99 problems but a ditch ain't one

I had the pleasure of meeting Peter and a dozen or so other volunteers at Big Wood in Hampstead Garden Suburbs earlier this morning. We were tasked with clearing the ditches of leaves and any plants which had grown into it, this would prevent the council from their heavy handed approach of clearing the ditches with diggers - by clearing the ditches with tools and some old fashioned elbow grease we were helping to preserve the undergrowth. Our first job was to use loppers and shears to cut away at the the brambles which had encroached into the ditch, once that was done we used rakes and shovels to clear out leaves which had fallen in.

Many hands make light work, so much so that by the time the tea break came we had finished the task! After tea and a hobnob I then gave a brief explanation of what Googym does. The volunteers meet every month so hopefully Goodgym will be back to help out in the future.