The C S Lewis Nature Reserve is a hidden gem on the edge of Oxford, connecting to Shotover Common. It is managed by BBOWT volunteers.

One of the biggest challenges, particularly since the surge in outdoor activities during the COVID lockdowns, has been encouraging people to stick to the footpaths instead of wandering freely through the nature reserve. The volunteers have built barriers from fallen wood and put up signage explaining why it is important to stick to the path, but people dismantle them and rip up the signs. This has meant damage to the delicate woodland habitats, including trampling bluebells.

Our task yesterday was to hammer in sturdy stakes either side of the wooden barriers to make them stronger and more permanent, and then to build them up further with fallen wood and bramble cuttings. Some of our team weeded and cleared nettles from around hedgerow saplings, and then we all reconvened to cut back brambles to extend a woodland glade area.

A very productive session.

Welcome to GoodGym Artur!

The C S Lewis Nature Reserve is one of Oxford's many pockets of nature. Managed by BBOWT and some dedicated local residents, it is a lovely patch of woodland with a large pond surrounded by the residential streets of Risinghurst.

One of the big challenges in the Nature Reserve recently has been people walking and biking off the footpaths, causing erosion and destroying areas of wildflowers. In some areas it is so bad that there is concern that the soil erosion is undercutting the tree roots and will cause those trees to topple one day - hopefully not on top of an unsuspecting visitor! To try and stop further damage our task was to help use some logs and branches to create natural barriers along the edges of the footpaths so that it is more obvious to people which are the rights of way. Quite a few trees have had to come down recently due to Ash die back, so although sad that gave us a lot of materials to work with.

2 hours of hard work, and we had created barriers in 3 of the most critical areas of the Nature reserve - at the top and bottom of the 'cliff' and also along a long section of the footpath up through the woods.

Good to meet you Jamie and Steve.

The woodland and large pond of the CS Lewis Nature Reserve used to belong to CS Lewis, and it is said that he enjoyed wandering here while writing his Narnia series. Apparently Lewis planted some of the trees there, and used to swim in the pond. Despite being surrounded by houses and very close to the busy Oxford ring road, we loved how tranquil the reserve feels.

The area is now managed by the Berkshire Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, and on arrival we were met by volunteer warden Caroline and two of the regular volunteers in the reserve Tacye and Jane. Like many places, the reserve has seen an increase in footfall during the COVID pandemic, and not everyone sticks to the footpaths, so one of the tasks for the regular volunteer group is to try and delineate the rights of way more clearly. We had originally been called in to help with moving logs and branches to form barriers and dead hedges. It's nesting season for birds, so we had to approach this task with caution, but we were able to progress the work a little further.
The other big challenge in the reserve is keeping invasive species from taking over and reducing the biodiversity. Two of the worst culprits are small balsam and an allium species. Fortunately both are considerably less liable to bite back than the brambles and nettles we've been dealing with over the last few weeks, so it felt positively relaxing to spend an hour or so reducing their numbers!

A quartet of GoodGymers headed off into the undergrowth to pick up allium seeds - looking very zen sitting round in a circle and ferretting around in the undergrowth for seeds. I'm told it was a very mindful exercise! Meanwhile the dozen or so remaining GoodGymers headed further into the reserve to move logs and pull up balsam, managing to fill 2 or 3 sacks with the offending plants (which proved gratifyingly easy to pull out) while scrambling up and down the slopes.

We finished our excursion beyond the ring road with a walking loop around the nature reserve, spotting a heron in the pond and chatting to some of the local residents out enjoying the evening sunshine, before running back down the hill to Headington. Great to have so many runners with us for Global Running Day!

I definitely feel like they should install a wardrobe door at the entrance to the reserve for the full Narnia experience - it really is a magical spot.

Welcome to GoodGym Fred; lovely to meet you!

At first glance Longbridges Nature Park and Iffley Meadows don't look too badly afflicted by litter, but once you know where to look there is (sadly) plenty of trash to be found.

Our 22 GoodGymmers, plus GoodGym mascot Peggy, divided into 4 teams to clean up different areas of the nature park. 2 teams worked on the banks where people throw litter into Longbridges Nature Park from the main road above, 1 team took to the footpaths of the park ferretting out the trash left behind after picnics and barbeques, and the last team skirted the edge of Iffley Meadows dicing with barbed wire and brambles to reach elusive cans and crisp packets.

