Boundary House Fen, Frilford, Saturday 3rd June

By -

This weeks blog was written by Eleanor D 


Twelve Green Gymmers  were back at Boundary House Fen, where we had last been in May. Although the day promised to be fine and dry, there was a chilly north easterly wind, so most of us were wearing warm jackets.               

We made our way to the fen, and were surprised to see how much had grown in three weeks. Rod d’Ayala wanted us to move the heaps of cut reeds and grass to the edge of the fen, while the scythers carried on scything, just to make sure the raker uppers and transporters didn’t run out of work! There was also some work to be done digging up hemlock plants at the edge of the fen.

By break time we had moved most of the old heaps. The sun had come out and we were all getting hot and wondering why we had worn so much clothing. Then it was time to get back to work and start raking up the freshly cut reeds and moving them to the piles.

The bees were busy on the comfrey and we saw some damsel flies and brimstone butterflies. We discovered two pale pink orchids in flower and some ragged robin.

We were all pretty tired by this time and some of us decided to relax against the piles of reeds we had moved to the edge. At last it was time to gather up the tools and make our way back to the car park. 


off to work we go!


lots of raking going on

Sally scything 

finished that bit!





tea break time

back to work across the fen

moving the heaps

damsel fly

orchid

all a bit tired and hot - taking a rest!

view over the fen



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