News Flash

For all those who attended the Green Gym Christmas Bash at the Shide chalk pit.....have a look at the 22nd Dec edition of the County Press. On page 10 there is a nice group shot taken when Mark Earp was being presented with the giant cheque.

Photo Shoot 3

I think we might give this photo shoot the title "Mad Hatters Tea Party"...! Once again..many thanks to our cub reporter/photographer Hilary for the photographs. Keep them coming in!

Wed 13th Dec 2006 - Shide Quarry

The job this week was the continued brush clearance at Shide chalk quarry. Like Munn's at Brading, this had been allowed to become very overgrown and has needed a huge amount of effort to get it back to chalkland once again. This is also the venue for the Green Gym Christmas party - some of which can be seen in the adjacent picture. This year we decided to have a silly hat competition and the number of people turning up in their festive headgear was amazing... well done to all...! And a big thankyou to all those who supplied the excellent food and beverages.
This is the 3rd year that the GG have held the party here and it is astounding to think back to what this place was like at the first one. The whole of the bottom of the pit has now been cleared and the majority of the sides are now shrub & weed free. Hopefully in 2007 we will be able to stay on top of the yearly growth and continue to attack the remainder of the overgrown areas.
As the 2006 Green Gym working year draws to a close, I would like to wish everyone a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.....!

Photo Shoot 2

These pictures were taken by Hilary at the Munn's chalk pit site.

All say "Ahhhhh" with the ones of Dougal.....Susie didn't stay still long enough to be caught on camera....! Once again....thanks for the pics Hilary.

Photo Shoot

These two dubious characters were captured on film, vandalising trees in the grounds at Osborne House....When questioned - they claimed that they were "building a hedge"....likely story! Thanks for the pictures Hilary - nice one.

Wed 6th Dec 2006 - Munns Quarry Brading

This picture says it all " Cut & Burn".. exactly the sort of job that the Green Gym are becoming (in)famous for! The Munns chalk pit had become completely overgrown and was in need of a major hair cut. There had been a tractor-flail in before we got there - and we had the job of dealing with the remainder. Tractors can't deal with the big stuff or that which is 20 feet up a 45 degree slope...! The job went very well and good progress was made in clearing the sides of the pit, especially along the south side where the footpath is. This return to chalk grassland will encourage new plants, grasses, butterflies, birds etc and should look a picture by next summer. Once again the weather was extremely kind to us....bright sunshine and around 14C...excellent for the first week in December.

For those coming along to Shide Pit next week....don't forget the silly hat competition....!

Winkle Street Hedge Laying...Monday 4th Dec 2006

On arriving at the Winkle Street site we were presented with a VERY overgrown hedge in a poor state of maintenance. In true Green Gym spirit, we split into two teams and attacked the job from the two ends, grubbing out all the dead wood, brambles etc. A couple of hours hard graft from the (guesstimated 7 in number) Green Gym contingent and other helpers - had a stripped out hedge and a roaring bonfire..! Oz was in fine form...dashing around giving advice (and frequently a helping hand!) whilst trying to demonstrate hedge laying techniques to the various visitors we had during the day. These included members of the Winkle Street committee, Andrew Turner (MP) and the County Press reporters/photographer (might be worth a look in the CP this week). Once cleared, we started the pleaching, staking and heathering - and soon there was something for everyone to look at..!! I apologise for the poor "after" picture posted above but by the time we were finished it was about 3:45pm (getting dark) and the rain was setting in. The Winkle Street residents seemed pleased with the work completed and will now be able to do the remainder of the work themselves. All in all - a good days work and hopefully good coverage for the IoW Green Gym - well done to all who attended.