We spent today balsam bashing at Lyme Park. Seven of us met new rangers Jason and Alister by the kiosk in the main carpark at 9:30. Alister has joined Lyme from Clumber Park and Jason was an evening ranger at Lyme but is now full time. Neither ranger had heard of MNTV (!) so we introduced ourselves and the group to them. Alex Bond, ex-MNTV and then a Lyme ranger, has left the Trust and taken a job with Natural England.
The worksite was a field beside Red Lane and we got there by taking the electric minibus to the entrance booth then walking the 400 metres to the field. The field had been grazed by the Highland cattle but they'd been moved out. The balsam was mainly growing in dense patches of brambles so we cut those back with loppers then pulled out the balsam by hand, breaking the stems near the root and piling them into "tonne bags" for the rangers to take back to their compound. The balsam had not yet flowered or released seeds so this was an ideal time to bash it to hopefully ensure less balsam grows back next year.
We often had to look very closely to see the balsam:
It was hot work, especially when the sun came out, and we stopped for water breaks in the shade before and after cake and coffee at 11 and lunch at 1.
We began to wilt in the heat by 2:30 and started to wind down and put all uprooted balsam in the bags. At 3 o'clock we began walking back to the entrance booth where luckily we found the e-minibus waiting which took us back to the main carpark.
Daniel
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