Larkin's Lane, Headington, Saturday 12th of November

By -

This week's blog post was written by eminent chair Eleanor D.!

This site in Old Headington, managed by Oxford Preservation Trust, was a new one for us. It consists of a long abandoned allotment site, which will be transformed into a nature reserve.

    There were only nine Green Gymmers at this session, but we were joined during the morning by some local residents. The site was completely overgrown so the work was only just beginning. Charlie from OPT listed the tasks that needed to be done. Vegetation had to be cleared from the path leading down to the site, widening it sufficiently for working cars to get down there. Adrian had already done some cutting back, so there was plenty of material to be carried down to the site, where some people set to work constructing a dead hedge at the top end bordering the back fence of the neighbouring garden. There was also a huge amount of bramble by the gate, which needed cutting back and an old compost bin made of palettes to be demolished. The scythers set to work cutting down the vegetation, which completely covered the area. What wasn’t needed for the dead hedge was made into habitat piles at the edge of the woodland bordering one side of the site.


    We were glad of our break, but there was still plenty to be done. We were joined by another resident and a family, whose children helped to carry the cut materials down to the dead hedge, despite having no gloves.

By the end of the morning we had made good progress and the area was looking more manageable and full of possibilities for a nature reserve open to the public. On 25th November, author Sir Philip Pullman will plant a tree to inaugurate the site.

The team getting stuck in

Blue skies 

Autumn colours










So much neater! 



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