Freezing fun and fungi

Your usual correspondent having migrated south for the day to avoid the cold (but not the rain), today's blog posting comes to you courtesy of Team Leader Julie:

When I sat eating my breakfast in the morning watching the rain blowing diagonally across the garden I did wonder how pleasant it was going to be working on the common today….however, although chilly to start, the sun emerged and it turned out far better than the forecast predicted and we had a pleasant morning to do our work.

The weather forecast undoubtedly deterred some of our volunteers, but fourteen of us turned out ready to battle the elements…winter jackets and woolly hats donned for the occasion! 

One of the aims today was to clear the Bradfield Road Spur area to enable the snowdrops in that area to flourish once again.  To start, two volunteers turned out an hour early to cut the reed, grass and nettles.

Under John's watchful eye, Noel was receiving his first training session using Grizzly….and he turned out to be a smooth operator of the fearsome machine.

The area was soon cut and we were pitch forking the cuttings onto heaps hidden in the scrub.

Some people were winding the reed and grass around the forks like spaghetti, resulting in some artistic nest like structures on our dumping heaps. 

We were very much on track for clearing this area before the first hour was up. 

Meanwhile a separate party were dispatched to cut back the scrub along the boardwalk from the spur to the car park. We do this every year and we think we have been quite severe, but every spring the new growth is leaning over the boardwalk threatening to poke people in the face as they walk through. So the task today was to take it back further to try and manage next year's spring growth without it encroaching on the boardwalk. This entailed cutting back some fairly hefty branches and deadwood. You can just about make out our volunteer's hi-vis clothing in amongst the scrub!

The shout of “coffee” went up just as we finished clearing the area for the snowdrops, and we all gathered for much needed refreshments (thanks as always to Margaret for the provision of these). 

The second half of the session saw everyone joining in the cutting, lopping and clearing the scrub along the boardwalk. Another broken board was also replaced and finally the boardwalk was swept of leaves and debris from the car park to the Bradfield Road spur. 

The amount achieved today was nothing short of incredible!!

In a week that also saw us pass a reasonably vigorous Health and Safety inspection on behalf of Easton College (to enable us to host student placements) I think the Southrepps Commons Volunteers can all give themselves a huge pat on the back for what we manage to achieve in our little Conservation area. 

I took some photos of some fungi on the older wood in the scrub area to the side of the boardwalk. We don't know what they were... maybe a humble oyster mushroom…or maybe not! Not my area of expertise but they looked worthy of photographing, and if anyone reading this knows, please pass it on!

Let’s twist again

While the Great Talks to Save the Planet embarked on their second week, fuelled no doubt by Glasgow’s famous breakfast delicacy of deep-fried Mars bars (other confectionary may be available, but perhaps not so toothsome), 18 volunteers converged on School Common to have another crack at managing land for the benefit of nature. The focus of activity having moved from the fen, today’s work was all about clearing up School Meadow after it had been cut a few days previously, and cutting back some overhanging branches on the main path. Our forces were therefore divided.

With two others, your correspondent wandered off with bow saws and loppers to deal with the overhanging branches from some gently subsiding trees which were beginning to cause hazards for users of the main footpath through School Common.

A survey of Jubilee Boardwalk then revealed very little more needing surgical attention, but we were at least able to sweep the leaves off it. The first to have the privilege of walking along the newly cleared boardwalk were our old friends the Alpacas. One in particular gave your correspondent a very steady look.

The path leading to School Meadow is quite narrow, and tends to get overgrown quite easily.

Step forward the brush cutters to clear the way:

These chaps are cut from a special cloth. We’re not sure who Noel is addressing here…

… but here he is on the cat walk displaying his recently cut flowing locks under his helmet.

It’s possibly not well known, but the boardwalk itself is in need of increasing attention, as boards which have been there for many years begin to fail. Two more were replaced today, to add to the 16 already done this year; another of those unseen tasks that we volunteers do on NWT’s behalf.

The majority of today’s volunteers were employed on School Meadow itself, clearing away the grass, nettles and bracken which had been cut a few days earlier. Here they are at work removing grass by the picnic tables - the team removing the bracken further down are lost in the haze.

Break time came, and so engrossed were the main path trio that they had to be summoned by a phone call; thank goodness there was just enough signal, as the break is sacrosanct.

Students of body language might like to interpret the folded arms of the two team leaders... 

During the break, in a completely non-competitive way of course, it was established that, probably for the first time ever, volunteers living in Upper Southrepps outnumbered the Lower Street residents by 9 to 6 – with three others from outside the village. The volunteers refreshed, the work continued. The distances involved did not require the use of the winch and its twisty rope, so there was a return to much earlier ways of working, with the slightly lighter old yellow drag sheets hauled by hand. The cleared dump site should keep us going for years!

When all was finished, here’s how the meadow now looks.

Here is Team Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:

Hello all,

Weren't we lucky with the weather today? Thank you so much for your help. We can now walk safely through school common without ducking under low branches or losing an eye to low hanging brambles.

School meadow looks great. We may consider cutting it again in the spring when the grass is drier and just as the bracken starts to grow to try and control it.  We will be sending an e-mail to the school to remind them of the excellent facilities on their doorstep.

Thank you once again.

Margaret and the team leaders.

At this point an apology seems in order. The title of this posting is ‘Let’s twist again’, which might imply to the casual reader that there is something about twisting to be included here. In fact, the reverse is true: it’s about un-twisting, but that doesn’t have the right ring to it. In light of this I have considered my position; it’s in my favourite armchair, and I’m quite happy about that. Anyway, the last posting described the problems being caused to the winching operation because the newly bought rope insists on contorting itself each time it is used to haul a sheet-full of cut vegetation. Three of the most rope-aware (is that really a thing?) volunteers took it upon themselves to convene after that troublesome time with the intention of sorting it all out, once and for all. Nine more volunteer hours were clocked up doing so, along with testing the winch and doing various other things far too technical for exposition here. The extent of their success can only be gauged when the winch is next used – so look forward to further exciting updates here!