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Queens Award for Voluntary Service

First volunteer evening 24th April

Report on volunteer evening 24th April 2013

8 volunteers attended the first evening session of the year.

  1. The grass paths and stump circle were mown.
  2. Broom and gorse bushes were pruned and staked where feasible and dead ones removed to Fraser’s bonfire site. An inconclusive conversation about whether to plant more.
  3. Apple prunings with canker infestation were removed to the bonfire site.
  4. Accumulated brash piles in the Paddock were moved to the bonfire site.
  5. The bramble enveloping the laid hedge near the Fauna Stones was cut back.
  6. Some of the redundant plastic protectors were removed from maturing saplings. Some of these were stored for future use.
  7. Others were used to protect new saplings in the Pads hedge.
  8. The nearly completed shed was inspected and some queries raised to take to the architect / builder.

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Greetings Orchardeers,

The first of this year’s Summer Evening volunteer sessions will take place this Wednesday, April 24th at 6.30pm.
(Newcomers may or may not already be aware that during the ‘summer’ months we gather on the last Wednesday evening of the month. This in addition to the second Saturday morning  of each month, which we work all year round.)

The To Do list for Wednesday reads as follows…

1.      Mow the grass.
2.      Strim / cut back tufts of grass in the Orchard.
3.      Tidy and clear the southern end of the Orchard.
4.      Stake the broom shrubs where required at the southern end. Pause to reflect on the brooms which have died in the vicinity and contemplate whether to replace them.
5.      Clear the bramble enveloping the laid hedge by the FAUNA stones.
6.      Inspect the small tree alongside the Fauna / School footpath which has blown over. Clear if dead, stake if alive.
7.      Remove some of the plastic sapling protectors at the northern end of the Pads / Fauna footpath which have now done their work.
8.      There is a gap in the Pads / Orchard hedge toward the southern end which has new saplings in. Use plastic protectors in shed and those removed in step 7 (keep up, keep up, see above) to protect the saplings and prevent pedestrians treading on them. Add a branch or two from nearby brash to reinforce.
9.      Move piles of brash stored in the Paddock to Fraser’s bonfire site.
10.    If we have possession of the new shed – which admittedly seems unlikely by Wednesday – return tools there and relocate other tools from Mick’s shed.

And that’s all. Please come along if you possibly can.

Best wishes,

Jonathan.