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Six of us turned out on a very wet morning. It had been raining all night, and we were lucky to not get a good soaking today. Matt, Ian, Marcus, Steve, Reece, and Paul donned our wildlife superhero capes and set about with the tasks for the day.

Ian started by knocking back the overbridge entry point.

The view from the bridge shows how puddled up it has become.

Reece, Marcus, Ian, and Steve then set about creating the 12-inch buffer between the path edge and the wildflower-rich grassy areas.

This is to stop the path edge vegetation from flopping onto the path and forcing everyone to walk in single-file, which is not exactly conducive to having a conversation.

We did about 400 metres today, which is pretty good going in the wet, and because we are on top of it, it’s all new growth, so there is not the fight back that we get with aged coarse grasses.

Me and Matt opted for the ache-inducing stump removal.

Ian’s son, David, made a new handle for a spare Zubat blade with his 3D printer. This is amazing. The possibilities are endless!!

The saw is extremely sharp, but it was still really hard work.

We had to leave the stumps quite high, but if we drill a load of holes in the tops, nature will help them to rot down.

A welcome cuppa and flapjack was desperately needed to rebuild our energy.

This, of course, presented an excellent opportunity for me to try out my new joke…

Why did the chicken go to the gym?

To work on its pecks…

The groans were scaring the wildlife…

The short grass and the longer margins next to it are starting to take shape.

It’s quite hard to show in a photo, but hopefully we get it so that each bench feels like a little oasis in a sea of gently swaying wildflowers.

I’m going to do a wildflower survey soon. Just to try and see what we have at this point in the year.

Our water management seems to have coped with the rain and is actually doing what it is supposed to do.

We have one last bit to get sorted.

We know how to fix it, so not a worry.

I also did our weekly litter-pick.

Not bad considering it’s the Easter school holiday.

Dunchurch Bridleway

We pushed back the path that leads to the Solstice Coffee Shop, and also westward along the bridleway. Over 400 metres covered by Ian, David, and Paul.

A group of people from the The Ramblers came past and were really happy with what we were doing.

“The cat’s pyjamas” is how one of them described it!

The next one is at Potford Dam, where we have a bench to put in.

Until then!

Paul