Welcoming Wednesday had a great turnout of volunteers together with some visitors to the acre. The first visitors we welcomed were from Hart District Council whom we had met at the NHS Innovation Conferences that we have attended. They were on a fact finding mission to see whether they could implement some of our ideas on a project they are trying to set up in their area.
They were really impressed with the project and by what we have achieved in such a small space of time. They were particularly impressed with the way in which everyone had a project they were working on, and had responsibility for, and were just getting on with it. Particular praise was given to the Parenting Groups which they see a real need for in their area.
The acre was a hive of activity! Brendan and John have been given responsibility for the relocation of our greenhouses and to this end were hard at work digging over the site. Next they transported the paving slabs from the Bishops Meadow onto the acre which will be used to create the flat base required. Some good news for these two is that Nick tractored over the scalpings required to complete the work therefore saving a lot of time and effort as they would have spent most of next week barrowing shingle from the Old Vic!!
Also working hard were our fantastic duo - Gerrard and Marianne. The efforts these two have put in on our new vegetable strip have been nothing short of remarkable and the transformation is very visible as Nick and Gerrard have now enclosed the bed with wood too. Mick was on hand and his digging efforts were appreciated as we now have our first crop of seed potato's in the ground! Marianne has the responsibility of planting out our main flower beds and has started the hard work of weeding and turning over the soil; help will be required over the weeks on this so I'll be making sure that a small team are working alongside her so that the beds look fantastic this summer.
Nick and Nicky were beavering around on the tractor and trailor delivering woodchips and now the path behind the cabin is nearing completion, great stuff! Also making a welcome appearance was Toni who has taken on the cut flower beds - a new venture. To this end she could be seen painstakingly seeding pots with cornflowers and sweet peas on the steps of the new shed; these are now under cover at her house ( and a few in the remains of the greenhouse!). I know that I have missed the efforts of others but all your work was truly appreciated!
The Thursday Gardening club is growing under Ann and Libby's stewardship as they create the Secret Garden for the school. This area is taking on a new look too and no longer looks a little too unkempt as the team ( Alan, Ernest, Anne, Ann, Libby and John ) have dug up some of the encroaching nettles, created a woodchipped area and made the area safe for the children to explore. Soon the children's ideas and designs will take shape and there are already pallets on site to create bug and hedgehog hotels! Just brilliant! A big thanks to Libby for tidying our shed - lets try to keep it that way....
The afternoon saw another platoon of children from St Andrews School busily exploring the acre whilst John and Brendan did sterling work by extending our willow fencing. Thanks chaps, this will provide the extra screening now that our willows have been pollarded.