Wed 25th Oct 2023 - St Mary's RC Primary School, Ryde. GG # 956.

 Alison's Editorial.

Following the torrential rain of Tuesday night it was a very reduced group of GGers that turned up at St Marys Primary School in Ryde. We were asked to clear the brambles within the pond area and to clear the pathways in the woodland at the back of the site. The hedge line was tidied up and the entrance gate to the pond area was repaired. The bridge over the pond will be removed in another session. The rain held off for the majority of the morning. Refreshments were generously supplied by the school.

Mark's Editorial.

What some weather! Various roads have been flooded along with high tides and storm warnings. When setting out for Ryde for this week's GG one wasn't sure how far you'd get. Seven of us made it though and so we set about giving the pond area a make over. Some hedge pruning, bramble lopping and the fence and gate needed some work too. In addition the winding path in the woods was trimmed back. All worthwhile. Thanks to the school for looking after us.

Many thanks to Alison and Mark for the above.

I am amazed that anyone, even those living in Ryde, managed to make it along to the session, such was the flooding of the roads across the Island. In Ryde there was over 90mm of rain in just over SIX hours causing major problems for drivers. Certainly a huge WELL DONE for those who attended. 👏

Wed 18th Oct 2023 - Flowers Brook, Ventnor. (CANCELLED)

 Message from Mark.

Subject: Cancelled IWGG this week 

Hi Everyone,

Due to the storm warning and the particularly exposed position which Flowers Brook occupies on the Ventnor coastline, we've decided it would be prudent to cancel the session this week.

Next week (25th Oct) we are in Ryde at St Mary's Primary School. It should be an interesting session. They have been using the area we cleared last time for their woodland activities, it looks good. I'll email with more detail of what we are up to and to finally confirm, next week.

Thanks and best wishes

Mark

These are some of the warnings published locally....... With Blackgang Chine being just along the coast from Flowers Brook, it looks as though Mark made the right call! Stay safe everyone.

Wed 11th Oct 2023 - Turvills Field, Totland. GG # 955.

 Terry's Photographs.

A note from Mark.

This week we are indeed in Totland. Back at Turville's Field, where we worked a couple of times earlier in the year. The meadow will have now been cut and so we are raking the cut material off the site to reduce the amount of nutrients returning to the soil, therefore encouraging the less vigorous wildflowers.  You may recall it was rich in Southern Marsh Orchids when we were last there.

Many thanks to Terry for his great photographs.

Wed 4th Oct 2023 - The Riverside, Newport. GG # 954.

 Terry's Photographs.

Our session this week was at The Riverside, Newport. We have often worked here at this time of the year to give the gardens an "end of summer" trim back and tidy up before winter sets in. As can been seen from the photos above, it was far from winter today with warm temps and plenty of sun... perfect! A wide variety of tasks were completed and things were looking much tidier come the end of the session.

Mark did mention that next week might be at either ends of the Island but he needs to do site visits before announcing the details. As per usual, keep an eye on your emails early next week. He asked me to post this item from last week's County Press.... Well done all you GGmers..!

Many thanks to Terry for taking the photographs today.