After a wet start to Saturday, the sun came out for our monthly trip to the Ham Lands, where we met Sharon and her merry band to do some good in nature.

This week’s task was taking up the surface muck after the tractors had been through to remove a patch of wild clematis. It was satisfying work, although with plenty of rakes and only one fork we were gathering the muck into piles faster than we could fork it into the bags.

Nevertheless, we made good progress, dragging the heavy canvas bags 100m or so to deposit in a waste area. As we neared completion Sharon called for a tea break and we stopped for a well earned rest and a cuppa and biscuit.

We’ll be back at the Ham Lands next month on the 10th October. Sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-0c77efce-4924-4f58-b321-3513b956ac7f

On a lovely warm Saturday morning, Sharon of the Friends of Ham Lands welcomed 5 Richmond GGers to do some good in the sunshine.

We first walked a good long way from the meeting point to the riverside on the other side of the Ham Lands, to find our target site. We needed to be near the river as our focus for the task was on “bashing” balsam.

Himalayan Balsam is an invasive species which grows rapidly in wetter areas during the summer months, blocking light for other plant life and generally causing a nuisance for native flora and fauna.

The great news is that bashing balsam is great fun. It’s very satisfying to pull up the plants, which can grow at least 10ft tall, and we made good progress, cutting a wide swathe through a densely growing area and building a huge pile of the bashed balsam.

The only problem was stinging nettles, and those who had come in shorts soon regretted that choice. We did our best to cut them down with loppers as we went, but a few stings and rashes were picked up along the way.

We finished up and headed out separate ways this time - the Swiss Bakery is closed in August. We’ll be back (and the bakery open again) in September - sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-3b829ff3-0842-4cc9-96a6-49a17d3d149e

The annual GG Richmond battle with the highly invasive Himalayan balsam scourging local riverbanks has commenced and on a fiery Saturday morning, four fearless warriors stepped into the leafy arena.

While a few plucky nettles defending the tall foes hit their mark, they were no match for our gang who snipped and trampled them out of the way to reach the balsam, which they whipped from the ground to the sound of the familiar and satisfying ‘pop’ that only comes from defeating them roots and all.

Although there was some dappled shade to be had in the sheltered riverside oasis, it was certainly a warm one and when the deed was done our champions each departed to their chosen location for a horizontal afternoon.

A glorious sunny morning welcomed a grateful eight to the Ham Lands today, as we welcomed two new joiners for our monthly session helping the Friends of Ham Lands in their habitat preservation.

We set up in the same location as last month, near the Thames Young Mariners, and Sharon briefed us on the morning's task to cut back and clear the wild clematis and giant dock which had clustered (to make my punny title work) in one particular area.

The team selected digging tools and shears and got stuck in, digging out the clematis by the roots and cutting down the giant dock low to the ground, being careful to remove it without dislodging too many of its seeds.

We made fast progress as everyone worked steadily, clearing the low lying clematis and clusters of dock and filling sack after sack, which were regularly dragged to the undergrowth to be emptied on a compost heap.

Sharon was on hand with refreshments and we stopped to wet our whistle with the best cuppa ever to be served from a plastic cup, before a final push to finish off. Shear delight!

As usual, we rewarded ourselves for our efforts with a visit to the famous Swiss Bakery for coffee and snacks. Big shout out and warm welcome to Alex and Ann - hope to see you both again soon!

Next time at Ham Lands is on 12th July. You can sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-4b814934-05f6-47e4-a6b2-cf6839ee6cc6

What a beautiful morning greeted us on the Ham Lands this Saturday for our monthly contribution to the preservation of the nature reserve.

3 Richmond regulars were joined by Luis from GG Hounslow for our task, which this time was to uproot and cut back the Giant Dock growing out of control in the central part of the Ham Lands.

Armed with pick axes and loppers we set to work, enjoying the warm sunshine and beauty of the habitat. Sharon and Mark from the FOHL were also there and we made good progress getting rid of as many of the wild plants as possible to stop them spreading their seeds and gaining further territory.

Once our work was done we had a quick cuppa, then headed over to the Swiss Bakery for iced coffee and snacks.

Next up for the Ham Lands will be the session on 14th June - sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers-3f40f5bb-6c96-456a-af92-8cac87317b96

It was a scorcher of a morning as Vix, Chris and JP joined Sharon and the merry band of Friends of Ham Lands for some light work on an area of brambles choking the progress of a rose bush.

We grabbed loppers and set to work on the brambles, dragging the chopped tendrils out to be chopped up and bagged. They put up quite a fight, managing to scratch us with their thorns (it being too warm for long sleeves and two of us wearing shorts), leading to a chorus of yelps to accompany our work.

Despite our legs and forearms showing numerous signs of the battle it was a very satisfying task and when Sharon called time for teas and coffees we were proud of what we had achieved. So much so that we decided to reward ourselves with a coffee at the Swiss bakery and a natter before heading off for the rest of our sunny Saturday.

Next time on the Ham Lands will be Saturday 10th May - sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-richmond-helping-the-happy-ham-landers