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Update 2002
February 9-10th Welly bootylicious...
The year of residential weekends started well. There was a large group this time- a range of ages and nationalities. On the first day we set ourselves a challenge: making a stag by weaving willow. We split up and set to work indoors on different parts of the body (it was freezing outside!), using woven circles as the base, then weaving through. The idea was to make the stag about a metre high, including the legs, but it turned out to be about five times the size! It was assembled near to the willow domes that were built at the same time last year.
The stag was head heavy, so to make it stand up the male members of the team tied
together two very sturdy sticks in a cross to make the front legs, and did the
same for the back. To keep its head in place a long branch was rammed up its neck-
poor thing! Willow was planted around the legs and woven in to make it a living
sculpture. It was a great achievement for us all. That evening it was a case of
wolfing our dinners down and then racing through to the small lounge to watch
the conclusion of Pop Idol. The other group staying at Wiston Lodge joined us
to see the long awaited result- at which I was gobsmacked, which is something
that doesn't happen often!!!
Unfortunately one of our leaders took ill so we had to head home early, but we still had time to fit in a scavenger hunt, orienteering, and of course the delicious Sunday lunch. It was a great weekend (even though Gareth didn't win Pop Idol!) and I will certainly be returning to Wiston Lodge- even if it is only for the food!
Marie Penman (Green Team participant)
Digging, building, sawing, litter picking and lugging! We did a whole mixture of activities at the Green Team's site in Tranent.
All
together there were 13 of us, it was brilliant to meet new people. In only 5 hours
we built a step on the footpath, planted many trees and cleared a large area of
rubbish. I particularly enjoyed working on the step, although the sawing was hard
work. We were lucky to be working in such a beautiful area and that the weather
was on our side.
I felt a huge sense of achievement by the end of the day, as did the whole group. It opened my eyes about our environment. I have realised how important our habitat is and how we should all do a little bit to conserve it. Overall, the whole day was a huge success and I look forward to the next project!
Mhairi Maxwell (Green Team participant)
On Sunday the Green Team joined with a local school and the Dirty Weekenders to plant bushes to form a natural barrier between a walkway and the main road at Ratho. It was muddy and rainy - we had hailstones, thunder, lightning and strong winds, but we battled on!
First, we planted bushes against the fence close to the road to provide a screen, then variegated ivy, honeysuckle and periwinkle near the path to provide interest for walkers. After lunch we carried (heavy!) bags of bark chippings to put around the plants to keep down the weeds. After we finished laying the chippings, we went for a walk along the canal and Esperanza Martin from the Edinburgh Green Belt Trust explained what the local community group had done to improve the area for local people, including resting points, benches and guiding signs along the route.
Then it was time to go home. We had to take off our boots before we got into the minibus to go back to Edinburgh and I was so muddy, I had to phone my Dad to collect me because I didn't think they'd let me on a bus to go home! I really enjoyed my day. It was hard work, but good company and good fun!
Sarah Allan (Green Team Participant and Management Committee Member)
March 16-17th Don't need the sun to shine...
It was a very big group that set off for the Carrifran Valley on saturday morning in two minibuses. We had decided to put all the people in one bus and the luggage in the other. Thank goodness it was the one with all the bags that broke down outside Peebles! After a few hours everyone was re-united with their things and the project got started.
The group were planting trees quite high up in the Carrifran valley with spectacular views when the cloud cleared. We were planting a mixture of deciduous trees to help re-afforest the valley. The Project Officer Hugh Chalmers was on hand to tell us what to do.
It
was quite a long way up to plant the trees and we were glad to get back to the
village hall to have some tea. In the evening we played some games.
On Sunday we joined with some other volunteers who were planting trees as well before having to pack up and return to Edinburgh. Luckily one of the leader's Dad volunteered to come and get all the stuff in his van so we were able to get everything back home. We arrived back tired but happy having had a wonderful time and done our bit for conservation!
April 6-7th One step closer...
I recently went on the Green Team trip to St Abb's. I was amazed at how much fun I had, and it is because of this that I hope to do more weekends!
Once
we had arrived at the outdoor centre at Grantshouse we made lunch and set off
to meet the rangers who we would be working with. It was a beautiful sunny day
and we arrived in high spirits at Coldingham Bay. Our task for the afternoon was
clearing up the beach at Linkhim Shore and learning about shells, rocks and sealife
too. So we set off on the coastal walk towards the bay we would be working at.
As we walked along the sun was blazing down and, along with the cool breeze, it
made me feel very positive about the whole trip. Once we'd got there everyone
set to work collecting rubbish. It was unbelievable the amount you can find when
you are looking for it. We also learned about the shells and collected many interesting
and beautiful ones. After we had finished the clearing up we had fun playing in
the rock pools and that was my favourite part of the day. In the evening we played
games with cards that helped the group to bond together.
The next day we went to the same spot to meet a different ranger. He told us that we would be repairing a section of footpath close to where we had been working the day before. We repaired some steps by removing grass that had grown over them and replaced gravel from the beach because people had been slipping. This was hard work because the gravel was very heavy and we were working at some distance from the beach and up a slope! Lots of dog walkers told us how great it was and what a big difference the work we were doing would make. We then went for a walk along the coast towards St Abb's. It was really nice and a good end to the trip. After we'd packed and left I was sad to go but I felt a big sense of achievement for what we'd done and that made it all worth it.
