Dear all,
Here is our Autumn update on what we have been busy with at Green Ilminster!
Our various projects are as active as ever and we are very lucky to have some of the most brilliant people in Ilminster volunteering for us. In October we had a fantastic ‘thank you’ evening to celebrate our teams achievements.
As you can see, we try to have a bit of fun along the way!
While we are all working together with a common aim to help our planet, we also love the friendship and community that being part of Green Ilminster offers.
Below you can find out more about how our projects are progressing.
Share and Repair Shop
Our shop continues to do very brisk business! We have recently clocked up our 2000th repair, which is amazing news and something we couldn’t have imagined achieving when we opened our doors in 2022. The jobs keep on rolling in, and we are always on the lookout for more people to join the team, either as a repairer or shop keeper. If you have sewing skills, can fix stuff or might enjoy working in our busy little shop, do pop in and say hello!
Our Share service has some brilliant items to borrow. Now the colder weather is upon us why not borrow our thermal imaging camera to check out how well insulated your home is? Or with Christmas around the corner perhaps you could do with an extra bit of table space or a few more glasses or plates? Look no further – it’s all available to borrow from us! Check out our full range of items to borrow on our website!
And don’t forget we now have a full range of refills for you to enjoy….come and have a look at our environmentally friendly/vegan cleaning and personal care products, cutting waste every time you refill! See our new video here! [Sarah Hunt]
GI Talks
We have had a couple of great talks since September but if you missed either you can catch up with them on our YouTube channel here.
Our next talk is on Wednesday 26th Nov – James Hitchmough – What can gardens do for biodiversity and sustainability in a time of climate change?
One of the great things about gardens is that there are a lot of them (more than 16 million in the UK) and unlike much urban public space, each has a resident gardener of some sort, who generally cares about what happens there. In this talk James will explore some of the possibilities of increasing the benefits of gardens for people and wildlife, and what current scientific research has to say about all of this. He will use his own garden project (plus a little of his professional work) to illustrate some of these ideas and how he has tried to do as little harm as possible in the process.
James is Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture and Landscape at the University of Sheffield where his work focused on encouraging more species rich, nature-like vegetation in urban greenspace. He retired in 2022 but continues to work as a design and management consultant in the UK (for example the Knepp Wilding Garden) and around the world. When not writing or speaking at conferences and workshops, he is developing a new garden on the edge of Clayhanger. See JamesHitchmough on Instagram for a view into his world.
Into the new year you can put these in your diary:
– 21st Jan – James Lowe from South Street Honey will be talking about Honeybees
– 18th Feb – Caroline Dare will be talking about the wonders of Biochar
– 18th March – John Bagnall of Wessex Water will be talking about Improving water quality in Somerset
[Chris Bestley]
River Isle Water Monitoring
Our work on the river continues, with our monthly monitoring. In October, in addition to our regular sampling, we carried out our quarterly survey of the lower reaches of the Isle where we don’t have anyone with established sites – two of us carried out five surveys in a morning between Ilminster and Muchelney. If anyone lives near that stretch of the river and would like to take on a couple of sites on a regular basis we would love to hear from you!
If you would like to see the latest Scorecards for the River Isle you will find them here. [Chris Bestley]
GI Tree Group
There are 78 subscribers on the Tree Group distribution list. We occasionally get a session where the volunteer number is into double figures. It would be good if we could increase the percentage of people on the list who are active members. In general, our work party will come from the same 20 or so members who you might call our regulars. This is a very cohesive and friendly unit and we always meet up afterwards to chat over the session and discuss any issues raised. We will be holding a meeting in The George in Ilminster before the end of November to plan our activities over the coming 12 months.
Recent Site Visits – In the late summer and autumn period which falls outside the planting season, the Tree Group has been carrying out maintenance work at several of its sites:
12th July – Eames Mill, Ilminster (9 members) This site has been visited frequently over the years and our work is starting to have an obvious impact. We spend most of our time clearing space around each of the trees, cutting back nettles and brambles etc and removing as much of the invasive Himalayan Balsam as possible, although this is in direct conflict with one of the local residents with whom we are in active debate, to try to change her thoughts about the desirability of this plant along the banks of the River Isle.
30th August – Chibley Farm, Chillington (7 members) 170 trees were planted in 2021 on some marginal land. We have visited several times and this work party quickly removed the large quantity of docks that were very evidently competing with the trees. We reinforced some of the guards and noted that the majority of the saplings were now looking very healthy. There is another piece of marginal land contiguous with the site. In our review of our morning’s work, I suggested that we might also plant there. The landowner declined, saying that she had an alternative plan. We all felt that this site could now be left to fend for itself and therefore we plan no further visits unless contacted by the landowner.
27th September – Townsend Farm, Ilminster (5 members) 200 trees were planted near Pretwood on Dillington land in February this year. This work party was to check progress, including weeding, cutting back brambles and evaluating the efficacy of the mulch mats which were used by us for the first time at this site. The success rate for the trees was high, and this was put down in part to the mats which provide some nourishment, deter weed and retain moisture. So, although expensive, they do seem to be effective. The failures will be made good on a special post-Christmas planting session on Saturday 27th December – 18 replacement plants will be supplied by Dillington.
25th October – Barrington, Hill Farm (10 members) We have planted over 200 trees at this site (one planting in 2020 and another in 2023). The five-year old trees that have survived (Including some Wayfaring trees) are now self-sufficient. The 2023 planting is also looking strong with minimal losses. There does seem to be an opportunity to plant some more individual trees and also to infill between the trees with some hedging to create a stronger green corridor and an improved windbreak. We will discuss this in the coming weeks with the landowner. [Colin Hyde]
I hope you have found our newsletter interesting and more importantly hopeful; Green Ilminster thanks you for your continued support.
With all best wishes
Sarah and all the team