On Tuesday we were at Leith Links Children’s Orchard doing a variety of tasks including tree mulching and planting. The first job was to scrape the turf away from the base of each tree which took a little more effort than I had expected.
Everyone worked really well and we finished that task in time for Lunch. After lunch in the beautiful unexpected sunshine we decided that several trees needed to be felled next to the orchard, Rob, Kate David and I went to tree fell while the others got on with the mulching. It was very impressive that I had been there 5 years before to plant a buddleia.
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Wednesday was back at Lochend Woods in Dunbar. Lots more had grown up since we were there last and the forest floor was actually green instead of brown. There were two tasks this time: the usual brash piling or the fun of digging up trees and planting them elsewhere. Most of the group wanted to transplant trees. During the day Rachel and Rob had various assessments for their SVQ modules. The brash got piled up and the trees were transplanted into ground that no spade could get through. There were an inordinate amount of rocks and pebbles in the ground where we were trying to plant the trees. The sunshine made it all very pleasant to be outside.
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Thursday was out at Dunbar again. Transplanting trees from one end of the wood to the other and brash piling was the order of the day. The planting team had mattocks this time which proved extremely useful for getting rid of the pebbles that were underneath the ground. Two batches of trees were finished by 2.30 and as there was only 45 minutes left I decided that the tree planters could go and help the brash piling team who were also doing a fantastic job clearing the forest floor.
BONUS BLOG SECTION
Last Sunday hosted the Ecofusion event at Inverleith Park, on a roasting hot day over 7000 people came to see the assorted craft and information stalls, all promoting Edinburgh and Scotlands environmental and cultural diversity. The event was a huge success and included a multitude of activities from climbing and bike challenges to face painting and football. Local community groups and charities were well represented and the day was punctuated with music demonstrations from various groups including Samba Scene who gathered huge crowds in the middle of the site. The food tents proved especially popular with big queues forming immediately for the Mosque Kitchen and Whitmuir Organic cafe who kept everyone full for the day. A big thanks to all those who came along and to those who helped out with both the preperation and running of the event to make it such a great day.