Dry Sandford Pit, Saturday 21st of May 2022

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This week's blog post was written by Green Gym Chair, Eleanor D: 

This Saturday we were at Dry Sandford Pit, a site managed by BBOWT. It is a former quarry and has sandy cliffs containing many fossils from the Jurassic period. There is also a calcareous fen, grassland and woodland.

There were twelve of us in the work party, and we welcomed new member, Sam. Our tasks were to dig up sycamore and hawthorn shoots which were encroaching on the grassland, clear around the gates and cut back vegetation encroaching on the footpaths.


Uprooting sycamore seedlings was much harder than it looked at first as we found many were sprouting from a hefty root, so the tree popper was needed for some of them. The hawthorn we dug up was not all wasted as a couple of people took some home, hoping to plant a garden hedge. The weather was sunnier than expected and we were soon quite warm. Buzzing insects were also a bit of a problem.


After our break on a sunny bank, most people set off on a tour of the site. One of the remaining tasks was to rake up the vegetation, which Jim had scythed from the edges of the path. We found he had been scything on an industrial scale so it was pretty hard work to clear it in the time remaining.


Our final task was to pose for a photo taken by Sally.


This fascinating and varied site is really worth a visit.


Ready for action

Ursula doing some fine tuning

James lost to the undergrowth

Brightly coloured wellies are not mandated, but are encouraged

Lesley and Sam all smiles 

Jim taking on a herculean task 

Abingdon GG team work makes the dream work

Green Gym Family


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