Ragwort pulling at Formby on Sunday 24th March 2019

Today was our first workday at Formby since 30th November 2014!  Seven of us including two newcomers made the journey to the coast (three car sharing from Styal) and had an excellent day in the sunshine with rangers Justin and Hallam.  Hallam has been at Formby for only four weeks and until then worked at Hare Hill!

Our task for the day was ragwort pulling in a field a short walk from the rangers' office.  Ragworts are mildly poisonous to sheep, cows and horses and the intention is to introduce sheep into the field later in the year.  We were each armed with a rag-fork (perfectly designed for the job at hand) and a large nylon bulk bag and worked in ones and twos near the field entrance prising the ragworts out of the soft sandy soil and tossing them into the bags.

Coffee break was taken in the field (and coincided with a red squirrel appearing in the trees behind us!  Well spotted Hallam!) and lunch followed at picnic tables behind the rangers' office.

The field was next to a footpath and during the day passers-by asked us over and over what we were doing and why.  Come 3pm the bags were so full that it was difficult to drag them round the field so we collected everything by the entrance gate and called it a day and let Justin know by walkie-talkie.

Team selfie!

Daniel