Paul came out on June 25th to help repair the damaged battery mower.  He realized that a hair dryer was the best way to soften the replacement plastic wheel support by temporarily softening the self-locking lugs that held the axle in position.

Great to have Paul and Lesley Abbott back on Saturday 20th June helping Malcolm trim back the ivy creeping over the path edge.   Mike was back again on Wednesday 24th to help tidy up a pear tree behind Hob Moor Terrace, damaged in bad weather a couple of weeks earlier.  Steve had also done a lot to tidy that area.  Corn flowers and corn marigolds were doing well.

We are starting to have small volunteer sessions at last with appropriate social distancing and all outdoors.  Good to have Mike Ridealgh back to help with mowing at 6 cm while Malcolm used the strimmer around trees and the Yellow Rattle plant area to reduce competition.

We managed to plant some Devil’s Bit Scabious plants Mike had raised for MCT.

We also took some photos of the Poppy and Cornflower and Corn Marigold patches MCT has established.

It has been near drought conditions in York for the past few weeks, but we have been managing to keep the poppy, cornflower and corn marigold patches watered.  Malcolm was rewarded for his efforts by the first poppy flower on May 25th and the sight of several more buds.

The combined impact of social distancing and drought on Matfield over recent weeks has not done a lot for our lovely green path verges!

The Field-work co-ordinator was delighted to get caught in a shower of rain while doing some urgently needed trimming of the rambler rose overhanging the notice board at the Nelsons Lane end.  It reminded him to print some more recruitment leaflets.

A bit more on May 23rd!

An unfortunate impact of the lack of Green Bin collections due to the Corona Virus has been the amount of garden waste being dumped in the Mayfields Compost area.  This will be a bit more difficult to manage while MCT is unable to have group volunteer sessions.

The Field-work Co-ordinator has been using short exercise sessions on the site observing appropriate social distancing.  It has allowed some mowing of verges and strimming alongside Nelsons Lane in Late April, and selective strimming around trees and bluebell clumps.  Social distancing by the public has generally been excellent.

On May 1st Malcolm was delighted to see numerous Yellow Rattle seedling emerging in the area established in December 2019 as part of a Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Grant from CYC.