Boundary House Fen, 12th October 2019

By Andrew -
Eleven of us assembled in the Golf Club car park for our session at Boundary House Fen. We drove round to the other entrance and fortunately, this time, the gate was open. After a wet few days and a very wet night, we feared we might get soaked, but once again our Green Gym luck was on our side, the rain fizzled out and the temperature was quite mild and calm.

We made our way to the fen where we were working under the direction of Rod d’Ayala. Our task was to clear the piles of cut reeds to the heaps on the edge of the fen and around the tree stumps and rake up the remainder. This was a task we were well used to. 

In one corner of the fen, water had collected in a pool and we made a ridge of reeds in front of it to hold the water back. We saw a roe deer running out from the trees and across the golf course. We found a small frog, which we put out of harm’s way and a robin flitted impatiently around the hedge at the back of the fen.

We sustained ourselves with home made cake and biscuits at the break and by the end of the session we had cleared all the piles of reeds and it was time to make our way back.

We hope that we can continue to maintain and improve this habitat for its important flora and fauna.
-Eleanor

Green Gymmers scattered far and wide at Boundary House Fen, under the instruction of Rod, in the red coat.

Carolyn piling it on. Rod wanted us to cover some of the large tree stumps with reeds to make it easier to avoid them with his power cutter.

Joan and Janet clearing the edge of the fen.

James chopping back a willow which will always try and find a way to establish itself where there is water.

A toad discovered under the cut reeds soon crawled away to the safety of the watery undergrowth.

Judy, our fungi expert was not on hand to tell us what these are. Not to be eaten though. Thankfully Eleanor had made a delicious cake for us to enjoy at coffee break.


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