Oxford Preservation Trust have a piece of meadow land up on Harcourt Hill which they want to use for grazing. A water supply has been sorted, fencing is on it's way, and the final job on the list is to get the ragwort explosion under control.

Common ragwort is one of the most frequently visited flowers by butterflies in the UK and more than 200 species of invertebrate have been recorded on it. However, despite it's benefits to biodiversity, it needs to be got rid of on grazing land. Ragwort poses a significant threat to livestock, particularly horses and cattle. While animals generally avoid it in its green state due to its bitter taste, they can ingest it when it's dried in hay or silage, or when other food sources are scarce. While ragwort is not a neurotoxin in the strictest sense, it can cause neurological symptoms in animals due to the liver damage it causes. The plant's toxins primarily affect the liver. When the liver is damaged, it can no longer properly filter toxins from the blood, leading to a buildup of these toxins and impacting brain function, resulting in neurological signs.

Hugging the shade, we set about digging and pulling up as much ragwort as we could. We managed a good haul, almost filling a tonne bag with plants. This is definitely an ongoing task, but we feel like we made a good start at it.

With the temperature finally starting to drop by the end of the session we had a beaut of a run post-task up towards Boars Hill.

Welcome to GoodGym Becca!

On Wednesday we were asked to help the Oxford Preservation Trust with work at Iffley Glebe.

GLEBE:
noun 1. HISTORICAL a piece of land serving as part of a clergyman's benefice and providing income.

We had a few tasks to take care of:

• Maintaining the ancient wall by weeding all the little plants that start growing in the crevices and end up damaging the wall structure. There were also nettles, sycamore and cottoneaster growing in and beside the wall which needed cutting back or pulling out. This will enable a proper assessment of the wall for repairs to be undertaken.
• A walk around the meadow, moving dead wood on the grass to the edges of the glebe so that as much as possible can be cut.
• Lopping down low hanging branches of trees overhanging the field, so that the tractor can get as close as possible when mowing.

Once suitably covered in bug repellent we set to work, whizzing through the list in record time. The run back to base was a delight, taking in the Thames path, but could have been improved by inhaling slightly fewer midges!

Thanks to Ben for the report title!

On Wednesday we were asked to help the Oxford Preservation Trust with work at Iffley Glebe. We had a few tasks to take care of: * Maintaining the ancient wall by weeding all the little plants that start growing in the crevices and end up damaging the wall structure.
* Lopping back the low over hanging branches of the large sycamore tree near the entrance so the tractor can get under it to complete the meadow mow.
* Cutting back and pulling up nettles closely along the wall where the tractor can't reach.
* Clearing the area around the gate to the storage garage, which was overgrown with brambles.

Many hands make light work of such tasks, particularly hands which are enthusiastic loppers and weeders! Sadly we didn't catch sight of the fox family who are raising their cubs on the Glebe, but we did get to listen to bell-ringing practice from Iffley Church.

Welcome to GoodGym Philip!

Iffley Glebe plays a vital role in maintaining the rural atmosphere of Iffley village. The glebe is full of wildflowers and the hedge across the field provides birds with nesting places, and insects and berries for food. The glebe is owned by Oxford Preservation Trust and they often ask GoodGym to help with maintenance tasks.

This week we were tackling one of our regular tasks - weeding the Iffley Glebe wall. Everyone spread out along the inner and outer walls to denude it of weeds and stop them from getting roots established and destroying the structure. We managed to get the whole front boundary wall cleared, and most of the inside too, filling a large sack with greenery in the process. The mossies were probably delighted at all the flesh to feast on, so we all have some itchy momentos. Note to self; find the local Avon lady for insect repellant.

We'll probably be back to Iffley Glebe again later in the summer for a second go over the wall, plus tackling a section on the northern edge of the site, some hay raking, and sycamore removal.

Welcome to GoodGym Jenny!

We spent a sunny late summer evening snipping down sycamore saplings to stop them from self-seeding all over Iffley Glebe, carefully pulling ivy and other unwelcome green guests off the ancient stone wall around the meadow, and clipping large amounts of bramble, nettle and hawthorn which were encroaching on the entrance to the storage garage.

It's always a joy to be up in Iffley in the summer, with it's village vibe and feel of having stepped back in time for a little while.

Congratulations on reaching the 100 Good Deed milestone Kieran.

Happy 10th Good Deed Freya.

Welcome to GoodGym Andy!

Iffley Glebe plays a vital role in maintaining the rural atmosphere of Iffley village. The glebe is full of wildflowers and the hedge across the field provides birds with nesting places, and insects and berries for food. The glebe is owned by Oxford Preservation Trust and they often ask GoodGym to help with maintenance tasks, particularly keeping the ancient stone wall clear of foliage.

This week we had 2 big tasks - weed the wall and also cut down some sycamore saplings which had sprung up close to the boundary and had been liberally distributing their seeds across a neighbour's garden. Ben and Fred took saws and loppers to tackle the sycamores and everyone else spread out along the inner and outer walls to denude it of weeds. We would usually do wall weeding a bit earlier in the spring, and the clumps of plants were much more extensive doing it in June, but we managed to get the whole front boundary wall cleared and all the problem sycamores felled, filling 3 large sacks with greenery in the process.

After a warm run and task Bethan's suggestion of a dip in the river was very inviting, so we popped along to Rivermead Nature Park for a swim/paddle. Very refreshing!

We'll probably be back to Iffley Glebe again later in the summer for a second go over the wall, plus tackling a section on the northern edge of the site and some hay raking.

Lovely to have a GG tourist in our midst this evening - good to meet you Louise.