No fireworks but a job well done at this little reserve in Lincoln. Nine of us for most of the day, with guest appearances by Shirley and Jonathan. And what could almost be described as a guest non-appearance by Niamh who very kindly did the brew kit for us so we could have our hot drinks and biscuits, but who could not join us at all!

Alison, representing the trustees, had plenty of work for us. We cut back trees and other plants that were partly obstructing the pavement on Yarborough Hill. We also cut back grass and dead annuals and perennials to clear the area either side of the path from the top entrance on Carline Road.  It now looks much more open and should be more accessible for visitors to the site.

​There is a huge area of blackberry brambles in the centre of the site, which is a fantastic wildlife habitat, but visitors also like to pick the blackberries so the trustees may cut some paths into them to make it easier to do that. In the meantime we cut two large scallop shapes into the wall of brambles lining one side of the main path that currently runs through them.

 This immediately opened up the path and provided a much greater ‘picking’ area for next year. ​This work also led us to discuss the pronunciation of scallop – or is spelled and said like ‘scollop’ ? – and thanks to the wonders of Google we confirmed that ‘scallop’ is the right one. You never know what you will learn on a Lincoln Conservation Group task.

All in all an enjoyable and very productive day, though I am absolutely certain that the paths got steeper as the day progressed! The trustees are delighted with all that we achieved and hope we can volunteer there again.
​
 Jude