Sunningwell Village Green, Saturday 18th of February 2023

By -

 

This weeks blog was written by Eleanor D

A good number of Green Gymmers met in the car park by the village hall for our session at Sunningwell. This is one of our favourite places to work. We were joined by a new Green Gymmer plus two volunteers who joined us, as the Barton Fields Green Team session had been cancelled. Their loss was our gain!

There was a variety of tasks for us. One was to cut back brambles and ivy from the churchyard wall next to the gate to the field, then to continue cutting back along the edge of the field  right up to the churchyard  wall. This would allow sunlight into this area and enable wild flowers to grow. There were a lot of overhanging branches to be cut as well.

Another task was to work on the wild flower area which had been started the previous year, clear patches of grass and put in new plants.

Finally, there was hedge laying to be done at the top of the  field. This is a skilled task involves partially cutting through the stems near the base, bending them over and securing them to the ground as you can see in the photos. 

Tea break time was, as usual in Sunningwell, a special treat. We were invited over to Bob Evans’ garden opposite and served with tea, coffee, sausage rolls and cakes. Bob is in overall charge of the tasks and was instrumental in securing the former glebe field for the village.

Then we got back to work and finally went to look at the wild flower area, which was being protected with stakes and string, also admiring the hedge up the middle of the field, which we had planted a few years earlier. 

There is always plenty of work for us here and we look forward to our next visit.

allowing light in along the side of the green


laying the hedge


well deserved tea 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