When the call to arms came around for this week's task the NCVs did wonder what lay in store. Liz emailed to say that we would be assisting the aquatic creatures of this world by helping the Bewerley Outdoor Education Centre reveal their pond area. She went on to warn us to bring wellies and said she would supply some pairs of waders.
It was probably going to be a wet and muddy job but, hey, what's a drop of water and a splash of mud to a seasoned NCV?
As it turned out the job didn't really require us to get our feet wet. Instead it involved scrub clearance around the pond - to improve the area from a biodiversity point of view AND to create a better environment for visiting children to work in when pond dipping.
So - how did the NCVs get on? Take a look below and see for yourself.......
Pond? What pond?!
Underneath this flowering Wytch Elm was said to be a flat, raised area.
This would be a suitable site for picnic tables for the children to work at.
All we needed to do was find it!
Ah - so there it is! An excellent start.
The elm was pruned to raise its crown and this generated some floral brash...
..which, in turn, was made into rather nice, flowery brash piles.
A wide range of litter was uncovered as the ground was cleared.
This may have been an important notice years ago but has now lost its mojo.
By coffee time things were much improved.....
After the meeting a variety of slashing techniques were spotted.
Dave demonstrated the 'golf swing' method,
whilst Paul used the 'tennis backhand' .
Osian favoured the side to side motion - casual but effective.
Andy strode through in a more aggressive manner, taking no prisoners.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the site, yet more brash had appeared.
Luckily Anita was at hand to take control of proceedings....
...and in no time at all it was neatly contained in a woven habitat pile.
Eagle eyed Andrew spotted the end of a board walk...
...so set about revealing it.
Paul joined in at the other end...
...and soon the board walk was revealed in all it glory.
As the day wore on the edge of the pond became more and more obvious.
Once again, copious amounts of brash were created.
Sally was full of beans and whizzed along with her loads.
Tony, on the other hand, was rather less sprightly.
To make up for this lack of sprite, he took over the wheelbarrow and put it to good use.
This particular supply of brash was used to create a habitat wall.
It was a bit unwieldy at first, but a bit of jumping up and down....
...and some judicious use of uprights and weaving...
...eventually knocked it into shape.
In amongst all this activity one particular NCV was spotted,
blatantly having a rest.....
....on more than one occasion.
His pay will be docked accordingly.
Management hope that this will be a warning to other NCVs who may
feel like taking unscheduled breaks in the future.
The end result was very pleasing to see!
No wonder the NCVs felt pleased with themselves!!
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