Lots of weeding and pruning…

Thursday August 17th 2017

After rain overnight alas ground quite wet so we worked mainly from paths this morning..

I arrived first as usual and began by watering the planters and pots at the front of school which were rather dry even though we’d had recent rain!

When Rose arrived to help I went to the wildlife area to collect the wheelbarrow, garden bags, gloves  and tools..

Rose worked on the beds at the front of school whilst I went off to prune the buddleijas and weed in the nursery outdoor play area..

Still lots more weeding & pruning to be done in these areas however at 11am we returned to the wildlife area for our coffee break and catch up..

Next we took 2 wheelbarrow loads of prunings  etc down to compost in the copse by the wildlife pond..

Rose also dragged 2 lots of large branches -cut off by the caretaker since last week and left by the wildlife area gate-these were added to the woodpile in the copse! 

Caretaker also offered us a wooden pallet-took it out of the skip then left it for me to struggle to take it to the wildlife area!

Finally after a little more pruning near our shed and in the playground we packed up and left for our homes…

NB I will re fill the bird feeders on Monday ie at our next IWAP volunteers work session!

 

 

Tree creeper +weeding,pruning,watering,feeding birds etc

Thursday August 10th 2017

Arrived at school first as usual  next I brought wheelbarrow etc to front of school + started watering planters and pots near the front gates..

Rose arrived to help- we planted some fuschias and cosmos I’d brought from home plus did weeding and pruning on some of the nearby planted beds-large full bag and wheelbarrow load of garden waste taken to add to the compost bins in the wildlife area …

After our coffee break I refilled the birdfeeders whilst Rose pruned the dead flowerheads off the buddleijas..

We saw a tree creeper on the trunk and large branches of the ash tree trees opposite the top path plus I saw  a frog on the bank by the boiler house and we both heard a frog croaking near the storage shed…..

I dug up and potted on a hebe in flower which was growing on the slope by the playground steps…

 

Watering,feeding birds,cutting paths, pruning field maple tree etc

Monday August 7th 2017

Great to be back volunteering within  the wildlife area & school grounds this morning after taking a week off!

I arrived first and began by giving the planters and pots at the front of school a good watering …

When Colin arrived to help he used the hose pipe to give the 2 flower beds nearest the tap a good soaking…

When Chris arrived we decided to rehome a few chairs out of the skip alas only found one we could use as after carrying 4 others to the wildlife area the men discovered each chair had a screw which had sheared off- so the broken chairs were returned to the skip! 

Chris had brought his petrol mower from home which he used to cut a path along the overgrown slope below the playing field/playground…

Meanwhile  Colin & I watered the seat planter by the classrooms + the pots in the nursery outdoor area…

NB   I added 2 laminated notices to the fence ie about the apple, plum & pear fruits on the grass slope by the playground not being ready to be picked until late September or early October-looks like we have a bumper crop of all 3 fruits this year!

Colin connected the hose pipe to refill the water butts in the wildlife area whilst I watered all the planted pots near our shed..

Colin went off to help Chris clear up his grass cuttings whilst I was busy refilling all our bird feeders…

After our coffee break and catch up we went back to the front of school where Chris using a saw tree tool from home did a super job heavily pruning an overgrown field maple tree on the flower bed by the pedestrian gate …

Pruning needed as each year thousands of seeds fall onto the flower bed resulting in an increasing number of seedlings needing removing each year!

Thankfully we were able to dispose of the branches by dragging them down the footpath and pushing them over the fence into the wildlife area where they will be a great addition to our wood piles ie rich wild life habitat…

Wildflowers seen within our project site this morning included betony, agrimony, mallow,knapweed,scabious,birdsfoot trefoils,sneezewort ,bladder campion etc

 

Weeding,pruning and feeding birds….

Thursday July 27th 2017

Did lots of weeding at front of school ie planters,pots and flower beds whilst waiting for Rose to arrive this morning..

When Rose arrived we carried on weeding for another hour or so -this included removing hundreds of hawthorn and field maple tree seedlings!

On the way back to the wildlife area with our wheelbarrow  load and 2 large bags of garden waste we stopped to do more weeding in the early years outdoor area  + by the seat planter area and we also removed the very prickly wild rose prunings left some months ago by the school  caretaker!!!

