Eight of us (five regulars and three new faces) went to Dunham today for a day of Himalayan balsam pulling. This invasive species, like rhododendrons, out-competes all others and must be eradicated to maintain a diversity of flora. Eradication is by uprooting the plant and snapping the stem in two just above the root ball. We cleared a swath 10-20 metres wide either side of the footpath linking Dunham Forest Golf Club to the road by the lodge at the end of Charcoal Drive. Colin, the ranger who set us going on the task, explained that clearing the balsam from around the path should stop people inadvertently carrying the seeds into the deer park on the soles of their shoes.
The weather was pleasantly cool throughout the day after the heat of the last three weeks and none of us suffered sunburn or heat exhaustion - but we did all get nettle stings!
We walked to the worksite from the main car park near the house and on the way there passed the Old Stumpy chainsaw carving (which I remember seeing being carved on a workday several years ago).
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| Old Stumpy |
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