Sorry whilst away I missed posting Jonathan’s email before today’s session. Here it is:
Greetings All,
There’ll be a volunteer session at Fairfield Orchard, Fauna and Flora this
Saturday, September 12th, commencing at 10.00am and finishing at 1.00pm or
very much thereabouts.
Please do come along if you possibly can and, to quote the English
Romantic poet John Keats, get your mists and mellow fruitfulness on.
If you can make it, here’s how you might find yourself spending the morning:
* Mowing along the edges of the Fauna path and the ‘new’ areas around the
medlar and pear trees which we are clearing.
* Checking and trimming the Pads footpath.
* Tidying and replacing the plastic guards / canes along the track
between the Shed and the Orchard.
* Strimming the areas around the apple trees cleared last time.
* Continuing to clear the bramble intruding onto the Fauna path.
* Forking and flattening the wildflower plot ready for the children to work.
* Trimming back the overhang near the Cromwell Road gate to facilitate
contractor access.
* Whistling cheerfully.
And that’s about it for this time.
Best wishes,
Jonathan.
And here is what we did
Until around 9am it was pouring with rain with more forecast so it was pleasing to find 18 volunteers coming along. We had just one heavy downpour and got ever so much done:
• The edges of the Fauna path were mown to keep the grass from overhanging. The ‘new’ cleared areas around the medlar and pear trees were mown again. The strip of grass down the side of the Shed was mown and the edge clipped.
• The Pads footpath was checked for overhanging and intruding growth and clipped back.
• The plastic guards and canes along the track between the Shed and the Orchard were checked and replaced.
• The newly cleared areas around the outlying apple trees were scythed and cleared. Just as good if not better then strimmingif you know how!
• We continued and completed (for now!) the clearance of the bramble intruding onto the Fauna path.
• The new wildflower flat was forked and flattened ready for the children to prepare and sow the seed.
• Overhanging branched near the Cromwell gate which had obstructed the tractor were cut put.
• Self seeded saplings between the Sunnyside Lane / Orchard track and Edenbreck were cut out.
• The overhanging hedge alongside the Sunnyside Lane / Orchard track was pruned back and the debris cleared.
• A rotten stump in the Stump Circle was removed and a replacement inserted.