Spring has finally sprung….And what better way to start the season, and a beautiful Saturday morning, than by getting out and about and being all lovely and altruistic? The first Parish conservation volunteers’ event of the year saw the best turnout of fab volunteer folk yet to get a jump on wild nature. Given we had such a decent turnout, we decided to tackle two of the usual suspects that impinge upon our rights of way.
Tracey, Mike, Pam, Jennifer and Angela headed down to the path leading to the Deer Park from the back of the B&D. The lesson from last year was to get in early to tackle those ferocious nettles, before the late spring growth surge, and by golly, tackle them they did, with vim and vigour!! Fuelled by the very best doughnuts the Co-Op could offer, these five tore through the vegetation like a well-oiled machine – go see for yourself, a lovely clear route.
Meanwhile, another nemesis of local hikers and parishioners was targeted – the path from the Rec to Crownfields. I’ve no idea what happened over the winter months, but it was pretty much impenetrable at points. So, the other half of the group of happy volunteers, Mike, James, John and Rob (who came armed with his awesome strimmer) absolutely smashed their way through, opening up the path beautifully. Not only that, thanks to Mike popping back for his spades, they also managed to completely dig up years of mulch, revealing a concrete path underneath, so now it is far easier to travel from start to finish.
This was genuinely a heroic effort, especially as we were considering hiring a mini-digger for the job, so thank you so much fellas! This was the first of many events – please keep your eyes peeled for the next event next month, 25 May (weather defendant!). As ever, if you have an interest, please do register yourself with the OPC Clerk directly, or DM, or comment – be great to see you.
Report from lead councillor, Cllr Steve Bell.
