Spring has Sprung at Kate’s Place
Everything is slowly coming back to life. The daylight is increasing, temperatures are warming up although not reliable and variable, almost rendering the ‘myth plausible’ that you can experience all seasons at once in the UK.
We did not have so many visitors due to schools being out, people going away on Easter holidays. Hopefully everyone is out, and about being outdoors and in-tune with nature and its many benefits. Laura worked with a young family to make clay reliefs of leaves impregnated with wildflower seeds. These we left in situ to germinate. Everyone also enjoyed some relaxing time catching up and soaking up the calm of Kate’s Place, which was only possible as the place was less busy.
Fitness Resolution – the Good Gym
There are some who are gym or fitness enthusiasts. Most do their fitness either at the gym or community centers and other structures.
During covid, lockdown, it changed the way people kept fit, physically, mentally and emotionally. This is when The Good Gym was formed. Their motto is ‘Do Good Get Fit’. They have organised running, walking and cycling to help local community organisations and isolated older people by doing practical tasks.
Good Gym arrived ready for chores at Kate’s Place getting the place ready for summer. The team have been here to help before. They shifted the wood to a new habitat friendly screen that we are building to hide the tennis court netting. They also got to work ‘exercising by scarifying some meadow areas for wildflower seeds, raking the grass of leaves, twigs, clearing the pathway and any debris.
The new seeds were planted and watered to add extra pollinator friendly native wildflowers to our species rich grasses. They will blossom to add some vibrant summer blooms to come.
The crab apple tree (Malus Transitoria) is already flowering, so another good crop of tiny apples to look forward to.
The Conference Pears on the archway and others were well watered after the driest March and April. The Good Gym team trekked endlessly to Flo’s Cafe to collect water. They must have made their ‘daily step count’ in the process.
A glimpse of Tadpoles
The other work that the team helped with was to repair the grille over the water. Grass and leaves were also cleared from the water. The frog spawn has moved on to the next stage of their cycle, tadpoles. There are plenty of them of various lengths, size and mobility. With the temperatures getting warmer and the water was clearer, it was easy to watch the tadpoles as they swarm nearer the surface.
Networking
Once the work was completed, The team helped put away the equipment. We all had some food to eat and to learn more about each other. There is a gardener among the Good Gym with potential to work on some projects when needed. It is nice to have time to talk and listen together in nature.
Mabvuto Hardy – Associate with The Nature Effect
