Where is Welly?
2 GoodGymers made their way to help the The Environment Trust - Berrylands Nature Reserve in Kingston upon Thames.
- Saturday, 14th of March 2020
- Led by Gosia Rybacka
Today we represented GoodGym on the one of regular community conservation volunteer days organized by Friends of Berrylands Nature Reserve. We have arrived outside Berrylands Scouts Hut at 10 AM โฐ, when the event was kicking off with a short introduction. We heard a bit more about the todayโs tasks but it was especially inspiring ๐คฉ to hear about all amazing things they have already done in the nature reserve ๐ฑ.
Super energized by intro and todayโs sun ๐, we grabbed three wheelbarrows full of equipment โ๏ธ ๐งค and headed off all together into the nature reserve. It quickly turned out that the site was really muddy ๐ฃ at the moment after recent rains ๐ง, so both of us looked at our trainers and felt deep regret ๐ฅบ about not taking a bit more suitable footwear for the conditions โ wellies would be just perfect ๐!
Our main task for the day was to start work on a dead hedge. Itโs essentially a barrier constructed from cut branches and saplings. Itโs good for wildlife - especially for small mammals ๐ฟ, birds ๐ฆ and insects ๐ฆ๐ - because it gives them somewhere to shelter that is protected from predators and from the wind and rain.
Before getting to the area where this hedge should be built, the Friends showed us a similar construction completed in a different part of the reserve. The group split in two, with one working on evening out and clearing the area, the second cutting and shaping the branches for the hedge.
We immediately joined the second bunch, our task was to ensure that the branches that go into the ground will have a relatively same length ๐ and also that their endings will be spiky ๐น so it will be easy to stick them to the ground. We grabbed saws and get on with the work. There was a lot of material to process, so this is how we spent most of our time!
After around an hour, we were asked to go to a different part of the reserve to transport ๐ the second pile of branches that was collected by Friends some other time. Now we could make a good use of it โ !
After around 2.5h we went back to the hut to wash our hands (Happy Birthday ๐ฎ sung x2) to prepare ourselves for biscuits ๐ช and warm drinks โ.
We havenโt stayed until the end but long enough (2.5h) to see a nice progress the group made. As they said before we started โ building a dead hedge takes surprisingly long time so the task wouldnโt be finished today and the work will continue! Our trainers were crying for wash. Not-welly planned ๐คทโโ๏ธ๐คทโโ๏ธ!
Report written by Gosia Rybacka
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Led by Gosia Rybacka
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Awesome stuff Gosia. 2.5hours is a solid shift and you deserved a few buscuits for that! ๐
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