Today's task was supposed to be continuing coppicing hazel woodland close to the Tolworth Brook, however, the area surrounding the car park at Meldone Close is so blighted by litter and fly tipping, that it was decided to tackle this task first. One particularly grotty corner of the car park had never been cleared before, and today seemed like the day to take on this task. Cutting back the vegetation only revealed the full horror of the situation, but our volunteers battled on and eventually filled the trailer with rubbish, including rubbish bins, a toaster, a vacuum cleaner, lots of garden waste, bricks, window frames. Once this task was completed it was lunch time. After a quick lunch, we moved to the area of woodland that we first visited last autumn, to continue coppicing the hazel trees. Last year's coppicing has really opened up the woodland floor, with the increased light penetration stirring long dormant seeds into life. One interesting discovery was feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). Introduced from Southeast Europe, feverfew is described as 'a relic of old gardens', and was formerly used to ease colic and to aid digestion.
The car park at Meldone Close is a real hot spot for fly tipping, particularly of garden waste.
After several hours work, a former grot spot is transformed.
And, another trailer-load of rubbish is ready for the trip to the tip - where the rubbish should have been taken in the first place.
The real reason for our visit to the Tolworth Brook today was to do a spot of coppicing. In the process, a feverfew plant was spotted. A so-called 'garden relic'.
After just one season, last year's coppiced hazel trees a sending shoots skyward.
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