This week we had a double-task of sorts, first task was to visit the orchard trees at Stockingstone Meadow, these had been mulched by contractors but they had piled too much mulch up against the trunks of the trees so we needed to scrape it away to prevent trunk rot and spread it more sensibly around the roots of each tree.

That was an important task but didn't take too long so we then moved on to the nearby Riverside Meadow, where we've been waging a long war against Goldenrod. The meadow was looking much more diverse than in previous years when it was just a blanket of goldenrod. But some remnants of roots in the ground have sprouted smaller weaker plants so we spent half an hour picking them out. Still plenty to do here, so we left plenty for other volunteer groups to deal with. We will return another day to get the rest if needed!

On the way back we took a moment to stretch and strengthen our hip flexors and glutes. Often overlooked muscles they really help with running when they're strong and healthy so it was worth ten minutes to focus on them.