Well it HAD to be a Bonnie themed title didn't it?!?

On this historic evening we gathered at Magdalene wood - a beautiful patch of woodland but also a notorious litter grot-spot. Serving as a cut through between 2 areas it gets very mucky very often.

This evening was no exception. We found some massive areas of litter - the usual cans, bottles and fast good wrappers but also an area where some cats have been being fed (Anwen would approve, though not of the litter) and a huge stash of nitrous oxide cannisters.

We cleared up for an hour, filling 11 MASSIVE bags and reported everything into the council for collection. Amusingly Jacqui was asked if she was on community service......!!

We then headed out of the wood and with Henry's pin hole set up we managed to safely watch the eclipse! A pretty fascinating experience. The light really did go very strange and gloomy.

Thank you team for coming out in the hot hot heat!!

A small but mighty team returned to Marston Forest Garden this morning, to have a second go at clearing daisies from around the fruit trees.

Things we learnt:

• Rats like apricots.
• Trimmings should be snipped ready for composting.
• What a Hairy Shield Bug looks like.

We also had chats about poetry, books, the importance of names, WILL IT EVER RAIN, and the bakeries of Oxford.

Smaller team means a bigger share of Isobel's delicious blackberry cake!

With a brisk breeze blowing and the omnipresent sun shining, this evening we journeyed to Kennington to tackle a bit more ragwort.

Kennington Memorial Fields is a gorgeous nature space on the edge of Radley and Bagley woods and is used for grazing. Ragwort is great for butterflies and caterpillars but can be deadly if eaten by cattle and horses.

Armed with ragwort forks and shears we got to work hoiking out the, now rather crispy, plants and trying not to spread too many of the seeds. Our other jobs involved removing ivy from the gateways and memorial plaques (thank you Chris) and giving the anthills a bit of a haircut to remove some very prickly thistles. We also cleared up a bit of garden rubbish that seemed to have made its way into the meadow.....

Ragwort pulling is a little like litterpicking in a way - sponsored by the phrase "oh but theres a bit more over there!!".

Splendid work as ever team!!

This evening, we returned to Aston’s Eyot, a 32-acre nature reserve with public access. It’s a GoodGym favourite, as it almost always involves scything and offers lovely views of the river!

We split into two teams to tackle different sections. Our tasks ranged from using posts to secure log seating and sawing branches to open up the viewpoints, to scything the pathways and lopping back overgrown greenery. Along the way, we enjoyed watching the rowers, kayakers, and swans pass by.

It was the kind of task where we could see the immediate impact of our work. We even got to test out one of the log benches at the end and admire the newly cleared space. We were really pleased to welcome Akshat for their first GoodGym session!

I've found a cool grasshopper, would you like to see it?

When an honourary Googymer with gappy teeth and a fruit patterned bucket hat (Sebby aged 6) asks this the answer is ALWAYS yes.

This evening we weeded the wall at Iffley Glebe to try to keep it going a little longer, protecting the gorgeous meadow within. The meadow was freshly cut so we tackled the wall, some pesky self-seeded sycamore trees and cut back some over enthusiastic nettles.

Hannah from the Oxford Preservation Society kept us hydrated and the views and sunshine were gorgeous.

Well done team!

Shady Aston Eyot was thankfully cool for a strenuous scything and fence repair task. Ruth assigned our tasks and kept a watchful eye on progress. There are always nettles to chop back; this time we scythed around a fenced in area, cleared an overgrown path and carved out a track to one of the many backwaters. James tackled his first scything task with gusto, quickly getting into the swing of it; for Vicky and Joe it was another battle with a familiar foe. The rest of the team tackled the fence repair. Burrowing animals create holes under the fence big enough for muntjacs to squeeze through, undermining the purpose of the deer proof enclosure. The task was to reinforce the fence posts, cable tie loose sections of wire and block off the holes with sawn up logs. Anja, Henry, Sarah and Steve used their ingenuity to make the enclosure deer proof once more and give the saplings a chance to thrive. Due to the heat, a group run was not on the menu. Thanks to the whole team for another great session and special shout outs to James on his first scything task and welcome back to Oxford GoodGym to Sarah.