Leader - Jeff
Tree Guard Construction for the Severnside
Project
Leader - Jeff
In the past Gloucester had a worldwide reputation for the quality and range of its apples and pears. Unfortunately since the 1940's most of these orchards have been grubbed up and very few of these apple and pear species remain in Gloucester. Luckily many old varieties have been preserved in national collections and specialist nurseries.
Gloucester City Council has obtained 30 of these old Gloucester species and planted them on a farm at Hempsted. The local BTCV group planted the saplings and put temporary guards around to protect them from cattle that will graze the field this spring. However, something more substantial and permanent was required to protect them over the coming years.
The team of nine Gloucester Vale Conservation Volunteers, led
by Jeff, were tasked with constructing the last six guards. These
are substantial square wooden frames, each having four uprights
and three rails. The uprights had to be planted 30 inches deep
and this was possible only because the soil was somewhat sandy.
Gauging exactly where to dig to create a perfect square challenged
us and on a couple of occasions some extra digging was required
to bring things back into line.
The weather forecast for the day was not promising but started reasonably well with broken cloud and sunny intervals. However, by lunchtime the rain began and became intense about mid afternoon. At that stage it didn't look as if we would be able to finish the task but the gritty team stuck it out and their perseverance was rewarded by a gradual end to the rain and the satisfaction of completing the job despite the conditions.
Well done to all!
Everyone digging deep!
Spirit levels in constant use to ensure precision!
