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

 

Winter draws on

 

It feels important to say that the Commons are looking in particularly good order now, at the start of the winter, ready to grow again and thus provide entertainment for us volunteers next year and beyond. It’s not unreasonable to pat ourselves on the back from time to time, and I think that the obvious state of the place’s health is testament to our often extraordinary efforts. This being the last working party of the year, a few statistics are perhaps in order:

Number of working sessions: 17

Number of individuals volunteering during the year: 39

Average attendance at working parties: 14.29

A lot of work also goes on outside the main working parties: in total we have collectively put in a magnificent 698.75 hours during 2021 on behalf of NWT!

To mark the start of meteorological winter, for the final working party of the year 15 hardy volunteers returned to the central part of the Common, to cut back more scrub and to clear recently cut reeds away. The Wednesday before had seen four keen types doing the ‘pre-cut’, meaning that the Sunday party had something to get their metaphorical teeth into on arrival. (I am not suggesting that their teeth aren’t real, but in this case they are indeed metaphorical, as using real teeth on these tasks would be unwise.) It won’t have gone un-noticed that although we have been spared the worst excesses of Storm Arwen, there has been a certain amount of wet weather of late. This manifested itself most recently a couple of hours before the session, and then some more fell a few hours after. Mercifully, we were spared a soaking.

All the previous precipitation had created ground of a particularly squelchy nature: wellies were the advised attire, but aqualungs or full diving gear might have been equally appropriate. Fortunately, the areas we were working in were not as boggy as some other parts of our beloved site, so in the event SCUBA gear might have been a bit excessive, not to say an encumbrance in amongst the bushes.

On arrival, your correspondent was presented with this image of a neat parade of pitchforks and our famous little green cart, all tyres fully pumped. Where the people were was anybody’s guess.

Those pitchforks were waiting to be deployed on the patch cut on Wednesday:

Before starting work, we must all sign in so that the team leaders can know who has sunk into the bog at the end of the day, and to satisfy NWT’s Health & Safety requirements. It’s difficult to identify this character, but it has been suggested that this hardy volunteer spotted signing in found the task quite difficult - one too many last night maybe?

The proximity of this patch to the dumping site meant that using the winch was unnecessary, so it was all moved by hand. The aforementioned rain had made the four-year-old vegetation very wet and heavy. Although it was an arduous job, as you would expect our wonderful volunteers made short work of it.

In addition to clearing that patch of reed, more was to be done on cutting back the scrub lining the boardwalk. Team Leader Kevin set to work with the ‘tree popper’ to uproot some of the more accessible plants…

… whilst others set about the scrub with saws and loppers. They came, they saw, and they conquered.

Along with the branches cut to allow Grizzly to cut the area, many more were added to this pile as more scrub was cut back to reclaim the area for reed bed…

… and the lopped branches were soon stacked well back from the reed bed.

The half time break came at roughly half time, and the merry throng gathered round for hot drinks and Bourbon biscuits. Here is that throng, looking as merry as they could manage.

After our break we had a visit from our friends the Alpacas. Do they come to judge our efforts?

At the end of the session, the cleared reed area looks like this.

This being apparently close to Christmas, it has been suggested that the scrub clearance has created a suitable grotto for Santa, so keep your eyes peeled for an old guy in a red dressing gown hiding out here:

However, all the little elves have cleared off, for an Ibuprofen and a good rub down.

Here is the Team Leaders’ message of thanks:

An enormous thank you to the 15 hardy souls who turned out today. The area was not large but it was a very hard morning's work as the material to move was extremely wet and heavy and the ground a quagmire. Lots of encroaching scrub was attacked which included some very spiky blackthorn.

The next scheduled working party was for the 19th of December but we have decided that that is too close to Christmas so in those immortal words that's all folks! well at least for 2021.

May we wish you and your families a very Happy and safe Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Thank you.

The Team Leaders

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!