All this garden waste added to the compost bins in the copse by our wildlife pond…

After a well earned coffee break we refilled all the bird feeders in and around the school wildlife area plus we did lots more pruning back alongside the top pathway..

Wildlife seen today included speckled wood butterflies, young robins, blackbirds and a grey squirrel

 

Another busy work session …feeding birds,removing brambles,strimming a path + weeding & watering

Thursday July 24th 2017

Our first work session in the 2017 school summer holidays-I arrived first and began by watering the planters and pots at the front of school..

Colin arrived soon after me ..we went to the wildlife area to collect tools, gloves and wheelbarrow then back to the front of school where Colin did a great job removing brambles behind the box hedge just inside the  gate from where the children go to their classes..

Meanwhile I watered the seat planter + the pots in the nursery area and weeded by the classrooms overlooking the school field…

Chris arrived to help he’d brought fuel for the strimmer …he spent the morning strimming a path along the lower part of the slope below the playground …

Colin went to work near Chris ie removing brambles and bindweed along the school fence by the neighbours gardens..

I was busy filling the bird feeders- alas grey squirrels have already chewed through the peanut feeder which was only repaired last week!

I pruned the dead flowerheads off the buddleijas then went to help transferring the pruned brambles to the compost piles by the shed..

To make more room I decided to climb up and jump up and down on the compost piles by the pond…must have been a comical sight alas Chris arrived with more garden waste before I had chance to jump down-he climbed up and did more jumping so now we have lots more space for our garden waste to compost down!

After our coffee break we packed away our tools and headed off for our homes …

 

 

Feeding birds,weeding out hogweeds and nettles + annual visit Teignmouth in Bloom judges

Thursday July 20th 2017

Another busy work session for Rose and I this morning in the school wildlife area..

We began by filling the various bird feeders including the peanut feeder repaired again by Rose’s husband Brian ie after more damage by grey squirrels!

I went to the front of school to meet the Teignmouth in Bloom judges then showed them the 2 displays by the nursery staff and children-TIB 2017 theme is Nursery Rhymes – there was a lovely Mary,Mary quite contrary display with flowers and seashells in the upper playground/outdoor learning area and another by our wildlife pond ie 1 2 3 4 5 once I caught a fish alive with nets ,rods +  fish made by the nursery children….

I then returned to the wildlife area to help Rose with pulling out lots more nettles and hogweeds etc resulting in  more garden waste being added to our compost bins

Hogweeds and nettles both great for insects however we have too many of them plus they tend to spread seed prolifically and recent strong winds and heavy rain had caused both tall species to fall over….

Over our coffee break we arranged to work alternate weeks in the school holidays starting next week when both Monday & Thursday teams will be working within the school grounds

 

Feeding birds,repairing steps,planting,pruning,clearing duckweed off pond and weeding our more nettles and hogweeds…

Monday July 17th 2017

Another hot summer’s day…..

I arrived at school 8.20 am shortly followed by Colin we began by returning 3 bags of balls etc from the wildlife area to the PE store + we took a walk to the corner of the field to check out the new outdoor learning /classroom area which is another  great asset for our school..

After Colin & I had finished feeding the birds Chris arrived to help – he set off to repair the steps below the car park ie by adding a spare new wooden step left over from when  2 sets of steps were installed in 2008 by Teign Trees!

Meanwhile Colin & I were down by the wildlife pond weeding, brushing the boardwalk and netting off lots of  duckweed from the pond surface -alas the net frame broke however Chris is hopeful he has spare metal tubing at home he can use to repair net..

Nursery staff have added a “One two three four five once I caught a fish alive” display by the pond with laminated words and pictures + nets and homemade rods with fish made by the children-all ready for the Teignmouth in Bloom judging on Thursday morning…

Whilst Colin helped Chris complete the step repair I pruned growth overhanging the top path, planted some selfheal & fox and cubs brought from home and weeded out 2 huge wheelbarrow loads of unwanted nettles & hogweeds from just below the top path-the chaps later kindly took it down to add to the compost bins in the copse by the pond

NB we have arranged that during the school summer holidays Colin, Chris and & will be working alternate Mondays from next Monday!