On a bright, crisp frosty January morning ten of us met up with ranger Ceara before driving round to the worksite. We were working in a field by the side of the airport road. Our task was to build a "dead hedge" round some ponds. This was an area we worked in a couple of years ago clearing and burning rhodi. These ponds are significant as they are very old and thriving with wildlife. The purpose of the hedge is to keep cattle, which will be in the field over summer, out of the protected area.
For those who don't know a "dead hedge" is built by putting two rows of stakes in the ground at an even distance apart and filling with brash. Sounds simple! The brash was at the other end of the field to the ponds and on a slope and this had to be dragged from there to where it was needed.
The job was not made any easier by a very wet field that by the time we had finished for the day was a quagmire. In fact we nearly had to leave Neil there as he got stuck in the mud. We had a couple of falls in the mud and some very near misses. Although the hedge wasn't quite finished Ceara was happy with what we had done.
I must thank all my colleagues for their hard work in very trying and tiring conditions. Also thanking Ceara for a good workday and her company.
Christine
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