Hayfield 24 June 2012

Seven volunteers turned up to Hayfield to spend the day working with the local NT rangers.  The first task was scraping up material that had been washed off the "Edale Road" as a result of this years wet weather.  Initially into long piles that the tractor driver could collect straight off the tarmac into the tractor bucket.  Once the tractor had taken the bulk off the material back up the hill the rest of the material was shovelled by hand into the tractor bucket - leaving the tarmac clear of debris.  Careful coordination was required with some people standing back to keep an eye on safety, making sure no one got into dangerous blind spots.

The next task was to clear about a foot of soil and sediment from a pitched (stone faced) field gateway - where a drain taking water off the "Edale Road" had deposited it over the last 12 months - blocking the drain in the process.  Again the tractor was useful for removing the bulk of the material quickly, while a  small trench was cut by hand to ensure that the water didn't get accidentaly diverted back onto the road.

The third task was a little further up the road clearing the "grips" - diagonal gutters created with sleepers or stone blocks embedded in the track's surface to divert water off into side drains.   As long as the grips work the quantity and speed of water at any point on the tracks surface should be controlled kept low enough to avoid major errosion of its surface, however if / when the grips get full of debris the water takes the route straight down the track picking up speed, debris all the way.  The stone lined ditch that the grips move the water into was also cleared of soil vegetation. Some of which had been trampled in by cows, some had grown there and some had been deposited by the water.
As mountain bikers sometimes descend this route at high speed - two land rovers were parked uphill of the work force, forcing any bikers to slow to a safe speed before getting among the voluinteers

Although the weather on the day was dry - there was enough groundwater seeping into the side drain for it to run clear - with the pitched base stones glisteing in the sun before we left this site.
The group the travelled a short distance by land rover to clear a few other drains on the roads in the area.