Three Visitors

“Rain on a Green-Gym morning is the strongest argument yet for climate change.”

The soaking was indeed something of a surprise, as weather forecasters had confidently predicted no precipitation until at least the afternoon.  However, we did in due course get a visitation from the species most associated with a few drops of the wet stuff – and naturally we were all well kitted out against the uncertainties of the British weather.

Last week was cutting down and burning trees, in a habitat which is supposed to be mostly grassland.  This week: planting trees.  For today’s task was part of Phase 2 of the Earth Trust’s River of Life project.  We were working in a field which is currently grassland, and is being returned to what was probably its former state of ‘wet woodland’.  For further encouragement we were told that one part of the River of Life scheme had demonstrably already been a success: over the summer the newly created backwaters had been full of spawning fish.

The point on reasonably dry ground, at which we had to leave landrover & trailer, and transport materials by people-power, was beside a bridleway.   We had helped to improve it, ie make it usable for horse-riders, in a session some time back.  It was good to see that our efforts had certainly been successful in the sense that there was clear evidence that the path had recently been used by horses:

Whether the horses had been ridden, or merely led by the bridle (for which the space to do so is the minimum requirement for a ‘bridleway’), we could not tell.

Meantime we turned our attention to getting ourselves and equipment to today’s work site:

It was perhaps the view of rows of stakes in a green field which prompted some Green-Gymmers to be talking in terms of memorial trees.

For some volunteers this was a first experience of tree-planting the professional way.  Really it is very simple.  First, dig a slit with your slit-spade …

then plant your tree …

heel in (to exclude air pockets) …

 

bang in a stake …

open up the tree-guard (which has come “flat-packed for your convenience”) …

slide tree-guard over tree (to protect it from deer and voles) …

zip up the black-plastic fasteners (so the tree-guard doesn’t float away next time the flood waters rise) …

fit a fleece around the base of the tree (to inhibit growth of grass, which would compete with the sapling for resources) …

finally peg mat into place …

Depending on method of knocking stake into place, Green-Gymmers could be heard muttering mnemonics, “tree – guard – stake – mat – zip” or “tree – stake – guard – mat – zip”, as well as “1 birch : 2 oak” to call to mind what proportions the different species were to be planted in.

As we worked, so came the visitors:

Three in total.  The fact that only two of them appear on most of my photographs is due to the fact that only two would pose for the camera, not that any Green-Gymmer had decided to act on the observation that one of them would make a tasty meal:

And the rain, which had more or less ceased during the session itself returned as we were packing up to go home.