Cawston Greenway

Mick and me today and we spent a couple of hours burning off the brash in Bear Cutting.

As you can see, we soon had the fire really stoked.

There is loads to do and a lot of brash to burn, however, we need to keep a balance with the rest of the greenway, and not spend all our time on this bit, whilst losing ground in the other areas.

Looking back at the embers of the fire. I could of easily stayed all day and just fed that fire until the whole area was clear, but unfortunately we all have busy lives.

Next workday is next Monday at 9am. Back in Bear Cutting and just carry on clearing the banks of the cutting. After that, we can spend a bit of time on other bits before returning to this area on the weekend workday (12th September at 12:00) and having a good old go at it.

We are making good progress, I feel.

Paul

Today was a gentle walk down the greenway snipping back any bramble on one side, and then walking back snipping any bramble on the other side. No rush and seemed like an easy morning. How wrong I was. All the stretching up, down, forwards and backwards to reach those brambles has left me aching all over. So if you are looking for a good workout, come on down..

We also picked up the little bit of litter that had been dropped. Not much, I am pleased to say.

A lot of the greenway is looking like the picture above and it is just as bit too claustrophobic, because you cannot see where you are going. It is OK for wildlife, but we need to get a balance.

This picture shows how much better it is when the path is opened up. This will be the challenge over the winter. Useful to have branches meeting in the middle, in parts, so that wildlife can move from side to side without having to get out of the trees.

Another new find, a Bloody Nosed beetle.

Next workday is next Monday at 9am.

I guess we need to go back to the section between the underpass and The Bear pub and continue to clear the brash. This means a big bonfire and if you are lucky, I might bring some marshmallows.

Paul

Back in the same area today, as Saturday. Myself, Aaron and Chris made it and we got a fair bit done. Mainly raking up brash that we cut down a few years ago, and burning it.

Whilst it is good for fungi and insects to have all the wood to grow on and burrow into, we don’t really want to have all these nutrients go back into the soil. Natural wild flowers prefer nutrient-poor soil to thrive, believe it or not. We do build log piles for the insects and fungi to thrive.

We need to remove the canopy and clear the whole bank. This will go one of two ways, a lovely south-facing bank of wild flowers, or a mass of nettles. I guess that we will get nettles so we will just have to pull them up to allow the wild flowers to get established.

You can see how the area is starting to clear. Everything on the left needs to go. There will be a few mature trees that we will leave as features, but all the scrappy stuff needs to be cut down and thrown on the fire.

It is really therapeutic to be so close to nature and doing some good for our local community. I really believe that working the land and managing a harvest, all be it, a harvest of wild flowers, is in our genes. It is what our forefathers did for centuries so it has to be in our bones.

Next weekend workday is September 12th starting at 12:00.

Working on the area from the underpass to The Bear just clearing and burning scrub.

Next weekday workday is next Monday starting at 9:00.

Working from the entrance downwards, just cutting back anything growing over the path and picking up any litter.

Thanks for a great day today.

Paul

Cleared back the path between the underpass and The Bear pub. Aaron, Chris, Mick and myself so a good turn out for a week day.

We had a good look at the wet bits and decided that our best course of action would be to route the path around them. There is plenty of width to do this.

We spotted a couple of butterflies and loads of wild flowers, so the plan is working.

A Gatekeeper, if I am not mistaken.

Next workday will be same place at 9am Monday morning.

REMEMBER THAT WE ARE HAVING A WEEKEND WORKDAY ON SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST STARTING AT 12. 

We will rake the ground and burn all the brash that is lying about, in the section between the underpass and The Bear pub.

Great to get out there today and connect with nature.

Paul

Today it was Aaron, Mick and me and we worked the path clear from the new underpass, to close to The Bear pub.

We have a real problem with drainage on this section due to the 19th century drains being damaged when the contractors put in the underpass.

However, we have a huge south-facing bank that is begging to be cleared of scrub and wild flowers allowed to grow.

Various shots of the section. We need to take the trees out on the north side of the path and then clear the bank on the south side. This is going to mean a lot of tree chopping and bonfires to get rid of the brash.

This area has the potential to be fantastic. Loads of water and loads of sunshine. I am so excited for the plans we have for this bit.

Next workday is Monday next week at 9am, on this section.

Paul

A little late in posting this up but here goes.

Three of us made it. Chris, Aaron and me. We cleared around the picnic clearing and up and down. Loads of brambles starting to grow across the path, despite earlier clearing.

This is kind of how it needs to look. brown path, grass and low plants, longer grass and plants, nettles and a bit of scrub, heavy shrubbery and trees on the edge.

We just need to keep pushing back the outer bits so that the inner bits don’t feel too much like they are on top of us.

Loads of butterflies and bees.

Pushing back the nettles.

We could not decide if these are ant hills or mole hills, but a sure sign that wildlife is happening on the greenway.

Next workday is Monday next week at 9am working on the section from the underpass to the Bear pub. We need to repair the drain and route the path around the wet bits. We will be starting back on weekends soon. Watch this space!!

Paul

Today reminded me of how hard life must of been, pre-industrial revolution. Manually thrashing back the nettles soon brought out blisters and made my arms ache. How people did it in fields to harvest crops from dawn to dusk makes you realise how easy we have it today.

Myself, Mick and Chris today and we cleared the sides of the path between the picnic clearing and new underpass.

Good day today and we avoided the rain, which was a bonus.

Shorter workday next week because I have an appointment late morning, so will be finishing at 10.

Paul