Barton Fields - Saturday, 31st August 2024

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Blog by Eleanor. Photos by Sally, Ursula and Julio

Saturday, 31st August saw our annual fixture helping with the hay raking and stacking at Barton Fields. This site is managed by the Abingdon Naturalists' Green Team, led by David Guyoncourt. Over the past years they have created a wonderful wildflower meadow, and the time had come for it to be cut.

The meadow had been machine cut on Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday the Green Team volunteers had begun the job of raking up the hay and stacking it around the edges of the meadow.  It's important to rake off the cut as soon as possible as wildflowers thrive on poor soil without too many nutrients.

The Green Team had raked the big meadow, so the sixteen Green Gymmers set to work on the two smaller meadows.

Raking into heaps

Wildflowers on the edge of the meadow

Loading on to drag sheets

Putting the load on the heap

Graham with a load

By now, we were glad of our tea break, though at least it was dry weather and not too hot.


A welcome tea break.

After the break, some people went back to finish the two smaller fields, while others went to give the main field a second rake - always worthwhile doing if there is time. 

We were finished in the nick of time!

Lastly, here is a photo of a mysterious insect nest in a tree.

Mysterious nest

 

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