of scrub and tree saplings that had taken root there, with the intention of restoring it to its original state.  There were also some flatter areas of the garden that required clearing, for the less intrepid among us. Unfortunately, the day had begun a little on the inclement side.  Indeed as we arrived, the rain fell persisently, making many of us wonder if the session would go ahead at all!  But of course, the Green Gymmers are renowned for working whatever the weather, and the damp conditions did not deter us. A couple of problems were immediately evident due to the rain...
Read more