Here is Jonathan’s message
Hello All,
There’ll be a volunteer session at Fairfield Orchard, Fauna and Flora this
Saturday morning, August 10th, starting all fresh and lovely at 10.00am
and finishing a little fragrantly challenged at 1.00pm or thereabouts.
On the agenda for this occasion:
* Continuing the summer pruning and thinning of the Orchard fruit trees.
* Scything thistles, nettles and soft rush. The latter has to be cleared
so in addition to scythers we’ll also need clearer uppers.
* Trimming around the new saplings on the Pony Wood path.
* Trimming back overhang over the Orchard paths and benches.
Two other points requiring your attention:
* From Tuesday August 13th the Scything Group will be scything soft rush
in our wet pastures. This needs to be cleared after cutting to reduce
fertility. So our scythers need support if you can come from 7pm meeting
at the shed.
* Our volunteer sessions always have a trained first aider present.
Recently some of our first aiders have had to ‘retire’ for various good
reasons. So we are looking for either volunteers with existing first aid
qualification or people who are willing to take a training course. The
Association will pay for this training. Please contact Ian if either of
these apply, his contact details being: or 07811 970
595.
Best wishes,
Jonathan.
Here’s what we did
For the monthly Saturday volunteer session the weather forecast was for heavy and persistent rain. Again, see June! Rather than cancel we went ahead. The actual weather was extremely heavy rain, not quite persistent but not far off! Despite this, 12 volunteers bravely turned out and we did a foreshortened but productive morning.
• Keith led a team continuing the summer pruning and thinning of the fruit trees.
• Others trimmed around the perimeter of the Orchard mowing area cutting back overhang.
• We discovered that an Orchard neighbour had invaded FA land behind the soft fruit circle, cutting down shrubs and piling them in such as way as to block the path around the circle. The FA Chair was asked to come down and take details for further action.
• After taking photographs the invasive brash was pushed back to enable the staking of the collapsed gorse to clear a way along the path.