Manor Farm, Marcham - Saturday, 20 July 2024

By -

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 crunch when crushed (to ensure they don't re-root).  We were surprised to find it growing in trees though!

Break time was very welcome and once we we were suitably refreshed we set back to work again.  With each plant possibly being able to produce hundreds of seeds, we must have saved the potential of hundreds of thousands of plants from germinating next year, but we know our work is not done and we look forward to returning next year and making more progress.

It's good to see that something enjoys Himalayan Balsam!


In the thick of it


Rosie undaunted by the towering Himalayan Balsam

Rhian on the far side of the stream

Where's Kevin?

Dieuwke and Kevin on a pincer movement showing no mercy!

The enemy in full sight

Dieuwke, Kevin, Susan and Margaret - and there's still more Himalayan Balsam!

Kate and Carolyn tackle the ditch

And it even grows in trees!

Break time!

A determined Barbara with Kate keeping a watchful eye

Julio, Margaret and Dieuwke on the last push (or pull?!)


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