There were only four of us this week. Various commitments like holidays, and actual paid work, kept about half the team engaged elsewhere. But Reece, Steve, Martin, and Paul made it and we did a bit of strimming and also pulled down a few dodgy looking branches that potentially might have fallen.

The main thing for today though, was a bit of a test to see how much ground we can clear per session. If you look at the tabs above, there is one called September Jobs. Each workday needs us to be clearing between 150 and 180 metres per session, and not just strimming back.

We need to be clearing the overhang so sunlight can get into the path margins and allow the strip between the path edge and the scrub edge to become wildflower-rich grass. At the moment it is mostly just nothingness because it is so dark.

Here are the photos from today, just to give people an idea of kinda where we are going.

We did about 200 metres, which fills me with confidence. However, the proof will be in the pudding…

Some bits of “tunnel” will be left so that wildlife like dormice, which are arboreal (live in trees), can get from side-to-side, but we really want to get that flat bottomed V on most of the path to increase the biodiversity and just make it a bit more airy and let everything have space to breathe a bit.

If we are thinning out the trees, the ones that are left should put on a lot of girth, because we have taken away the need for them all to compete for the light and put all their energy into doing upwards.

We broke for coffee.

You will notice that I typed just coffee. Muggings here forgot to bring biscuits. Normally, the one who is on holiday, will bring the treats and I plain forgot. Pretty much kicking myself because I could’ve gone cap-in-hand to the local butchers, got the stove out, and done us some sausage batches.

Oh well!!

One thing that we all noticed was the amount of leaves falling. It was almost like green snow.

We are officially now in a drought and trees will preserve their energy by shedding their leaves to conserve water and protect themselves from further dehydration. This is sometimes referred to as a “false autumn”.

I think the last time we had this situation was 2020, and everything bounces back and normalises pretty quickly, so it really is nothing to worry about.

We did our usual litter pick.

Lots of cans and sweet wrappers with the kids still being off school. Just a week and a half to go before they all go back, and then I might publish a full damage assessment? Probably not, I don’t know. I just don’t want to give away the energy to idiots who feel the need to smash things up.

The next one is this Friday on Dunchurch Bridleway, and then next week we are making sure the two paths connect and everyone can enjoy the circular walk between the two villages.

Until then!

Paul