Soldiering on with fewer bosses

The good people working for whatever previous incarnation of Natural England it was that set out the management regime for our SSSI when they set it up clearly did not use too much of their imaginations on naming the various sections they broke it up into. The direct result is that today 15 of us convened at the one so thrillingly called Area A; presumably the first one they came to walking up Warren Road.

Area A and indeed the equally imaginatively named Area B are the grassy bits between Warren Road and Fox’s Beck, and are important for the wide range of plant species found there. They are noticeably drier than the sections on the other side of the Beck, although the closer you get to that watercourse the softer the ground gets. They are cut on alternate years, so with B getting the treatment last year, A was in the frame this time round. Two years of un-fettered growth makes for quite a tangle, so as usual a cut was done mid-week so that there would be something for us to work on from the moment we arrived. Here’s what we found.

Team Leaders Margaret and Julie had coordinated time away so that we were left in Kevin’s capable hands. (We suspect the missing bosses had gone off to a luxury spa break.) As always, bosses aside, the most essential people are those who take on the catering, which is why Sheila looks so cheerful.

Your correspondent gamely volunteered to pull the cart bearing the bulk of the day’s tools. The boardwalk is surprisingly uphill for much of its length, or so it seemed.

Not only had the ‘pre-cut crew’ done of spot of mowing earlier, but another visit yesterday to sort out the best location for winching and dumping had soaked up another two and a half hours for a couple of people. At first glance the situation appeared hopeless, but pluck and determination saw them through and an excellent dump site was the result. Winch Captain today was the irrepressible Noel, whose singing as we turn loaded sheets over is always so nostalgic – today it was an Ian Dury medley.

We were impressed by his braces, which can be used as tape measures if the need arises – but with the risk of his trousers descending in an unseemly manner.

Whilst discussing fashion, we must not overlook Carolyn’s confusing shirt: did she wear an NWT one when volunteering in the Galapagos?

Splendid though the dump site already was, the routes through to it from the wide spread of the site made further scrub removal necessary. Step forward the two Andrews, armed with loppers, saws and slashers. They set to with characteristic enthusiasm, and the scrub retreated accordingly. 

There are times when a bit of upper body strength comes in handy for this volunteering lark. Although some would think it’s not necessary in this case, here we see your correspondent being given a workout in a novice’s bodybuilding course. Instructor John had just finished screaming in my face, “Be more Andrew!”

We’ve observed before that these occasions are catalysts for erudite conversations. Today they included the therapeutic benefits of nettles in the treatment of arthritis (not for me, on sober reflection), and the many and varied technicalities involved in saw blades for different purposes.

Such was the fervour with which folk had been working …

…that shortly before the half-time break a traffic jam had built up.

The refreshment break began, and the throng assembled.

And of course, as is his usual practice, Noel took his ease on a handy heap.

Suitably refreshed, the fun continued for a while more, but under Team Leader Kevin’s firm leadership we finished on time, although the mystery of John’s missing gloves remains. The previous session had of course been on the central area (G), but since then more hand cutting of reeds has been carried out in the flower-rich part spared the mower. It’s gratifying to see how many Grass of Parnassus flowers are out, including in the mown parts.

There’s still plenty left to do here, but at the end of the session we could take satisfaction from the amount we’d done.

Here is Team Leader Kevin’s message of thanks:

Dear all

On an overcast morning that turned into a humid one, 15 souls turned out to area A where a tangle of reeds, grasses, bindweed and I’m sure many other species of weeds awaited them. The precut had been carried out by John and Andrew and they had found it tough going. Our new machine “Grillo” had struggled with all the vegetation growth and they had not cut as much as they would normally do. Nevertheless, the volunteers raked and pitchforked the arisings and carried out some tree popping. With both Andrews sawing and lopping, we were soon able to open up a large winching site. This will, hopefully, serve us well in the future.

Thank you to all for today and we look forward to seeing you in two weeks’ time.

Kevin on behalf of the team leaders.