we were back this evening to tackle the planter we had made a start on a few weeks ago. At last attendance we had managed to clear a small corner and thought we may manage the same this time. That was before super Steph got to work with the rake - hacking out stacks of virginia creeper which made it easier for the rest of us to lop and chop. It looked so satisfying i had to give it a go! We managed to hack back nearly the whole planter which is huge! We are looking forward to coming back again to clear the last bits and start digging out the brambles

On a dark and blustery evening we were delighted to get together at the pub for a social and some Christmas crafting for CAMHS. Christmas for CAMHS is a project spreading some Christmas cheer for children and young people with mental health needs. The task was to create 50 paper chains with specified jokes on ready for the children and young people to enjoy. Fortunately Amanda and Stephanie raided the craft shops before they arrived so we had plenty of choice for our paper chains. Amanda and Stephanie set out carefully measuring the paper chains to size while Abby got to work chopping them up. Meanwhile I was entrusted with writing the jokes out because of my neat handwriting! It wasn't long before we had 100 paper chains and all hands on deck were required to complete writing out the jokes. A lovely evening and we hope those that receive our paper chains enjoy...and don't look too closely at the one wonky one!

I joined the lovely Friends of Peartree Green for another conservation session this morning. Phil had organised a nice spot of bramble clearance which is always a good workout. We were clearing out a few areas to allow some of the native wildflowers to flourish next year. They have three types of orchids and a whole host of fabulous fungi and wildflowers. We will be back next week for a spot of litter picking to keep the reserve as clean as possible.

We were very excited to join Lemon and Jinji for their litter pick this month and not just because you get 20% off coffee and cake afterwards. We got to welcome our first Southampton baby to the team and spend time with her lovely mum,Hannah, who we’ve missed while she’s been a bit busy having a baby! We set off to do a loop of the roads around the industrial estate, splitting into two teams to cover different directions. We collected so much litter that people are thrown out of the vehicles along the main roads :( We collected another big bag of cans for the Air Ambulance fundraising. Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely social in the cafe with tea, coffee, sausage rolls, cakes and soup. What more could you want on a Sunday morning?!

I received a warm welcome from Garth and Denise from Friends of Portswood Rec as I joined them for a pruning party. It was a stunning, sunny autumnal morning so all the colours of the trees looked magnificent. I set to work giving the overgrown hornbeam hedge a trim which was great fun with my ratchet loppers. Then I moved onto another overgrown lime tree which also needed a trim. Some of the offcuts were put to good use for a new bug hotel. We filled two bags full and were rewarded with tea/ coffee and biscuits. I will be back for more fun with my loppers soon.

Well it was a very satisfying task today joining with Phil and The Friends of Peartree Green Nature Reserve to clear out the ever persistent Virginia Creeper. There was a larger than usual group as we were joined by some Geo Caching people. I certainly enjoyed getting in amongst the trees cutting out as much as I could under the able eye of Phil who organises the sessions. They are running a Fungus Foray on the 2nd November which is for all the family and anyone interested in learning more about them.