Abingdon Green Gym Blog

Blog and photos by Sally JimB and I returned to Frilford Heath Golf Course on 4 April for another midweek special to finish the the cut and rake of the old reed growth in the "Between the Fens" area which links the species rich Two Pines Fen with Boundary House Fen to improve the chances of the rare flora and fauna spreading between these calcareous fens.  We can only safely work in this patch by agreement with the Golf Course who kindly arrange to close off the red 16th tee for us.  We still donned the Green Gym hi-viz jackets.  We were grateful that the terrible deluge that had been forecast in preceding days had not yet materialised and we were grateful for the weather being kind to us.  The day didn't get off to the best of starts as Jim had left in a rush and forgotten to pack his scythe blades and as I hadn't packed a spare, I went back home to collect my other ditch blade, leaving JimB to start cutting the reed using mine.  It meant that break time came a...

Blog and photos by Sally On Easter Saturday (a first, I think, for Abingdon Green Gym!), we returned to Abbey Fishponds, which is now managed by Earth Trust.  Checking back through the annals, it appears that we were last here in June 2023 - so it was lovely to return.  Unfortunately, Adrian, our leader for the session, had badly injured his shoulder and was out of action, but he was on hand to meet us in the usual spot in Hadland Road and show what needed to be done.  8 Green Gymmers gathered up the tools - an array of scythes, pitchforks, rakes, loppers and bowsaws, as well as the Green Gym biscuits and first aid kit - and made our way around the mound, past the pond and reed area along a very muddy path and over the board walk sections to the "meadow" area where the first flush of nettles and rough grass was showing.   We set up base under a tree and Adrian showed us what need to be done, which involved firstly removing fallen branches on the areas to be mowe...

Blog by Sally.  Photos by Eleanor, Margaret and Sally On Saturday, 23 March, 13 Green Gymmers went to Old Berkeley Golf Course, Boars Hill, which is a site owned and managed by Oxford Preservation Trust, adjacent to Abraham Wood.  We were joined by Peter, one of the OPT volunteers who had been helping on their mid-week task who wanted to finish laying a timber path at the bottom gate to Abraham Wood as it was very muddy.  Our main task was to do a spring cut of the rush which is spreading around the flush that runs through the field, taking up water and space, crowding out the diminutive "ivy-leaved crowfoot", which is extremely rare in Oxfordshire.  Hannah from OPT had also asked us to cut back a patch of scrub by the fence to Abraham Wood in preparation for the family Easter hunt they have planned for next weekend. We had to watch our step as the field is used by a number of dog walkers some of whom unfortunately fail to clear up after their pooches.  We set u...

Blog by Eleanor.  Photos by Margaret and Eleanor Twelve Green Gymmers assembled for our Spring session at Southern Town Park, Abingdon.  Our main task was to work on our wild flower patch at the southernmost end of this little known area of Abingdon. There was also litter to clear and quite a lot of branches blown down by the Winter storms.  The day was mild and sunny as we made our way across the very soggy football pitches, where Abingdon Youth Football club were playing on the least wet pitch. Having made our encampment by the picnic bench, Carolyn and Lesley kindly volunteered to do litter picking, others to clear fallen branches, while the rest of us set off for the wildflower patch. We were glad to see that the notice painted by Ursula a few years earlier was still standing. The first task was to dig up as much grass and as many nettles as possible, while trying not to disturb the other emerging plants. One advantage of the recent wet weather was that the ground was...

Blog"by Sally, photos by Jim and Sally We enjoyed another mid-week extra session to our programme at Frilford Heath Golf Course to continue with the cut and rake of reed in the "Between the Fens" area, which links Two Pine Fen with Boundary House Fen.  We are trying to restore this area to its former glory as a haven for orchids and other calcareous fen specialist plants.  A team of three Green Gymmers was afforced by Richard.  The four of us set about scything the old, tall reed around the ladies' tee and under the trees, which we managed to achieve by lunchtime.  For a change, we were blessed with fine weather - with only a few spots of rain, but nothing to speak of.  After lunch, we started operation rake up.  The bund of cut reed we had formed by the stream was getting a bit high, so we started to make a heap for the green keepers to remove at a later date.  We also managed to rake up the cut material that we had left when Storm Henk forced us to m...