What do you do the wet and soggy morning after clocking up your 500th Good Deed...?

Walk to Haymill Nature Reserve to meet the Friends of Haymill to do your 501st of course!

This morning the group split into two, with one group going to reinstall and information board and the bigger group cutting back the overgrowth so the pavement is passable and pick any litter uncovered along the way.

Amongst the litter picking haul were a shopping trolley, a suitcase, unopened cat food pouches, a bedside table, a door handle, a baby stroller and a 'To Let' sign along with 4 black sacks filled with regular litter. Our last job of the session was to unload Bob's van and then recreate a live version of Tetris to repack all the litter/fly tipping.

Jen and Sheila met up with volunteers from Friends of Haymill and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) for their monthly working party.

Jen joined group 1 who were replacing an information sign at the main entrance to the reserve and Sheila helped group 2 to clear the reed bed and the previously dug drainage channels.

After tea break the two groups merged to work on the reedbed although Jen set off to litter pick around the pathway through the reserve.

Jen joined a small group of Friends of Haymill and BBOWT volunteers to rake up the nettles and reeds that a different group of volunteers had cut down earlier in the week.

Raking up the reeds was hard work so it was good that the nettles helped bind everything together so it could easily be rolled onto the tarpaulin.

Sheila and I met a group of Friends of Haymill and BBOWT volunteers to continue the path clearance from last time.

Loppers, shears, scythes, rakes, strimmer and litter picks at the ready we split into small groups to tackle different sections of the path to cut back the overgrown brambles, nettles, fern and grasses.

Sheila and Jen met BBOWT volunteers and Friends of Haymill and after introductions to new members and a safety briefing we took our tools to base camp. We split out into groups to work on cutting back overgrowth and tidying up the path.

Jen tackled the overgrown entrance gate that was a battle with Brambles, Ivy, Nettles and Bindweed. Sheila and a couple of others joined her to clear the path leading from the gate.

After a coffee break, Sheila returned to the path and Jen stayed to the external pavement to cut back the nettles at child height that were encroaching onto the pavement.

Some of the team amassed some litter as well so all in all a good mornings work.

Jen and Brenda met Bob and the BBOWT amd Friends of Haymill volunteers on a rainy morning.

The only job today was to work our way along the outside of the perimeter fence, cutting back the hedge that was encroaching on, and taking over in places, the public pavement.

Brambles and Ivy were kept in check with loppers whilst the rake and brush were put to good use to clear up the cuttings so we could move them back in the undergrowth by the fence.