The Jolly and the Ivy

Well done to the awesome foursome who joined this week's group run. It was a glorious evening and the Great Park looked stunning in the evening sun as we enjoyed a pre-task run and walk among the majestic oaks.

We also enjoyed hearing about Steve's childhood cross country runs in the area (leaping the streams and dodging bullets from the firing range!) and trainee doctor Jack's more recent experience helping an elderly lady, who had fallen in the street in Maidenhead. We were lucky the paramedics came in time for Jack to join our session.

After our lovely run/walk we headed to the expansive and beautiful Windsor Cemetery, locally known as 'Spital Cemetery' and met our task owner Councillor Karen Davies. Karen has been working with local residents to give the cemetery some TLC. She explained that gentle tidying was needed, stressing the importance of balancing the need to make graves accessible with the promotion of biodiversity. We then got stuck in, making use of the impressive collection of secateurs Karen and Steve had gathered.

We cut back bushes and tackled graves that were being smothered by Ivy, whilst taking care not to damage the stone. Karen showed us an amazing hollow dome-like structure further into the cemetery created by Ivy completely overwhelming a grave, and the idea was to stop more graves being lost in this way. We met a few friendly spiders, soaked up the peaceful setting, and amassed a big pile of cuttings. We made a noticeable change in the patch where we focussed our efforts.

Thanks to Karen for welcoming us and showing us the ropes and well done team for a great evening! We hope to return soon.