Wed 24th Sept 2008 - West Wight Nursery

This week we were back at West Wight Nursery for a second session and found that the site had progressed a long way since we were there last time. The allotments were up and running and much landscaping had been completed.
The task was planting and staking 40 assorted saplings of Scots Pine, Hazel and Beech. We had a good turnout again this week and the task was well under way by break time. Thanks to the Nursery for providing the tea and coffee.
After the break Trish produced three ornamental trees and a couple of shrubs for planting round the pathway area plus 6 apple trees to start their orchard. We completed all the planting except for 4 of the apple trees. These could not be planted as a mini JCB and dumper truck were hard at work in the area moving an enormous pile of wood chippings.
Trish was delighted with the progress achieved and thanked us for all our hard work – Well done everyone!

This week the photographers were Hilary & Eddie, many thanks to them and Colin for the editorial.

Wed 17th Sept 2008 - Carisbrooke Pond.

This week the GG Team were back at Carisbrooke Pond. The last time we were there the heavens open and we were soaked - but this time the weather gods smiled on us. The tasks were varied, everything from cutting back weeds & hedges through park bench maintenance. This meeting was very well attended and there were even a couple of new faces - please don't forget that all are very welcome and we can always find a job for you...! Good progress was made with the given tasks, so much so that some members of the team went up to the pond behind the church to tidy up the overgrown banks. The hard work put into this site by the GG and other groups is really starting to show, such a wonderful tranquil place just yards from a busy high street.

Many thanks to Hilary for being the cub photographer this week.

Wed 10th Sept 2008 - Alverstone Nature Reserve.

I am afraid that I have nothing to report for this week - the GG was cancelled at short notice. Due to the awful weather we have had over recent weeks, it was going to be impossible for us to continue the harvesting that we had started earlier in the year. If anyone didn't get the message that it had been "rained off" and went along, please can they let me have the details and I will write them up. Oh well - fingers crossed that the weather will improve SOON....!

Wed 03 Sept 2008 - Ventnor Botanical Gardens.

This week we were back at another old favourite - the Botanical Gardens. As per usual, the grounds staff had plenty of work for us to tackle - including trimming the willow dome (that we built sometime ago) and grubbing out overgrown hedges up in the meadow areas. We had an excellent turnout and only a short shower to dampen our spirits..!

The above pictures show the willow dome "before and after" - from Punk to Prim in just a couple of hours. Thanks to Eddie for the photos.

These two photographs show the area we were clearing from the outside and inside. The trees had overgrown the footpath through the meadow so needed major surgery to regain access. Another group were involved with clearing out the undergrowth along the hedge at the top of the meadow. All in all, a very busy day....! Thanks to Carrie for the above pics and for the nature lesson this week.

NATURE LESSON. - (Photographed during the GG this week.)

The fungi is called Postia, which is one of the soft rather than the usual hard bracket fungi. The insect (between the two lower fungi) is a Harvestman, sometimes called a harvest spider. They are often confused with true spiders, but are easily distinguished from the latter by their globular body, which has no obvious constriction or ‘waist’ between the front and hind sections. They live in hedgerows, parks and gardens amongst rough vegetation or on tree trunks, walls and fences.