I forgot to post the call to action monthly email for this morning’s session but just to maintain continuity here it is!
Hello again everyone. Jonathan is still away so I am circulating this month’s call for your valuable help in maintaining the Fairfield Orchard and Nature Reserve. We will meet from 10am on Saturday 13th September at the Storage Building on the track from Sunnyside Lane, finishing about 1pm.
Here are the tasks before us:
* Dig / cut out protruding tree stumps in the grass area of the Orchard
* Remove the ‘Don’t pick’ signs from the fruit trees.
* Re-instate orienteering post number 4 which has been removed but not lost or damaged.
* Try out the nose pump in the West Field.
* Further explore the drain system in the West Field and make a further blockage to fill the scrape with water.
* Continue strimming the Fauna path
* Make a start on trimming back the hedges especially the Pads footpath hedge alongside Big Meadow and the Fauna path hedge alongside the Grammar School field.
* Sow yellow rattle seed in Carr House Meadow and collect and sow meadowsweet seed in the wetter area of Big Meadow
I am still hoping to receive some positive quotes from you on the joys of volunteering with the Fairfield Association. These are for the Public Exhibition we are mounting in late September to report to the public on what we have achieved with Flora. There’ll be a volunteering section and it would be good to have some appreciative quotations from you.
Please send your quotable quotes and uplifting insights to Ian on
or by TEXT to 07811 970595. Quotes will be attributed to first names only.Kind regards
ian procter, FA Volunteer Organiser
And here’s what we did
The monthly Saturday volunteering session attracted 21 volunteers on a warm summery morning.
• Four protruding old stumps were removed from the apple tree section of the Orchard to make grass mowing safer.
• Orienteering post number 4 was re-instated after someone had removed it.
• The ‘Don’t pick’ signs were taken down from the apple trees
• The nose pump was successfully trialled in the West Field. This included locating the supply pipe in Lucy Brook. This remains in place as does the stand, suitably chained to the fence.
• The pruning of the soft fruit hedge began. Note that this has not been done properly for some years and radical cut back is needed. Keith is also planting cuttings of red and blackcurrent and gooseberry to fill in the hedge next year.
• Considerable work was done trimming the Pads footpath hedge alongside Big Meadow. Further work is needed.
• Considerable work was done trimming the Fauna footpath hedge alongside the Grammar School field. Further work needed.
• Another section of the Fauna path edge was strimmed.
• Yellow rattle seed, collected from the Hay Meadow, was sown in Carr House Meadow in an area not yet colonised by this plant. Meadowsweet seed was collected in the Hay meadow and sown in the damp section near the south west corner. Both yellow rattle and meadowsweet seed was sown in a seedtray for planting out next year.