By Sara Messenger of Bradley Stoke’s Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group.
Bradley Stoke Green Gym continues to meet every Thursday and has even managed to grow, welcoming several new members to our group, some with two legs and some with four! Although we have been hampered by the constant rain, we have managed to complete a huge amount of work, even though we were still required to meet in groups of six or less, which is why, at times, you may see small groups of us heading off in different directions. Mostly this works well, so I am not going to mention at all that the boys when left unsupervised by the girls managed to lose our grappling hook in the lake!
Our list of small tasks has now been completed and we have managed to repair the damaged disabled access gate into Savages Wood and clear back all the trees, so that the CCTV now has a clear view. The welcome sign that was vandalised has been repurposed and now marks the way into Savages Wood and the fencing here was repaired. We roped off the area that had been cleared to allow the ferns and orchids space to thrive (it was getting used as a short cut) and also cleared the bomb craters of rubbish and cut wood. We didn’t neglect our four-legged friends and on a warm day replaced the dogs’ water bowl by the school fence.
Down by the lake we securely added dog leads to the seats so that it was now possible to sit and have a drink without spilling it all over yourself when your daughter’s dog spots yet another potential new best friend and pulls on their lead. However, it would seem that they weren’t secure enough as all three leads have gone ‘walkies.’ Even though they were not expensive (they came from the local pound shop), we will only replace them for a second time, not a third.
The earth bank near the BSCS Primary Phase entrance has had its annual trim, which took a lot longer than expected both because of the weather, the amount of bramble that seems to have sprung up and the number of children keener on chatting to us than finishing their ‘weekly mile’. Although we are not keen on once again replacing the skate park hedge line, as despite the canes and guards they do seem to get mown on a regular basis, we have managed to plant more trees, many donated by local company CGI. Before planting we are requested to get a tree planting licence from SGC and we do try to, but as this often takes so long to arrive, if at all, we choose to use our common sense when planting. Officialdom sometimes appears to move at the speed of the continental drift!
Our row of horse chestnut trees planted on the Bradley Stoke flyover path had a new addition which was donated by Karen and Jack. Although very fond of the tree as their daughter Mollie grew it in a pot from seed 20 years ago, it would appear that when you’re moving down to the coast there is only so much you can take with you! It now takes pride of place at the top of the row and we have discussed making it an official Anne Frank tree. This area has been mown and re-seeded with wildflowers by Wessex Water as part of their ongoing mitigation work, so when we finally get some sun we may have another wildflower meadow for our bees and butterflies.
• Interested in joining the Bradley Stoke Green Gym volunteers on their next workday? Find out more: www.three-brooks.info/contact.php