As a team we collected 18 sacks of litter and got very close to the full house on GoodGym litter pick bingo: hub caps, masks, cans, bottles, carpet, takeaway containers, moss-covered underwear, socks and gloves all featured.

Excellent work team - hope you've dried out and warmed up now!

Welcome Sophie and Hattie - much kudos for turning up to your first GoodGym session despite the filthy weather!

Thank you to Michael from Oxford City Council for meeting us to take the litter away for disposal.

Rivermead Rubbish Song (RHCP arr TW/ZW)

Watch the video : here

Its hard to believe that, there's nobody out there.

Its hard to believe we've all been at home.

And our City of Oxford, is covered in rubbish.

Lonely no more as, we picked some today

Under the Bridge in our town

GoodGymers picked away

Under the Bridge we found

This rubbish could not stay

Under the Bridge Downtown

On such a sunny day

Rubbish in Rivermead

We took it all away

Away

8 GoodGymers cleared up a mountain of rubbish under the Southern Bypass in Rivermead Nature Reserve, Rose Hill. There was a big selection of rusty bike parts, engines, cans and frying pans, mouldy coats and sleeping bags. We often find pants on litter picks, this was no exception.. but this time we came across possibly our first bra (I think)! More cans, bottles, a supermarket trolley it went on and on I'm glad we shifted it! Well done to everyone who lugged it up the hill to the ring road and across to our collection point

We inspired a local Rivermead resident Laura to do her own pick also nearby at the allotments she got 2 big bags and a broken chair to add to our collection :)

Another Trevor collected the rubbish (I'm always amazed to find them!), and we reckon about 50 big bags, plus a load of metal things.. so a big haul!

Trev

With chances of rain set around 50-50 for the evening, there was advance speculation on whether we would be raking hay while the sun did not shine, and probably while the rain soaked and the wind howled.

We should've had more faith in the weather gods though, as 6pm dawned if not sunny, then at least not apocalyptic.

Welcoming Mark and Olivia to our Goodgym crew, and admiring Helen's 50 Tshirt, on tour from Hammersmith and Fulham, we rattled through a bumper edition of news - Race for Life Pretty Muddy 5k volunteering, Oxford Half Water Station volunteering, post-work Community Mission next Friday, Garland of Joy for Trev for his 10th Good Deed!

It's an unavoidable fact that when headed for Rose Hill some uphill running is going to be required. Dancing around the Meadow Lane puddles we turned the corner and gamely started the climb to Iffley (eyes to the left for our beautifully weeded wall at Iffley Glebe). This is the hill route with a kick in the tail: Just when you think you're done it's UP again! You would never have thought Oxford was a city of flat running routes, as we all arrived at Rivermead Nature Park barely out of puff.

Ed and Andy from BBOWT were there to greet us in the freshly-cut meadow area. Tooling up with rakes and pitch forks we got to work clearing the cut grass. As first to arrive Trev was awarded the scythe, a position of responsibility that drew a certain amount of envy (note to self; find more scything tasks!), while Bethan demonstrated a new skill as a toad whisperer.

Watch your feet - the toads have come out to join the Goodgym group. Don't tread on our new friends!

The toad beneath the harrow knows
Exactly where each tooth-point goes.
The butterfly upon the road
Preaches contentment to that toad.

Thanks to Tim for the Kipling reference!

Half an hour of raking and we had cleared the main meadow area of cut grass, so upped the tempo to speed-raking, thanks to some motivational cheer-leading from Aoife, in order to get the boggy corner sorted in the last 5 minutes.

Upper-bodies worked out, tools stashed, team photo taken, and it was time to run again. The promise of a downhill run all the way back might have been a little white lie, as we started with a climb, but before anyone could catch their breath to complain we were swooping down past Iffley Church and onto the Thames Path.

Pitter patter pitter patter, over the lock, past the geese, over the humpback bridge, past the rowers, up onto Donnington Bridge, under Bethan and Aoife's human archway (hope the random members of the public got a little joy out of joining in), popping out on Meadow Lane for some more puddle-stomping. We can't run Meadow Lane without a fartlek session (tee hee, she said fart!!), so it had to beall along the lamposts; one sprint, one easy, one sprint, one easy etc, reconvening at Jackdaw Lane for an easy jog back to base, muddy legs inspection, and stretches.

Next week is a 2 Goodgym session week, so don't forget to check the list of Oxford happenings, and if it's your first time signing up for a Community Mission just double check that you're actually signed up after reading through the training information - you have to go back to the listing and click 'sign up' after you complete the training step.

See you next week!