Julie joined WEAct volunteers at St John’s Lye for more clearing of the willow trees growing across the grass area. Good progress was made, especially when Hayden got going with his chainsaw. The trimmings were all processed into a habitat heap. Looking forward to another session at Knaphill Lower School on Saturday.

**White Rose Lane Nature Reserve

This morning Jemma & Ben Fitted two new owl boxes and 3 bat boxes to oaks in the nature reserve just off of White Rose lane. Removal of some Balsam in the area also. 🦉

This morning at GoodGym we decided to divide and conquer as there were a number of tasks to complete, and so I went with the Biodiversity task with WEAct Woking!

Meeting at the designated location after parking at St John’s Lye car park the guys and I got to work.

It has been said that the Laurel was planted around the Victorian age as it was then fashionable to cover the forest floor but was not indigenous. Removing it in modern day times enables more plant life to grow up through it! On some occasions WEAct has planted wild flowers over whatever has been removed.

The guys gave me a pair of lopers and some gloves and we worked to reduce a huge pile of Laurel that had already been cut. This was then put into a large stack to be removed later.

Leaving at break time the guys offered me some coffee and biscuits 🍪 but I only asked if they could take some photos for me for this report. They continued to work after I left, there is so much to remove that this task could have gone on all day 😂

Thanks guys see you next time!

Luan

Our mission Owl Box Installation🦉 & Maintenance Of Existing Boxes (St John's Lye) Woking.

It was another Biodiversity task, so for me (Luan) I jumped into action this Saturday morning; our mission was sooo interesting and cool!

Meeting with first Wayne and then Kirsty (two of my most favourite positive and encouraging members) in the carpark everyone was in good spirits! Working with members of WEAct we had 3 Owl Boxes to replace and 1 that in the end was just inspected and maintained (loads of foliage was removed from it). Using our map of St John's Lye, see picture attached the boxes were placed strategically around the area.

The boxes were already made for us to put up, but we had to add or nail in a perch onto them first, the biggest challenge finding the right tree and then, it was a man's kind of job to drill the boxes into the trees up ladders. The girls helped by carrying kit around the location and clearing all nails from older boxes that could then be left to biodegrade.

So much fun!

Thanks Everyone :-)

Andy and Nadia turned up at Mayford Meadows to meet the We Act Woking Biodiversity group, to remove some tree covers along Hoe Stream.

As they got started, Andy and Nadia worked alongside the We Act group, actively removing tree covers and enhancing the area's aesthetic appeal. The group's efforts were focused on creating a more inviting and beautiful space for the community. 🌾

Having learned that these tree covers had been in the area for around 20 years, through their collective efforts, the group successfully transformed the area, making it a more enjoyable space for everyone, and letting the trees enjoy a plastic free environment. 💚

The collaboration between We Act and GoodGym proved to be a winning combination as always, bringing people together and making a positive impact on the community.

Rob, Stephanie and Julie were working with Woking Environment Action (WEAct) at St John's Lye. At the edge of the wood near the playing field there is a pond which had become overgrown with willow and it was barely getting any light. Due to the dry weather there was no water so we were able to walk on the soft mud, avoiding some tiny froglets, and remove large branches of willow that had grown across the pond. Stephanie and Rob did a great job of cutting the smaller branches, sawing some larger ones and getting all the brash to the habit piles being created in the undergrowth nearby. Within 1 1/2 hours the pond space was clear and looking great. Now all it needs is a good downpour to fill the pond and it will be a great feature for visitors to the area, both human and other species.

Looking forward to our next task on Wednesday, we will be plogging!