AA Simon, Jack and Kathleen met up at the North London Cricket Club in Crouch End yesterday for a lunchtime CREOS task. Glenys, the head volunteer for Crouch End Open Space directed our team to their current pathway maintenance project.

Goodgym Islington have been assisting with laying down large piles of hoggin (a clay, sand and cement substrate, with really good absorption qualities) onto the pathways between Crouch End and Highgate for the past few months. The lockdown has increased the footfall around these beautiful ancient woodland areas (which is a positive!), meaning that stronger paths and less puddles are required!

AA Simon and local volunteer Rob began with clearing some of the excess mud and green waste from the paths with shovels, while Jack and Kathleen used wheelbarrows to deliver loads of builders rubble and old broken flag stones over. We used the stones to form a mosaic style pattern along the path (particularly around the steps and spots that would see the most footfall), and then covered the stones with rubble. For our final half hour, we started a human chain of wheelbarrow runners, shovelers and rakers to deposit as much of the hoggin as possible before the end of our lunch break.

We did a fantastic job with a limited time frame, and were cheered on my various dog walkers, runners, hikers and families appreciating our efforts in renovating their favourite paths. Smashing work everyone!