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 ⏰, when the event was kicking off with a short introduction. We heard a bit more about the today’s tasks but it was especially inspiring 🤩 to hear about all amazing things they have already done in the nature reserve 🌱.

Super energized by intro and today’s sun 🌞, we grabbed three wheelbarrows full of equipment ✂️ 🧤 and headed off all together into the nature reserve. It quickly turned out that the site was really muddy 👣 at the moment after recent rains 🌧, so both of us looked at our trainers and felt deep regret 🥺 about not taking a bit more suitable footwear for the conditions – wellies would be just perfect 👌!

Our main task for the day was to start work on a dead hedge. It’s essentially a barrier constructed from cut branches and saplings. It’s good for wildlife - especially for small mammals 🐿, birds 🐦 and insects 🦗🐞 - 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 📏 and also that their endings will be spiky 🏹 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 🏗 the second pile of branches that was collected by Friends some other time. Now we could make a good use of it ✅!

After around 2.5h we went back to the hut to wash our hands (Happy Birthday 🍮 sung x2) to prepare ourselves for biscuits 🍪 and warm drinks ☕.

We haven’t stayed until the end but long enough (2.5h) to see a nice progress the group made. As they said before we started – building a dead hedge takes surprisingly long time so the task wouldn’t be finished today and the work will continue! Our trainers were crying for wash. Not-welly planned 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️!