Feeding birds,watering plant pots,repairing seats,tidying up after free felling etc

Monday January 14th 2019

Arrived school before 8.30am,first job was refilling bird feeders around the school wildlife area then remixing bird food ready for next few work sessions.

Just after I had watered all the plant containers Chris arrived to help…he had brought some cement so he repaired the broken seat along the top pathway plus filled the hole in one of the outdoor classroom benches..

Meanwhile I was busy replanting the montbretia bulbs on the slope below the shed then clearing away more of the felled pine tree debris from behind and below the shed …Chris also helped me with this clearance work …still more to do next week!

Nursery children and staff enjoying exploring the school wildlife area this morning…some of the children fascinated by what Chris’s seat repair work was all about!

Reception teacher also brought 2 small groups of children down to the seating near the pond for maths session…collecting sticks and learning longest,shortest and size order..

Gorse,snowdrops,snowflakes,primroses,red campion and anemones all in flower in wildlife area this morning

 

 

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First 2019 work session

Monday January 7th 2019

Beautiful sunny morning for our volunteer work session in the school wildlife area this morning..

I was at school by 8.15am and began by starting to clear the huge area of mess left after a huge ( healthy) pine tree behind our storage shed had been felled..

Trunk and larger branches had been chopped into smaller pieces and taken to end of field for outdoor learning classroom use but small branches & other pieces plus large branches of damaged rowans ,cherry and wild roses were left scattered over huge area for fairies/oap volunteers to clear away onto our wood piles!!!

Thankfully Colin and Chris both arrived to help me with this mammoth clear up task…after 2 hours we had cleared 90% of the mess and will sort rest next Monday…weather permitting.

After a coffee and catch up we refilled the bird feeders and headed for home

Lots of birds seen and heard plus snowdrops,violets and primroses in flower in our lovely school wildlife area this morning

Last 2018 work session

Monday December 17th 2018

After several days rain ground very wet for gardening today nevertheless 3 of us volunteers turned up to work in the school wildlife area this morning!

I was there first as usual and began by filling all the bird feeders around our project site…by the time I’d sorted the bird food ready for our next work session ie in 2019 Colin had arrived to help …

He took wheelbarrow,loppers and secateurs along to  below far steps and began pruning back the buddleijas..

I began clearing the foliage ie nettles,grass and unwanted weeds from the steep  slope below the shed..

Chris arrived after 9.30am …he went off to help Colin…they also pruned the buddleijas near the shed and by the outdoor classroom seating…

Meanwhile I was tackling the unwanted foliage on the steep and slippery slope…managed to finish the job thankfully…at least 6 large bags of green waste removed and added to our compost bins…about 30 montbretia bulbs pulled out accidentally …have left them in box in shed …will replant them in the new year!

Magpies,blackbirds,robins and grey squirrel seen in wild life area this morning

Today our last work session until Monday 7 January 2019 as not working Christmas or New Years Eve….I will go up to school sometime during the holiday to refill the bird feeders.

Feeding birds,repairing step and clearing foliage again…

Monday December 10th 2018

First job for me on arrival in school wildlife area this morning was refilling all the bird feeders..

When Chris arrived to help he replaced another of the steps ie  below the shed…all now replaced using thick cherry tree branches from a tree which was felled after damage earlier in the year….great recycling!

I spent morning starting to clear foliage ie grass ,nettles etc from steep slope below shed…resulting in 5 more large bags of green waste being added to our compost bins

Magpies, blackbirds and robins, unidentified moth, red campion, cyclamen and violets are seen in school wildlife area this morning

 

Feeding birds,repairing steps ,annual foliage clearing etc

Monday December 3rd 2018

Alas grey,damp weather for our weekly work session …

Arrived school 8.20am I began work by refilling all the bird feeders around the school wildlife area…also scrapped all the bird poo off the seating and tables again!

Colin arrived in time to help me re fill the bird food containers ready for next week

Shortly afterwards Chris joined us…he and Colin repaired 2 of the steps at the far end of our project site plus levelled off a broken step below the shed

Meanwhile I was busy clearing foliage ie mainly nettles from the large grassy area between the 2 main pathways

Only the steep slope below the shed to clear yet …we’ve 2 more Monday’s before the Christmas break so hoping the weather keeps fine so I can finish all the annual foliage clearing work!

 

Feeding birds,pruning,collecting litter & PE equipment,repairing steps and foliage clearance

Monday 26th November 2018

Dry but chilly weather for this morning’s work session

First to arrive as usual so began by re filling all the bird feeders around the school wildlife area ,also swept the pond boardwalk and spread another 2 bags of leaves …donated by the caretaker!

Realised the large bank below the playground has at last been cut….lots of litter and PE equipment scattered everywhere so after Chris had cut back some branches caught in the playground fence and Colin arrived to help they were in agreement to join me in clearing up the mess on the long steep bank!

We ended up with a large sack  of litter and deflated footballs etc which had been chopped by machinery plus 2 sacks of various types of PE equipment …which was left in the playground for staff to deal with

After our coffee break and catch up Chris and Colin did more repair work on the steps below the shed whilst I was busy clearing away more nettles etc

NB still lots more foliage clearance work to do before the Christmas break…only 3 more work sessions so hoping for good weather!

 

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Feeding birds,repairing steps,removing dead beech tree and clearing foliage

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Monday November 19th 2018

Colin,Chris and Jean working at school this morning in the school wildlife area

Jean began by refilling all the bird feeders…Colin arrived to help

Caretaker had left another 2 sacks of leaves which Colin spread along the pathways

When Chris arrived he helped Colin remove the dead copper beech tree then they worked together replacing some of the broken steps below the shed …with recycled tree trunks

Meanwhile I was busy with more annual autumn foliage clearance ie pulling out nettles etc on the large grassy area between the 2 main paths …resulting in another 4 large bags of green waste being added to our compost bins in the copse by the pond