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Radley Lakes Wetland Centre Activities and Events in 2011 (Aug – Sep)
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Thrupp Lake on a wet day
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Today it rained – the first ever thoroughly wet work day at the lake! This did not deter the few stalwarts who turned up to do a bit of work clearing the path around the lake of intruding vegetation. After the oppressive heat of the previous few days, a little light work in the rain was not at all unpleasant, and tea with home-made sponge cake and shortbread at the mid-morning break more than made up for any feelings of dampness.
Also a welcome to Alison, standing in for Loretta as work leader for the morning.
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Jo, with Alison pushing a barrowload of tools and the mandatory safety device for use in case someone falls into the lake!
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Lopping overhead branches in the wet brings a new hazard
– a facefull of water as the branch comes down!
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1st September 2011
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| Today the tasks undertaken by a smaller-than-average band of volunteers were to strim and clear tall and lying vegetation from the SE corner of the lake so as to encourage orchids, and to clear the patch of largely dead brambles and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) from by the pedestrian gate at Sandles. Japanese knotweed is a highly undesirable invasive weed and very difficult to eradicate once established. This quite large patch of it had been treated with herbicide, but a few bits seemed to have survived. It was therefore necessary to clear the patch, so that any remaining growth could be assessed and treated, and to burn the removed plant material, which was done on a small bonfire lit at the edge of the tennis court. The fact that the knotweed was entangled with vicious dead bramble stems did not make the job particularly easy. |
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Clearing dead brambles and knotweed from by the pedestrian gate.
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Tending the bonfire at the edge of the tennis court.
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Lynda with a handfull of carefully selected knotweed stems…
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… destined for the flames.
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Teabreak. Meanwhile the fire still needed to be maintained as the tinder dry stems would burn as fast as they could be gathered up and put on the fire. By the end of the day’s work there was quite a substantial pile of smouldering ash as evidence of what had been done.
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Permanent link to this article: http://www.radleyvillage.org.uk/radley-lakes-wetland-centre-activities-and-events-in-2013-aug-sep/
