Abbey Fishponds, 1st June 2019

By Andrew -
It was probably the hottest day of the year for our session at Abbey Fish Ponds today, led by James, with the Earth Trust’s Lucy Duerdoth. We made our way to our spot overlooking the Abbey Fish Ponds reserve and set up camp.

Lucy gave us our tasks which were predominantly – you guessed it – Himalayan Balsam pulling, which has been being eradicated from the site for many years now. Yet there are still some patches where shoots have been missed and seeds are brought in from brooks that run through the reserve. The other main task was to dig ‘scrapes’ coming off the streams to hold water in a mosaic of pools across the site for dragon and damsel flies – all good for the ecology. There was also the job of scything reeds and raking them back from the footpath if anyone fancied that.

Lucy explained that in time the fen, which has an alkali base, will become a bog as the pH increases as mosses and other plants rot down to form layers of peat. This happens over many years, but for now it is a fen with several springs providing water to it. Dragonflies love this habitat and Andrew spent a good proportion of the session standing at the water’s edge trying (and failing!) to capture the perfect photograph of one! As well as the dragonflies and electric blue damselflies we saw butterflies, a frog and there were some beautiful orchids and ragged robin, amongst other flora and fauna.

Teabreak was a welcome respite in all the heat. James announced that we would finish the session a quarter of an hour early in order to enjoy the ‘Fun in the Park’ festival that was going on that day in Abbey Meadow Gardens. So we went back out into the heat for the second half – particularly tough going for the heroic diggers, Kevin and Graham, who were making one of the ponds – and happily made our way home after a hot but satisfying session. 
-Joanna

Photos by Andrew and Joanna:
















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