Big Catchup...

I've got so far behind on this -- and it will now all display out of order -- but for the record...

• 26 April 09 - we had to cancel,


• 3 May - five volunteers from our group and a number from a Macclesfield group turned out to get on with the drainage problems in the fields around Hare Hill Gardens.


• 8-10 May - A number of volunteers enjoyed a weekend awauy at Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire


• 17 May - Six volunteers and three local staff installed a larger drain pipe to take surface water off "the Edale road" ~(not a road - hardly a track in places) and under the dry stone wall - this involved taking down the wall, removing the old inadequate pipe, installing the new one and rebuilding the wall. We retreated to a barn for lunch and timed it just right to avoid a torrential downpour and reemerged into sunlight to almost complete the job! - The staff had to go back with a joining piece to connect the two new sections of pipe together....


• 31 May Nine volunteers turned out on the hottest day so far this year and worked in a section of Quarry Bank Garden that is not yet open to the public. When the garden was initially purchased it appeared to stop at a large bank of bushes with the path curving round in a bend and continuing up the hill back towards the center of the garden. It has been since discovered that another path used to continue - and work has begun to explore what remains of the garden beyond. Tree work has been started removing certain conifers that didn't belong and we spent the day clearing the debris from the slopes into pilse that will in due course be chipped....


• 7 June Eight volunteers spent the morning removing "Himalayan Balsam" from areas of "grass" - most ly bare soil - in the new carpark at Dunham Massey. The balsam is a annual plant (grows from seed each year) and is a pain because it doesn't belong here and smothers everything else. It can only spread itself 8-10 feet unless it catches a ride so the hope is to erradicate if from these areas now there are tentative plans to get rid of it from the areas round the carpark - but that is a longer term project. Some of the afternoon was spent removing Birch saplings from among planted oaks (to allow the oaks to get going and take over)- but in view of heavy rain we called it a day a little early.