Making a mountain into a mole hill

Third time's the charm path-building at Boundary Brook Nature Park!

Over three Community Missions we've been constructing a network of wheelchair-friendly limestone gravel paths. Today we had an S&M Saturday (Shovel and Mattock) pun courtesy of Pete, with lots of barrowing for good measure.

Our novice mattockers levelled the sloping muddy paths off, while the gravel work gang shovelled and barrowed the mountain of gravel across the Nature Park to extend the paths we built on our previous sessions. By two hours in we were finally hitting the soil under the tonnes of gravel, and really scrapping the bottom of the barrow to get the job done.

The die-hard wheelbarrowers counted in excess of 9000 steps - many steps make light work of path building - while shovellers reported a strong core and shoulder workout. The new paths now extend out of the Boundary Brook Nature Park along the (previously) very muddy path the locals take to the allotments: Long may they keep their feet dry!

The paths just need some final smoothing out to make them passable in a wheelchair. It's all about enjoying the journey.

Oxford Urban Wildlife Group Website is here.

Thanks for the puns Ben!