Wednesday 21st March
It was a great triumph for the very last day of the Lochore Wednesday Green Gym as the team returned to the aid of the valuable Grassland area by the Loch. Last week they valiantly fought back strands of encroaching Gorse from the nearby woodland and removed some well established stumps.

This week there were more stumps to be removed and as each member of the team chose their opponent they prepared themselves for the battle ahead.

There were moments when the task appeared too great but man points were at stake and after a small respite and biscuit refuelling the battle continued.

More muscle power and a couple of bear hugs later the tide turned and the stumps were defeated. Many a man point was earned.

Meanwhile Jeanette and Amy were clearing some more fallen trees and branches around the edge of the woodland. They were joined by the rest of the team after their battles had each been won and the Wednesday green gym came full circle. More brashing!

But alas! That’s it for our Wednesdays at Lochore. Our team have bravely endured wind, rain and sunshine to clear woodlands of fallen trees, save a chocking pond and defeat leafy enemies bent on Grassland destruction. There has been a lot of sweat, the occasional drop of blood, mixed with many tears of laughter and even the discovery of some ancient treasure.

So a big THANK YOU is required for all our Heroes for their hard work, their dedication and their great company!

Thursday 22nd March
When the team arrived at the Craigencalt Ecology Centre and were enjoying the glorious sunshine we were welcomed by a friendly face. Gary was a key volunteer at the Cambo Green Gym and has since gone on to have “the best job in the world” at the ecology centre. It was great to see one of our past volunteers doing so well!

Today was a day of two halves. The morning was spent in a meadow area where the team made light work of tidying up a recently cut grassy area. Susan, Grant and Cate were armed with giant wooden grass rakes, just right for the job. Dave however was given a more robust (and substantially heavier) metal rake as last time his vigorous efforts lead to the death of a grass rake. After a few grumbles the lovely Cate took pity on him and swapped just before we had a splendid lunch in the sunshine. We were all treated to chocolate cake to celebrate Douglas’s birthday.

In the afternoon a different task was at hand. We were asked to clear quite a large area which was a tangled mess of brambles, scrub and long grass. In the beginning the team were daunted by this vast impenetrable area. However once we got started there was no stopping us. After a path was cleared up the middle to assess the dumping point the team got to work. Richard, Douglas and Keir, with their bow saws at the ready to take care of the low hanging branches and the old fallen trees. Mike, Rab and Steven tackled the brambles, which fought back, but a few scratches did not deter them. Dave employed the wheelbarrow to remove the huge piles of grass and scrub the rakers were creating. The team worked extremely well together and as a result the area was greatly improved and opened up for the visitors to enjoy.

The staff at the Ecology Centre were over the moon with the volunteers efforts. Thanks guys for a great days work.

Thursday 15th March.

Today was the group’s final day at Dunbog Primary Schools garden. We had previously done a lot of work here, building fences, gates, planters and willow structures and it was already looking quite impressive. The striking willow dome and tunnel were nicely finished off by Susan, Rab, Sandy and David. They laid a woodchip path and strategically placed log seats. The willow structure now looks fantastic!

The task of constructing and filling a bug hotel was left to Amy and Richard. This seemed like an easy task at first glance, “just screws these pallets together” Dave instructed them. After about 10 minute of adjusting pallets and looking confused Dave thankfully gave them a demonstration. The fun began when the bug hotel needed filled, foraging for good bug bedding was particularly successful over by the piles of garden waste.

Meanwhile Dave, Douglas and Mike created a large wooden box for the kids to store their out door toys in. This was in keeping with the I shaped planter we built last year. This leaves us with Steven. He helped out everyone a little bit and did most of the gardening, but he really came into his own at lunch time when there were biscuits to be eaten.

The school were extremely gratefully and invited the whole team into their assembly to thank us. Everyone got an individual round of applause from the happy kids at Dunbog Primary School. What a lovely end to a brilliant project.

Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 Lochore Green Gym

This week our team came to the rescue of an important area of grassland in the meadows. It was suffering from the slow but steady encroachment of its woodland neighbour, shoots of broom in particular were threatening to overtake this nondescript but important habitat and whilst woodland is wonderful our poor grassland deserves to be there too. So our team set to work removing any tall bits of vegetation they could find and even removed a couple of large stumps that had been left behind from previous management. This was no small feat. In fact it was a herculean task!
In a personal battle that took almost all morning and a great deal of strength, Richard and Dave defeated the largest and most stubborn stump. The others are still awaiting their fate. But have no fear next week our team will be back and the grassland will be safe again.