Today 12 volunteers turned out to help Natalie with balsam clearance at Dunham Massey.
We met on the car park where Natalie explained that we were doing a second sweep of the balsam, as they have had numerous groups in, including ourselves, and really wanted to get it back under control after being given free run during the covid lockdowns.
We started in a compound behind the visitor centre which was a bit tricky in places due to a stream, brambles and a bit of banking. We finished this section just as the rain started so stopped for an early brew. Natalie very kindly took us into their brew area above the visitor centre. What luxury!
After that we continued with our sweeping up until we came across some rather large areas of balsam which had been missed originally, probably because it was deep in brambles, nettles and fern plus any other tripping hazard that grows.
Although we didn't manage to clear all of this we had a pretty good try and Natalie was very happy with what we had achieved - plus now she knows where to send her next group to work.
Thanks to Natalie for looking after us and for the two pizzas she brought us at lunchtime from the new pizza oven that they have at Dunham. They were very nice and much appreciated. Thanks too to my colleagues for their hard work in some difficult conditions. That is probably our last balsam bash for this year as you could see the seed pods forming.
Christine
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