Trip reports

Fleet Pond Conservation Task

Sunday, 22 February 2009

At 10am on a dry and sunny morning on Sunday 11th January, children and parents of Fleet WEX met up at Fleet Pond car park to work on a conservation task with members of the Fleet Pond Society (FPS). The task involved clearing an area of saplings and bramble. After safety instructions we were given some very sharp hand saws (to cut wood thicker than an adults thumb) and loppers (to cut wood thinner than an adults thumb), and for those who needed them gardening gloves.
With the cold earlier in the week we all came well wrapped up, but we soon warmed up when we set about the task. The cuttings were gathered and burnt in a big bonfire. One on the FPS members painted the stumps with a blue chemical to stop the branches growing back. Altogether about 30 of us worked happily for a couple of hours with a break for elevenses. The picture shows the area after we had cleared the bushes and bramble - a surprisingly large area.