Abingdon Green Gym Blog

 Blog by Eleanor, photos by Julio and Sally For once a sunny day was forecast as we gathered for our session at Hinksey Heights. There were eighteen of us as we were joined by volunteers from the Hinksey Heights group. This time we had been asked to work, not on the trail by the golf course, but on the footpath near the A34 and the access road to the golf course. Our tasks were to cut back brambles and overhanging branches and scythe vegetation along the footpath and to cut back and clear along the access road. Sally gives us our instructions   Jim has already set to work scything Start of the footpath, with Carolyn's hat We had cleared this footpath a few years before, but now it was very overgrown again. Footpath at the start of the session Snowdrops beside the footpath Unfortunately, as well as the snowdrops, there was a surprising amount of litter, and Philip set to work to pick this up. A bag of litter We worked hard, scything, lopping, raking and carrying the brambles an...

Blog by Sally, photos by Julio and Sally On a rather dull, drizzly morning we returned to the Riding for the Disabled Centre at Southmoor for some more tree planting.  We welcomed four new members - Sarah and her children, Charlie and Ava, and Kevin.   Joyce from the RDA had obtained another 150 hawthorn whips from "I Dig Trees" following the success of our last tree-planting exercise here a year or two ago, which was going to be the main focus of our morning.   We assembled in the car park where Joyce explained our tasks for the day, one of which was to check on the hawthorn hedge we had planted previously and another was to clear the ditch of overgrowing vegetation.  Adrian had brought our tools and Joyce had brought the box of hawthorn whips, canes and guards.   Joyce and Adrian brief the group The box of goodies from I Dig Trees, which also came with a handy planting guide We then set out the canes to mark out the spacing for the trees along t...

Blog by Sally, Photos by Eleanor, Julio and Sally Despite the dull, grey inclement weather on Saturday, 8 February, 21 people turned out to volunteer at Oxford Preservation Trust's adjoining sites at Old Berkeley Golf Course and Abraham Wood, Boars Hill, including new member, Clare, two volunteers from the Chilswell Valley site, Richard and Denis, and Simon who is one of the OPT volunteers.   Eleanor was our leader for the morning and she explained that one group of people was needed to clear holly seedlings and remove encroaching vegetation such as bramble from the paths in the Wood and also any straying bamboo from neighbouring gardens, whilst the other group would be working under the guidance of Richard Newton, who is the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire's Flora Guardian for the ivy-leaved crowfoot, which is a diminutive plant favouring shallow pools and can easily get crowded out by the much bolder rushes.  This is the only site in Oxfordshire where i...

Blog by Eleanor, photos by Kevin, Sally and Julio. When we arrived at the Farmoor Reservoir car park, Hanna, from Thames Water, who was in charge of the task, gave us a choice of locations. Pinkhill Meadow Nature Reserve on the other side of the reservoir, was, she told us, very wet. Alternatively we could cut back overhanging branches by the walking trail or stay on  the side where we were and work on the meadow next to the countryside walk. This last was the one we chose, and it was a new area for us. Entrance to the countryside walk The weather was grey and cloudy as we made our way to the site, but fortunately there was no rain. The tasks were to remove blackthorn bushes while the scythers scythed the vegetation. Blackthorn bushes are one of the earliest flowering bushes, their white blossom appearing at the end of February before the leaves, but they need to be kept under control, or they would spread everywhere. There was also some work clearing the pond. Hanna gives us our i...