The last 6 weeks have made a difference to the paths of the wildlife garden at the allotments: dry ground, super-ripe blackberries, and strong growth in the brambles.

We helped with two of these this evening by chopping back as many brambles as we could, and taste-testing a few berries that would otherwise have ended up at the bottom of the compost.

The self-confessed frog-fan/frog geek, Kat, also let Jeannette know that longer term the ponds will be healthier by having short spells like this where the pond dries out, as nasties like ranavirus can't survive without water so it 'cleans' the ponds ready for when the rains return.

We chopped and moved five barrows full of brambles from the path and behind the fence edges, and learned how these allotments also have plenty of community activities on AND we had a peek at where last year we'd cleared and dismantled the very solid chicken coops and plans are now being made for seating spots in the now grassy and clear space!