Here is Jonathan’s message

Hello All,

The Fairfield Association’s next monthly Saturday volunteer session will be held on May 8th using social distancing to maintain safety.
People will work in teams of up to six and there will be staggered start times. Volunteers must maintain a two metre distance at all times.
The meeting place will be the Orchard stump circle and not the shed.

To facilitate, expedite, make smooth the path toward and generally help Ian Procter get his head around what arrangements to make, he’ll need to know how many of you are planning to come along.
If you intend to attend, please could you let him know – either at sysaf123@gmail.com or 07811 970595 – by noon, Thursday 6th May.
He will allocate people to teams and start times and inform you no later than noon on Friday. Remember we can no longer provide refreshments so please bring your own.

Two main jobs await your volunteering pleasure on Saturday:
* Cleaning and weeding round the safety surfaces in the playground.
* Continuing work digging out nettles in Pony Wood.

Very best wishes to you,
Jonathan.

Here is Jonathan’s email

Hello and a very happy New Year to you.
I hope you safe and well.

The Fairfield Association continues to run volunteer sessions under our revised  ‘dispersed group protocol’. The next Saturday morning session will take place on December 12th. The Tier 4 Covid restrictions continue to allow people to do voluntary work but they must follow social distancing. This we achieve by:
* Maintaining a 2 metre rule throughout our sessions.
* Limiting Work Teams to a maximum of six.
* Teams have staggered start times, keep separate and have separate breaks.
* The meeting place is the Orchard Stump Circle rather than the more confined shed.
In order to facilitate this volunteers must  ‘book in’ with the Volunteer Organiser (Ian) if they plan to attend. To do this please email or text Ian no later than noon Thursday at:
sysaf123@gmail.com
07811 970 595
Ian will then allocate you to a team, a start time and indicate what tools you might bring if you wish to use your own. Please bring your own refreshment.

Tasks for this Saturday, 9th January, are:

* Extracting and burning the brash from the stock fence alongside the Hay Meadow.
* Replacing a number of broken fence posts.
* Willow pruning alongside the Fauna path.

Best wishes,
Jonathan.

Here is Jonathan’s message

Hello All,

The next Saturday morning volunteer session at Fairfield Orchard, Fauna and Flora takes  place on December 12th at 10.00am.

The Fairfield Association continues to run volunteer sessions under our revised  ‘dispersed group protocol’. Note that Government guidance on the ‘rule of six’ and mixing with other households is quite clear that ‘work or the provision of voluntary or charitable services’ is not restricted but must follow social distancing. This we achieve by:

* Maintaining a 2 metre rule throughout our sessions.

* Limiting work Teams to a maximum of six.

* Teams have staggered start times, keep separate and have separate breaks.

* The meeting place is the Orchard Stump Circle rather than the more confined shed.

In order to facilitate this volunteers must  ‘book in’ with the Volunteer Organiser (Ian) if they plan to attend. To do this please email or text Ian no later than noon Thursday at:

sysaf123@gmail.com

07811 970 595

Ian will then allocate you to a team, a start time and indicate what tools you might bring if you wish to use your own. Please bring your own refreshment.

Tasks for Saturday are:

* Clearing leaves from the track from Sunnyside to the Orchard and all around the shed. Tidying work in the Orchard. Mick will lead this team.

* Pony Wood work. Clearing away rank grass patches in Pony Wood. Removing  an old section of fence. Some sapling planting. Graham to lead this team

* Extracting the brash from the stock fence alongside the Hay Meadow. Ian is to lead this team. If there are not enough to form a full third team –  replacing fallen bird and bat boxes.

Best wishes to you,

Here is Jonathan’s email

Here is Jonathan’s email

Here is Jonathan’s message

Hello All,

The Fairfield Association continues to run volunteer sessions under the ‘dispersed group protocol’ laid out in the attached document.

