Cawston Greenway

A great workday today and we were lucky to snatch a window of sunshine in what is turning into a soggy wet weekend.

We cleared the fallen tree and Mike chopped it up so that we could make a lovely log-pile. This will be fantastic to watch as it becomes the home for many insects, small mammals and fungi.

Our new log-pile.

Getting right in to where the tree crashed through the canopy, it became obvious that we need to be opening up the path a lot more. When we had cleared away all the branches the sunlight flooded in and really brightened things up. Shirley made a list of about forty or more wild flowers that she spotted in the clearing by the underpass and the only way that these are going to spread is by getting rid of the dense canopy that is stopping anything growing at all.

About ten of us turned out and cleared away a fallen tree.

Also, the wider the path, the better it will be for all the people using it because we can allow the narrow middle strip to recover a bit, as people walk on the newer bits. It will also help to avoid or walk around the muddy puddles that we get when it rains.

We are now on Twitter as @CawstonGreenway, as well as facebook, so we can keep up-to-date with what is going on and how we are progressing. Workdays are always advertised well in advance and anyone is more than welcome to join in for a couple of hours.

Next workday is Thursday 28th July 1pm to 3pm meeting at the picnic clearing. We need to dig the two picnic benches in so will have to dig down by about six inches. I will add a mattock to our kit to help us do this, we will get loads of use out of it grubbing out brambles and the like.

August workday is Sunday 14th 1pm to 3pm meeting at The Bear car park. I will get some paint and we can walk the whole length of the greenway and mark the trees that we want to remove. This means that we can really hit the ground running in September. We need to be really brave and push the clearings right back and we also need to start dead-hedging along the edges to secure the boundaries. My eventual aim is to have kissing-gates at the access points so we have some sort of control over motorbikes.

Thanks to all who turned out today.

See you on the next one!

Paul

An interesting and relaxing day on the greenway today. We cut back all the overhanging branches and brambles that had encroached onto the path and walked from Potford’s Dam to The Bear, so got a fair bit cut back. One thing that is obvious is that we need to make some sections towards the Potford’s Dam end a lot wider. The wide path that we thought we had is now a narrow corridor.

A large branch of a tree has come down and is blocking the path. Next workday (Sunday 17th July) will be chopping this up and removing it. It’s going to be a big job!

It was really good to see a lot of wildflowers growing in the areas that we cleared over the winter. I have taken a few pictures of the ones that I spotted and at some point will sit down and try and identify them. Here are the pics:

If anyone fancies telling me what these flowers are, please feel free. It will save me doing the leg-work, but it is great to see them growing and gives me confidence that we are on the right track.

Look forward to the next one..

Paul

Well what can I say!!! Sorry comes to mind. I had a surprise Father’s Day gift from my baby son, a Saturday day and night in Skegness. Little did I know that there would be an army of tractors on the roads on the Sunday morning, harvesting cabbages from the fields. It took ages to get back.

Anyhow, it looks like all who turned out got on well with clearing nettles.

I think maybe we need to think about the nettle removal on a longer-term basis. If the nettles are part of what will grow naturally, then maybe pulling them up is a battle that we can never win? I discussed this with Graham on Sunday when I eventually turned up and we both agreed that we need some informed advice and guidance.

 Next workday is cutting back any overhanging growth on the path, and there is plenty, so I guess if we start at the normal meeting point and work our way down and cut back as we go.

Two dates – Mid-week workday on Thursday 7th July 11am to 1pm and Sunday workday on Sunday 17th July 1pm to 3pm.

I will bring the pruners and also a black bag for any litter that has been dropped.

Look forward to seeing you on the workdays!

Paul

A few of us turned out today to pull up nettles!!!! Why-oh-why do I always do these things in a tee-shirt!!! My arms are itching like a dog with a flee… ;o)

But we cleared a huge area in the picnic clearing and this will give other wildflowers a chance to become established. We tried to burn off the piles of nettles that we pulled up but the I didn’t bring any kindling so we will have to do this on the next workday.

Piles of pulled up nettles!!!

Next workday is pulling up more nettles and as mentioned on the last blog is on the 19th June. Strangely it is really therapeutic and calming. I don’t know why but we all really chilled out with it today.

