Hedge news and Work Day report – February 2017

Next time you visit the Rec you’ll see that huge progress has been made towards replacing the leylandii trees around the tennis courts with more attractive native hedging plants, such as yew.

Thanks to a superhuman effort from a 17-strong band of volunteers – seventeen! – we turned the old hedge into a pristine line of stumps and cleared away mountains of foliage, rubbish and old tennis balls.

Special mention must go to Michael, the man we couldn’t see for (saw)dust, plus his team of advisers, trimmers, draggers and sweepers.

Gratifyingly, the Council have already come to clear away our enormous mound of cut branches and convert into wood-chip (recyclable as mulch), and the stumps have been ground out today now too.

All being well, we can soon start preparing the ground for planting, and so look forward to a hedgerow that will be more attractive and better for the local environment.

Thanks, too, for all the other work, which included planting and litter-picking. And a special mention to Harry, a supporter from Cannon Road. Harry will be helping the Friends regularly over the next few months as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award Community Service. He’ll do a litter-pick each week and may join in other work if he can find time between his studies.

Next Work Day: Sunday 29 March

Come and join us, even if it’s just for half an hour! No tools or expertise necessary!  We’d love to see you there — join the effort to protect your local green space.