The next Saturday morning session will take place on August 8th at the usual start time of 10am. If you are thinking of attending the session please make sure you have read the protocol and are happy to follow these new rules.

Note that the meeting point for the session is NOT the shed but the Orchard Stump Circle so that the two metre social distance rule can be more easily maintained.

The biggest difference to past practice is that numbers will be limited to a maximum of 12 in separate teams of up to 6 people. Consequently, so that we can control numbers, people must ‘book in’ with the Volunteer Organiser (Ian) if they plan to attend. To do this please email or text Ian at:

sysaf123@gmail.com or 07811 970 595

If your plans change then please keep Ian informed so that we can be fair to everyone.

Ian will continue to organise the preparations for Saturday’s session but is going away on holiday and the session will be coordinated by Graham.

The August Saturday will tackle the following tasks. Although they are all located in the Pony Wood area, Graham will split the group into two or three teams, each with a maximum of 6 people.

* Trimming around the hedge saplings between the Pony Wood path and Flora Field. This requires shears and gloves thick enough to protect from nettles.

* Scything the nettles and long grass around the saplings within Pony Wood. NOTE only trained scythers can do this job. If you have your own scythe please bring it.

* Transplanting ransomes and ferns into Pony Wood.

* Digging out some of the nettles in Pony Wood.

The last two jobs require gloves, spades and shears. If you can bring your own please do.

Note that although it is preferable to keep to one’s own tools we will have gloves and tools available.

Another, most regrettable, change from the past is that we cannot supply refreshments. There will be a socially distant break but please bring your own drink and / or snack.

Please read the protocol and make your decision as to whether you want to venture back into volunteering under these arrangements. If you do, contact Ian. We don’t know how many people will want to come along so we will have to wait and see and sort things out. If you do ‘apply’ we will let you know before Saturday.

Best wishes,

Jonathan.

Here is Jonathan’s message, with predictive text error, can you spot it?

Hello All,

There’ll be a volunteer session at Fairfield Orchard, Fauna and Flora this
Saturday, March 14th, starting at 10.00am on the dot please, or as close
as humanly possible, else it make the job of task allegation that little
bit more challenging than it needs to be, and finishing at 1.00pm.

On the agenda for this occasion…

* Building a new willow dome in the playground.
The willow domes in the Orchard we built for playing in have proven to be
a great success with children of all ages – *ahem*; *gazes boyishly into
the middle distance* –  so we are trying another one in the playground.
They involve stems of willow which root easily in wet ground and create a
living structure. It has been noted they are both “totes cute” and
“awesome for hide and seek.”

* Continuing to retrieve mulch from Abraham Heights for protecting our
hedge saplings.

* Moving the brash at the edge of the Hay meadow for future burning.

And that’s all for now thank you,
Best wishes,
Jonathan.

Here is Jonathan’s message

Hello All,

There’ll be a volunteer session at Fairfield Orchard, Fauna and Flora this
Saturday, February 8th, starting at 10.00am and finishing at 1.00pm or
thereabouts.

The To Do list for this occasion reads a little like this:

* In Flora Field mark out the beetle bank and margin boundaries with stakes.

* Renew the protective fences around the Flora Field manholes.
These jobs are in preparation for the ploughing of Flora Field so that the
tractor driver has clear boundaries. Some margins (the birdseed ones) are
ploughed and re-seeded each year, the bee-friendly margins have perennial
wildflowers and seed themselves; the beetle banks have to be clear; and
the three manholes along the water main which crosses the field need
protective fencing using our hazel and willow rods and withies.

* Coppice the elm forming part of the hedge in Little Wood. You may be
surprised to hear that there are three elms in Little Wood. As two of them
are now getting quite big and more susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease we are
advised to coppice the third to increase its vigour and immunity

* Reinforce one or two weak points in the Flora Field hedge using hazel
rods and hazel / willow withies.

* Block the second drain exit from West Field.

*And that’s it.

Best wishes,
Jonathan.