Wed 25th Oct 2017 - Pan Mill Meadows, Newport - GG # 708.

Terry's Photographs.

"Right everyone, today we will be....."

Doing LOTS of raking!

Trimming back overgrowth.

Planting Black Poplar trees.

A late season Red Admiral butterfly.

The ubiquitous shopping cart!

Assorted litter.

Santa's little helpers in training?

Looking much tidier now.

Sorting the litter for recycling.

Once the growing season is well and truly over it is time to cut everything back and tidy up. The meadow area at Pan Mills had been mechanically flailed and it was Team GG task to gather up the trimmings. The main reason for doing this is to ensure that the soil is then denied the nutrients from the rotting material, which in turn promotes the area as a meadow. As per usual at GG sessions, there was a site wide litter pick with as much as possible going for recycling. Two Black Poplar trees were planted towards the boundary - these were sourced from vegetation that was cut back during a previous GG session at Flowers Brook. The various routes to and from the meadow were given a "haircut" so they were free of overhanging brambles and shrubs. Although a grey day, it was warm for late October and the sun did peek through towards the end of the session.

Many thanks to Terry for taking the photographs and to Sue for editing them (welcome back!)

Wed 18th Oct 2017 - Naturezones, Blackwater. GG # 707

Alison's Photographs.

Collecting in the bales.

Traffic jam at the composting area!

Clearing down by the pond.

Coppicing the willow walk.

Although we were initially scheduled to be at the RSPCA Centre this week, the venue was changed to Naturezones at Blackwater. The meadow area had been cut and baled sometime earlier so our first task was to collect all the bales, using wheelbarrows, and then deposit them into various composting areas. On completion of this task it was on to some tree removal around the pond area plus coppicing of the willow trail and arches. It was a grey, overcast day with occasional light rain but fortunately the remnants of storm Ophelia had long since passed..! Around 10 GG members stayed after the session for home made soup. 

We have Alison to thank for taking the excellent photographs this week.

Wed 11th Oct 2017- Donor Creek LNR, Newport. GG # 706.

Mark's Photographs.

It was only one month ago that we visited this venue and we were to continue the work that we started back then. The fencing along the footpath that defines the northern boundary of the creek had become somewhat dilapidated and our task was to try and patch the holes using locally sourced material. With half the team trying to find suitable branches, the others started "dead hedging" along the pathway. For readers who are unfamiliar with this term, here is a photograph showing the basic principle.

The larger branches are inserted vertically into the ground and the thinner ones woven between them. Unfortunately, we didn't have ideal material available to us at Donor (as per usual for Green Gym!) but we did the best we could with what was at hand. It was a windy, grey day with the occasional short shower but, on the plus side, it was quite warm. Good progress was made at both patching the existing fencing and at cutting back the overgrowth to make the footpath more accessible. We hope to return here soon to continue the work.

Please note that next week GG will be at Naturezone, Blackwater and NOT at the RSPCA Centre. 

A quick reminder - DON'T FORGET TO BRING ALONG YOUR TEA/COFFEE MUGS.

And finally,  message from Alison.

The grand total raised at my Macmillan Coffee Morning was £173.  Thank you for your support and for the donations of cake and cash!

Many thanks to Mark for taking the photographs this week.

Wed 4th Oct 2017 - Flowers Brook, Ventnor. GG # 705.

Mark's Photographs.

Alison's Photographs.

Why is it that every time you visit Ventnor that there are multiple road diversion schemes where the signage is totally contradictory…? In spite of Islands Roads determination to have us driving around in circles all morning, the majority of us eventually found our way to Flowers Brook. It was around a year ago that we last visited this venue, so it was nice to see what had changed since our last visit. The "Friends of Flowers Brook" group were already hard at work when we arrived so, after a quick briefing, we were soon diving in (see pics above of GGmers in the pond, stream and waterfall!).  Plenty of tasks to keep us busy all morning! Although the sun was out, you could certainly tell that we are now in October - the weather definitely had that autumnal feel about it. Tea break was certainly a Cake Fest - with birthday cake AND some of the "leftovers" from Alison's coffee morning - all very yummy! Excellent progress was achieved for the assigned tasks and the whole site was looking much tidier when we had finished.

Photographs courtesy of Alison and Mark, thanks to both.