Abingdon Green Gym Blog

Blog and photos by Eleanor   This session was at Boundary House Fen again, but our task was different from the usual reed cutting, raking and stacking. Instead, we were working in the wooded area above the fen, and we were pulling up the creeping thistle, which must not be allowed to creep on to the fen, or on to the golf course, for that matter. Creeping thistle Creeping thistle has a light mauve flower head and we soon found it easy to distinguish from the marsh thistle. Some of us removed the larger plants, while those who didn't mind getting on their hands and knees tackled the smaller ones. There was also some scything and raking to be done and the odd stray Himalayan Balsam to be pulled up. Green Gymmers hard at work Judy Webb arrived with her bug collecting equipment so we knew we could expect some interesting finds. Judy equipped for bug hunting The weather was very warm and sunny, and we were quite glad to be working mostly in the shade of the trees. It was ideal weather f

Blog by Sally.  Photos by Julio, Kevin, Michele and Sally We had another super turnout of 14 Green Gymmers for the second session of Himalayan Balsam pulling at Marcham.  Although it was a bit cloudy, it stayed fine, much to everyone's relief after our last excursion!  Three of our members came by bike from Abingdon and others car shared where possible keeping up with green credentials.  After assembling in the farm's car park, we made our way along the lane and past the fields to a very welcome bench, where we set up our base for the morning.  Once everyone had donned their gloves we separated into different groups to tackle the Balsam which was growing on both sides of the stream and along a ditch running between the fields. Much as we wish to rid the countryside of this invasive non-native species, it is a very welcome task for us to do as we can have a natter whilst we work.  The plant is shallow rooted so it comes up quite easily and the hollow stems give a very satisfying

Blog by Eleanor, photos by Sally, Ursula and Julio Fourteen of us gathered for our Himalayan Balsam pulling session along the Ock. We had better luck with the weather than the previous Saturday, in Marcham. Though mostly cloudy, it was at least dry. As usual on this path there was litter picking to be done as well. Being close to Tesco, people think it is fine to buy food and drink and discard the packaging and cans as they go. However, several passers-by were appreciative of our work. Most of us set off along the path to New Cut Mill, where most of the balsam was growing. The path had become narrow and overgrown in places, so Sally had brought her scythe to cut back reeds and nettles. Sally with her scythe   Snails on a reed The others plunged into the wooded area, braving the nettles, or crossed the ditch to the edge of the farmer's field to attack the Himalayan Balsam. Into the woods We worked hard until our tea break. Some of us found a convenient fallen tree trunk to sit on. A

Blog and photos by Eleanor Green Gym worked on the wildflower patch in March. Here are some photos of it now. We have had plenty of pink campion and oxeye daisies, which are fading a bit now. There is hogweed, knapweed, thistles and a purple campanula type flower. The insects love it. Red headed cardinal beetle (I think!) on hogweed

 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Sally and Eleanor It was a wet, miserable day as eleven of us assembled in the Manor Farmyard for our Himalayan Balsam pulling session. There had been heavy rain the previous day, so there were huge puddles everywhere and it was remarkable that as many as eleven of us had braved the weather. There was a lot of Himalayan Balsam on either side of the lane as we made our way along to our encampment, where a footpath goes off on the right. We realised that we would need to spend all our time removing the balsam along the lane. Himalayan Balsam growing by the side of the lane Much of it had grown very tall, as you can see. Michele with Himalayan Balsam Working in the rain Rosie The heaps grow Sally with roots Barbara with scythe In the photos above you see more wet workers. Occasionally it looked as if the weather was brightening up, only to disappoint us with more rain. For our tea break, we huddled in a corner by the bridge, out of the wind. We then moved the h