After driving in what seemed like ever decreasing circles around the lanes beyond Kirkby Malzeard 11 enthusiastic volunteers met Paul at Fir Tree Farm on a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining, temperature warm, birds singing and flowers blooming. We were jolted out of our reverie by the day’s task- pulling Himalayan Balsam up from the banks of Kex Beck. The plants were very small and not always easy to grasp but at least they offered little resistance to a steady pull.
Himalayan Balsam or micro-salad leaves?!
Handfuls soon made their way into the buckets and bags. Patches were cleared by careful workers but as soon as they turned round there were more lurking in the reeds or in the bog which appeared to cover most of the site.
The search for Himalayan Balsam begins.
It's everywhere. In copious quantities.
There were several styles of picking. Some crouched, others bent with straight legs, and one enterprising soul even knelt on a sit mat until the water flowed over the edges and wet both their knees.
Tony gets down on his knees and prays for coffee time.
Laura painstakingly picks the plants out, one by one.
Dave tries to beat the balsam into submission with a grass slasher.
Ros K and Ros E keep their legs straight for a bit to see if that eased the pain.
Anita moves up the hillside in an attempt to stay dry (or escape the task).
Julia prefers to admire the bluebells.
The conversation began to include groans of discomfort. Never was a coffee break attended so quickly or dallied over for so long.
Ros K. flattens herself against the wall in the hope of straightening out her spine.
Because the balsam is so small, even when it's been cleared
everywhere still looks the same.
One NCV made a bid for freedom but was swiftly caught
and put back to work in the paddy field.
Julia and Dave look down on Laura, chair envy evident in their eyes.
Ruth was put into quarantine for the lunch break.
After lunch the enthusiasm waned somewhat and the groans and distractions increased, until a tea break, kindly provided for by the farmer, revived us enough to make a short last push on the job. At the end of the day all our efforts seemed to have yielded such a small amount – just one bag of balsam! Hopefully it will curb the pernicious weed’s expansion a little.
The bag of balsam begins its journey down to its final resting place.
It may have been just one bag but it weighed a lot.
Getting the bag over the stream was not easy.
A whole day's work - it doesn't look very impressive does it?
We finished off the day looking at the trees that we planted here last year.
Lots of the trees were doing really well.
Ruth
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