Back in the mire again

 

No, this is not another political commentary; it’s the tale of how 16 doughty volunteers set to work on the un-glamorous part of the common, with its equally un-glamorous name of ‘Area X’. Do you know Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, or perhaps the film ‘Apocalypse Now’ which was based on that novel? If you do, think of it and double it: “The horror, the horror”.

Perhaps I am over-stating it, but Area X is a squelchy morass, as Noel discovered near the end of the session, when the bog refused to let his boot go.

Team work, and some unwillingness to leave one of our number behind saved the day: with one volunteer holding him up, another extracted the missing footwear from the swamp, and the two were reunited.

As is customary on these occasions, preparatory work was done the day before, to prepare the way for the main session. Here are three of our crack volunteers relaxing after it with an impromptu rendition of that old favourite, “There’s a hole in my bucket”.

If the site itself was somewhat damp underfoot, reaching it represented a trek the like of which Dr. Livingstone himself might have thought twice about. Fortune favours the brave however, and all who made it in were also safely returned to the boardwalk a couple of hours later. One late-comer had trouble finding us, naturally assuming that no-one would be foolish enough to set out across such a seemingly impenetrable spot. It was only the cries of people happy in their work (and the occasional splash) that led her in.

The task facing us was to continue from last winter in clearing back some of the alarmingly thorny scrub and the spreading Alder trees, with the intention over time of bringing the area up to the splendid standard of the rest of Area B, which is such a rich source of flora and fauna. On arrival, the prospect could have seemed daunting, but these people laugh in the face of such challenges.

What’s going on here? Answers on a postcard please, but it looks like a tug of war over a particularly choice stick, with a more acceptable one about to be offered: “Leave it!”

Tripping hazards abounded, and part of what we were doing was to cut out as many as possible, in order to make it a safer working space for moving the more substantial material around. Loppers in hand, your correspondent is here shown surrounded by an admiring crowd – or perhaps they are merely astonished to see him actually on site. I hope they learned a thing or two!

All that stuff being cleared needed putting somewhere, and that called for a ‘dead hedge’ to be created, taking care not to block a natural drain (which might have been doing a good job as a drain, but frankly, it barely seemed worth its while). Here is the hedge about 30 minutes in…

A bit later it had grown to this…

And by the end it looked like this.

To the untrained eye, that might look just like a pile of sticks. But to the discerning afficionado of dead hedges, it’s a monument to this almost extinct craft. Team Leader Julie provides the skill, and we confidently expect to see her interviewed on ‘Countryfile’ any day soon.

Alcohol-free coffee time arrived at the half-way point.

In keeping with the TV theme, two chaps took the opportunity to audition for ‘Last of the Summer Wine.’

After the break, ever-bigger lumps of wood were moved; it seemed that some were suitably shaped for the construction of old-style wooden warships, or was that overwork having a hallucinatory effect on your correspondent?

By the end of the session it was clear that a lot had been achieved…

… but more remains to do. Indeed, it seemed the merry band would have cheerfully carried on, but all good things must come to an end, and the Team Leaders quite rightly called a halt, promising the chance of further sloshing about in cloying mud in a fortnight’s time. Your correspondent has already sent in his apologies…

 Here’s Team Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:

Thank you all so much for turning up despite our best efforts to persuade you all it was a rotten task! It is a privilege to belong to a group of such lovely people. You far exceeded my expectations of what we could achieve today, and as always did it willingly and we all had fun. Thank you seems so inadequate.

Margaret on behalf of the team leaders.

And the sun shone on the righteous

Despite lockdowns and restrictions, 2021 saw 39 of us putting in a collective 713 hours of volunteering effort on behalf of Norfolk Wildlife Trust! As well as many other small bits of work, there were 17 full working parties, with a splendid average attendance of 14.5. Most of the work is inevitably focused on the main common as it is a SSSI, and that accounted for 466.25 of those hours. Pit and School Commons, repairs to the boardwalk, and removing Himalayan Balsam were other major areas of our activity. As NWT's volunteering coordinator tells us, "… another very impressive total of volunteer hours given to the Trust, for which we are very grateful. It is also great to see how many volunteers have been involved, I hope everyone has enjoyed their time on the Commons, and that you are all well and coping with the strange times we have found, and continue to find, ourselves in. Please continue to look after yourselves and each other."

2022's efforts began on Sunday 9th January. Your usual correspondent being once again absent, he cannot claim to be amongst this group of the righteous, but the 20 volunteers who did make it to the Common on time were blessed with a beautiful sunny winter morning, even if it there had been an overnight frost on waterlogged ground. This will have made for cold hands and feet to start with, but clearing cut reeds is nothing if not vigorous exercise, so doubtless in no time there was joy unbounded, as the conditions were ideal for a spot of hard work without getting uncomfortably warm.

The usual ‘pre-cut’ had taken place on Thursday morning, so the scene greeting the Sunday party was this – lots of lovely wet stuff to be getting on with shifting.

Here’s some evidence of the frost:

Not having been there, it’s hard to say what this picture is showing, but my guess is they’re looking for a missing volunteer – your usual correspondent perhaps?

The dumping site for this section’s material was on the other side of the boardwalk, so getting the loaded sheets across it was tricky. One load (perhaps this one?) was almost shed as it made the crossing – the icy nature of the cut reeds making them rather slippery.

Although no photographic evidence exists, poor Sheila fell over backwards, no doubt with a splash (it was very wet) and a suitable verbal accompaniment.

This working party completed the programme of reed cutting for the season, so the reed beds can now get on with growing again. No doubt there will be other work for us to do before spring arrives and restricts much of what can be disturbed. Here are a couple more pictures from the day, courtesy of Team Leader Margaret.

Here is Margaret’s message of thanks:

A Happy New Year to you all. What a glorious day we had to start off 2022. 20 happy souls turned out to complete the cutting programme for the year. It looks great, a clear view from Bradfield Road across towards Foxes beck bridge.

It started off very cold and frosty with the cut material frozen and muddy swamp beneath, but our team are never deterred. A special thanks to the winch team who stayed an extra 1/2 hour to complete the job.

I am the proud custodian of a black Rebok fleece and a fine pair of yellow (ladies)? gloves. Give me a shout if they are yours.

Thank you for your sterling efforts.

Margaret