Wednesday 15th July
Report written by Jess Smith
4 Goodgymmers went to mow...went to mow a meadow. 4 Goodgymmers and - Ranger Tom - went to mow a meadow!!
We returned to the Braywick Nature Reserve for chapter 2 of meadow mowing!
Part 2: Honing our skills and blades Having learnt how to set up our scythes yesterday, we jumped straight in and fixed our handles and blades into the right places. Kelley was awarded a pinned blade as her skills topped the class yesterday! This blade had an extra‑sharp edge, and she earned it for mastering the basics.
We then took a lovely stroll through the nature reserve to the meadow and returned to where we had left off yesterday. Without too much instruction needed, we set about mowing another section — each of us practising and improving our mowing and honing skills.
Ranger Tom also helped finesse the setup of our scythes by sharpening our blades and adding wedges or adjusting the tang location to alter the blade angle. This prevented ploughing instead of mowing and helped us achieve a smoother movement.
Overall, we had another lovely session in the meadow and thoroughly enjoyed the time outdoors. It meant the result of the semi‑final was much easier to swallow as we were mellowed!
Next year, we’re going to aim to start learning to mow at the beginning of the season, and hopefully we’ll have a whole trained GoodGym team in the classic art.
Working in partnership with Groundwork South, Braywick Nature Centre acts as a community hub to promote awareness of the natural environment with events, walks and talks across the borough, and through educational sessions for school, youth and other groups. The service also offers support for local conservation and amenity groups. The nature centre houses displays and exhibitions on wildlife, sustainability and local history, and has a large classroom for use by schools and other groups and is only open to the public when events are taking place. The nature centre is situated in an old stable block, originally part of the estate belonging to Braywick Lodge. The 19th century mansion house was demolished in 1969, however the stables were refurbished in 1989 to provide a centre for environmental activities in the borough.
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