Abingdon Green Gym Blog

The following two photos were kindly provided by site warden, Judy Webb, and show a former grass snake nest with a number of empty shells that was spotted during Saturday's session.

Our second trip of the year to Cothill Fen and a bright and sunny March morning greeted us as we assembled in the usual car park, opposite the Merry Miller pub.  There was an impressive turnout of fifteen green gymmers, along with warden, Dr Judy Webb.  Tools and tea kit were unpacked and carried down the lane to the site where Judy assigned us our details for the session. Our main task this time was to cut back tree growth (mainly willow) around the perimeter of the fen in order to enlarge the wetland area and allow more light through to the ground to create the necessary conditions for the fenland flora and fauna to flourish.  There was also the remainder of the cut reeds to rake up - something that had kept us occupied on our last visit, but which we had run out of time to complete. A few trees had already been felled upon arrival.  Some by site workers, others by the weather.  The priority was to cut up and remove these, certainly the aforementioned wil...

Two tree planting sessions were held, somewhat unusually for the Abingdon Green Gym, on a Thursday and the following Sunday, along the Ock Valley Walk.  This was a community tree-planting activity, forming part of DEFRA's 'Big Tree Plant' along with the Conservation Volunteers. Six of us met for Thursday's session by the bridge over the weir at the town end of the walk and set about transporting the trees along with a variety of additional paraphernalia, necessary to our operations.  There was a lot to carry, but fortunately Eleanor had brought her wheelbarrow along and we were kindly assisted by a passing dog-walker! Before any trees could be planted, suitable locations were selected around the woodchip path area. A number of holes were then dug and a series of stakes hammered-in.  Each stake was marked-up with the type of tree to be planted at each.  We had been provided with around sixty saplings, with quite a variety of species - guelder-rose, hawthorn, bird ...

The first of the year's sessions at Abbey Fishponds and business as usual.  Assembling at the top of Hadland Road, we took instruction from site warden, Marjorie White, before transporting our tools to the mound and dividing up into sub groups. As usual, there was the woodchip path to maintain, as well as some brambles to be removed and some fallen trees that required cutting up.   The morning started off with fairly chilly temperatures and a frost on the ground, but once the sun appeared and work began, it felt much warmer.  Many of us soon regretting having wrapped-up with so many layers!   The ongoing maintenance of the path was again a fairly strenuous undertaking, with large piles of woodchip having been delivered at either end of the reserve.  With the recent heavy rain, there were many soggy patches to fill in, thus requiring much shoveling and wheelbarrowing of the woodchips.  Four wheelbarrows along with Colin and his cart were deployed to di...

This was our annual trip to Kennington Memorial Field to join up with Alison Muldal from Natural England and her group of local volunteers who hold work parties at the site. This session, in common with those that have preceded it here, largely involved cutting back vegetation around the site boundaries.  Brambles hawthorn and blackthorn form the main thickets that require managing, lest they should completely engulf the field.   We were sufficient in number, that upon arrival, Alison divided us into sub-groups and directed us to the different areas of the field that most required our attention.  Some of us tackled the brambles at the top end of the site, while others started working away at the thorn bushes lower down. The area of brambles were a high priority due to the adjacent footpath having become muddy and waterlogged and therefore a new route needed to be cut.  Five volunteers worked especially hard to cut back the brambles in this area since they ...

This Saturday, we unexpectedly found ourselves at Southern Town Park.  Our original programme activity was to  plant trees along the Ock Valley Walk, but recent heavy rain and flooding had forced us to reconsider our plans in advance and retreat to somewhere a little less waterlogged. We assembled in the car park along Lambrick Way amid high winds.  The remnants of the previous night's storm, which had kept many of us awake as it battered our homes, was still in evidence.  It was actually fairly surprising that more trees had not fallen given the severity of the conditions, however. Making our way across to the work site at the Peep-o-Day lane end of the park, it was evident that there was plenty to be getting on with.  The ongoing removal of heavy bramble growth that is smothering the trees adjacent to the lane was a priority, along with the usual litter-picking and the clearance of some fallen tree debris. Eager to keep warm with the low temperatures and...