Shaving the stakes

Six GG Yorkies joined Jonathan (King of St Nick's) and St Nick's volunteer, Nina to plant some trees.

First, we collected the tools and shoveled compost into wheelbarrows to make them extra heavy. Then we took them on a journey through precarious trails to the edge of the beck. There, the trees were to be planted in just the right places to prevent violating Environment Agency rules. It appeared that this meant that they shouldn't be planted too close to the water.

As a special treat, we didn't need to dig up trees from elsewhere in the reserve before we planted them. Jonathan had a fresh bunch of Alder trees and a bunch of Black Poplar. He laid them out along the trail in the approximate places they needed to be planted. In most cases, we needed to clear a patch of nettles and Himalayan Balsam before digging could begin. Mitch quickly found out that his trackie bottoms weren't nettle-proof. In spite of the stings, he still managed a fit of giggles while trying to pose for a photo with his eyes open.

We worked in pairs to clear balsam, dig holes and fill them back in with trees, soil and compost. Tom found himself without a partner, but he kept himself busy and extremely useful by bringing compost and tree guards to the various planting sites. He also helped Jonathan to gather fallen branches which he shaved to a point at the end so that they could be used as stakes to support the trees.

After a solid hour of planting, we'd helped all of the Alder trees into their new homes, leaving some of the Black Poplar to be planted another day.