Working Party 22nd January

14 of us turned up on a dreary Saturday morning, but were immediately cheered to see the excellent progress the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers had made. 19 of these splendid people had come the previous Thursday, and had done sterling work to clear away the mounds of cut reed and sedge we had left for them. They also dealt with some invasive scrub, and then went on to clear reeds cut to form a track through to the area for our attention on 22nd. The pictures show how well the central area (where the orchids and cotton grass grow) have been cleared. The BTCV people are due to return in a month's time, and again a month after that. It's a great help to ease the pressure on the regular SCT volunteers, and we're suitable grateful.

John's cart again proved up to the wet conditions, provided we laid some cut reeds down on the wettest parts to stop it sinking. We're looking into alternative approaches to this problem, but even so, it is a great improvement on dragging heavy tarpaulins across boggy ground. It's a shame I was less able to cope with the wet conditions: there was one spot where I sank to my knees in a boggy area. That can happen to anyone of course, but the sad fact is it happened to me twice more, in exactly the same place! What a shame I don't seem capable of learning from experience.

Anyway, as usual, after the appointed two hours of hard labour we all dispersed, tired and muddy (some muddier than others), but pleased with what we'd achieved, having had good fun with excellent company.

Later that day I walked round School Common. I was sad to see graffitti daubed  on a tree near the "Forest Schools" area. Perhasp it will wash off when it next rains, as it appears to have been written in ash. On a happier note, I discovered several chickens wandering about - either someone nearby is missing a few, or they just took themselves on a lttle excursion.