As a priority we need to get the picnic bench fixed and both of them sunk into the ground.

John is in the process of making up what needs doing in the September to March work season. We have maps and pictures and what he is working on is looking really good.

Look forward to seeing you on the next work day..

Paul

Sunday was a good workday on the greenway, six or so of us turned out, despite clashing with major sporting events.

We cut back any overhanging branches and brambles, did a bit of litter-picking (nice to see that there was hardly any litter to pick up) and pulled up a lot of nettles and weeds.

The greenway is getting a lot of use from local residents and the path is starting to naturally widen with the increased footfall. This is great news and just shows what a difference we have made.

Next workday is tomorrow 11:00 to 1:00 pulling up nettles in the picnic clearing. There are a lot wildflower plants trying to grow underneath the nettles so it is worthwhile, and then Sunday June 19th 11:00 to 1:00.

Thanks to all who made it on Sunday 🙂

Paul

Hopefully these maps of the greenway will give us clear direction when the work season starts in September.

If you click on each map it will enlarge so you can see the detail.

Hopefully you will be able to see the areas that need work. Between the new underpass and The Bear we are going to create a huge clearing along the whole length. On the north side of the underpass there are loads of wildflowers that have come up due to the earth being disturbed when the underpass was built. This is the sort of thing that we hope to get in the glades, a really rich and diverse wildflower ground cover.

Hope to see you on the next workday on Sunday 22nd May to fix the picnic bench and pull up some nettles. 1pm to 3pm.

Paul

Great day today just to walk along the greenway from start to finish and plan the work for next season. The path was buzzing with butterflies and insects and lots of wildflowers are coming up in the cleared areas.

The way forward is lots of clear banks with dense woodland between. Hopefully the clearings will be big enough to sustain a lot of insect-life, which will encourage birds and mamals.

Next workday is Sunday 22nd May. Pulling up nettles in the second clearing and hopefully fixing the bench in the picnic glade. 1pm to 3pm, plus a bit of a litter-pick. Midweek workday is Wednesday 25th May 11am to 1pm. Pulling up nettles in the picnic clearing and working out what we want to do with it.

Look forward to seeing you at the Sunday or the mid-week workday.

Paul

Nice and gentle workday today. Six or so of us turned out and we raked the bank back on the eastern side of the picnic clearing. This will allow seeds that are in the soil to germinate and grow.

 That’s about it for now. Thanks to all who turned out today and it is really good to see the greenway coming back to life after the winter months.

Paul

We had a good AGM yesterday and it was nice to reflect on what we started with, and where we are at now. Fantastic progress is a massive understatement.

We talked about what we want to be doing over the summer. We decided that we need to be litter-picking, digging up the bramble roots and nettles, walk the fence line and make it secure and map the path and make a plan for the sections that we divide the path into.

The April workday is Sunday 17th 1pm to 3pm. Raking the ground in the two glades and pulling up nettles and bramble roots.

The mapping day is Thursday 28th 1pm to 3pm (or longer if needed). We will start at one end and literally draw a map of the features and landmarks of the path, and divide it into sections, with a clear work brief for each bit. We need to take care to preserve the existing wildflowers and monitor what changes happen as we do the work.

Hope to see a good crowd on the Sunday!

Paul

A small group of us turned out and we went from the meeting point down to The Bear, litter picking. The weather turned quite wet so I think we were all glad to go home.

Litter pick today.

Ed burned off a bit more brash and also did some work on the section between the new underpass (which Margaret removed the graffiti from today) and The Bear. Loads of work to do on this section and we need to decide how we are going to tackle it. There are some lovely banks and the path is mostly in deep cutting with little scrub. We can open up some really wide glades and maybe either try to repair the brook that is flooding the path at The Bear end, or divert the path onto higher ground and have the water as part of the changing and diverse habitat that exists along the greenway.

Looking down the path towards the new underpass.

Looking up the path towards The Bear pub.

Don’t forget that it is our AGM on Monday 4th April at 6pm at Cawston Grange School. There will be directions to get to the classroom.

Good day today and with the litter removed, even on a soggy day like today the greenway looks really cared for.

See you soon!

Paul