Abraham Wood, Boars Hill, 19th January 2019

We met on Boars Hill for our meeting today,

Donning scarves, hats and gloves for it was cold, wet and grey.

Perfect weather, in fact, to be a green gym dodger

Yet 16 of us turned out, including new member, Roger.

Loaded up with equipment we went to Abraham Wood,

The dreaming spires shrouded in mist – the view wasn’t too good.

Today was Margaret’s turn to lead our session

Along with OPT’s Rachel, keen to make some progression.

The woodland had been transformed, with the laurel nearly beat

Thanks to a grant from Network Rail on the Trust’s balance sheet.

On reaching our base Rachel stood before an old oak tree

To give us our tasks, of which there were three:

The first was the paths: to rake and make them clear

So on either side bluebells and garlic can germinate without fear.

This should make for a pleasant wander through the bowers

And walkers won’t inadvertently stray, trampling precious wildflowers.

The second – the most strenuous – was to dig up pesky bamboo

If we keep at it, bit by bit, we’ll surely break through.

Those brave of us to participate in this backbreaking task

Most deserved their biscuits at break time, and tea from the flask.

The third involved 'copparding' the many stands of hazel

This was something we'd done before, but it required a re-appriasal.

The purpose is to promote new growth but deter the nibbling of muntjac deer

Thus weaving donuts around the stems was the aim of each volunteer.

As usual, everyone worked diligently right throughout the wood

The clear instructions ensured that the importance of each job was well understood.

That the weather was lousy hardly seemed to matter

We were happy to make progress here and have a good natter.

By 12:30pm we downed tools and back to our cars we retreated,

Our first session of the year, successfully completed.

Jarn mound will be the venue as we gather again next time

Another week, another blog, but perhaps not in rhyme!

-Joanna and Andrew

We met on Boars Hill for our meeting today,

Donning scarves, hats and gloves for it was cold, wet and grey.

Loaded up with equipment we went to Abraham Wood,

The dreaming spires shrouded in mist – the view wasn’t too good.

On reaching our base Rachel stood before an old oak tree

To give us our tasks, of which there were three.

The woodland had been transformed, with the laurel nearly beat

Thanks to a grant from Network Rail on the Trust’s balance sheet.

The first task was the paths: to rake and make them clear

So on either side bluebells and garlic can germinate without fear.

Those brave of us to participate in the bamboo task

Most deserved their biscuits at break time, and tea from the flask.

'Copparding' one of the many stands of hazel. This was something we'd done before, but it required a re-appriasal.

Copparding will promote hazel re-growth but deter the nibbling of muntjac deer

Thus weaving donuts around the stems was the aim of each volunteer.

The most strenuous task was to dig up pesky bamboo

If we keep at it, bit by bit, we’ll surely break through.

By 12:30pm we downed tools and back to our cars we retreated,

Our first session of the year, successfully completed.