Debbie Butts (Green Team participant)
Once
a dilapidated strip of trees edged a burn running to the east of Currie Community
High School. It lay amongst years of litter and neglect and many of the trees
were dying of Dutch Elm disease. Roley Walton and a group of school pupils spent
their summer holidays clearing out the woodland. Elms were felled, native trees
planted, footpaths and steps created. This was the beginning of the restoration
programme for the woodland strip now known as Roley's Wood. A John Muir Award
group at the school now effectively manages the woodland and the Green Team helped
carry out some improvement work on Sunday the 9th of June.
Fourteen people participated, in what turned out to be a very mucky day clearing out the burn. We hauled out all manner of things including a garden bench, tree trunks and an abundance of litter to fill an entire skip! While some people were busy planting bulbs, a couple of folk got stuck right in, digging out sediment that was preventing the burn from flowing. There was a real sense of achievement, being covered in mud and standing back to watch the burn flow freely once more.
The project was organised as a partnership between Currie Community High School's John Muir Award Group and the Green Team. We are grateful for financial support from Treefest for supporting this event and the ongoing management of the woodland.
Rebecca Logsdon, Community Projects Officer
July 20-27th I walked into a cloud again ...
With
a mixture of woodland and coastal conservation work and lots of fun activities,
the trip to Abbey St Bathans was a great success! We were greeted by miserable
weather, which resulted in a first night in the village hall instead of tents
for the girls and a night in the mansion (an eight-man tent!) for the boys. My
favourite day was a bad day for several others. We were doing path repair work
on the coast, involving digging grass out from steps and replacing with gravel
brought up from the beach. It was hard work, and gravel is incredibly heavy! Amy
and I got stuck in and did a group of about 8 steps ourselves. We were so proud
when we finished them!
Evenings in the village hall were great too. To fit in with ongoing events, we held our own Commonwealth Games. You might be thinking athletics, ball games etc, but you're wrong! We had five events ... Onion jousting, leftfoot one hand football, spinning tabletennis, duster hockey, and a long game of up nelson. Not at all traditional, but a bundle of laughs! The week was brilliant all round and we all got to know poeple really well.
Marie Penman, Participant
August 24-25 Go and tell it to the trees
The weekend was spent in the beautiful Pishwanton and Binning Woods in East Lothian.
The group helped dig a pond, build a traditional fence out of birch and clear
the invasive rhododendron.
What the participants said...
'I enjoyed all the work, it was rewarding and satisfying . The food was delicious too".
" I enjoyed it all- the work and meeting new people".
"The high point for me was getting covered in mud".
A record numbers of young people and many new faces turned out for the project at Pikes Pool, Kirkliston. A group of 14 young people helped construct resting perches along the popular path in the Edinburgh Green Belt. Throughout construction much digging, cementing, carrying water, lugging wood, bolting, sanding, and a touch of puzzling out the exact design… Many thanks to Green Team leaders Russell Kelly and Barry Grant for making the day a success.
Kate Hedges, Community Projects Officer
On Sunday the 13th of October, the Green Team were going to Holyrood Park to do some conservation work in the new sensory garden. This was my first trip with the Green Team and I was not quite sure what to expect. We met at Waterloo Place to get the minibus down to the park. On first arriving we played a couple of game to get to know each others names. I’m glad we did this because it allowed me to talk to the other people and get to know a bit more about them. It was soon time to get down to work.
I was in a group with the other people who had never done any Green Team work
before. We were given an introduction to the John Muir Award Scheme, then got
on with clearing nettles and old tree roots to make way for the new path. This
was very hands-on conservation and was fun, apart for the nettle stings I managed
to get on my wrists! At 12.45 we got to break for lunch, we were all starving
by then! Lunch let us play another game, Midges, Salmon, Wildcats. We had a good
laugh trying to look like fish and it also warmed us up a bit ready to start work
again.
After lunch I joined a group making wildlife habitat piles down by one of the ponds. The idea behind this was to give frogs, toads newts and even hedgehogs a sheltered habitat to live in during the winter. It took us quite a while, but at the end it was well worth it to see our habitat securely built and camoflashed ready for its new occupants. The final activity I took part in was helping to lay the foundations for the dry stane dyke being built to house a raised flower bed. Carrying the big stones warmed me up again and I really enjoyed trying to fit all the stones together like a jigsaw puzzle.
The day was really good and helped me to make a positive contribution to the new sensory garden which I hope will be enjoyed by a lot of people in the near future. I will definitely have my name down to help with future projects!
Karen Pearson, Participant
On Sunday 3rd of November, the Green Team went to Hopetoun House to do rhododendron clearance. There were a lot of us, so the first thing we did was to get to know everyone's name by playing games. After that, we had a tool talk about how to use the bow saw and the loppers safely. We each picked up a tool and attempted to cross the river without getting wet and muddy but because it was very sticky, some people lost their wellies and hopped around until they could get them back on! Then it was down to work! I worked with Trevor to pull out some huge bits of rhododendron. It took about three of us to pull them down the slope and across the river to the bonfire, which was pretty smoky. Then we had a juice break and carried on for about an hour before lunch.
After lunch, we piled more bits onto the bonfire, then dumped our bags and tools near the minibus and went for a walk round the grounds with Niall, the Ranger at Hopetoun House. On the walk, we saw some deer. As we walked back Kate started a leaf fight and we all soon joined in. Then we put the tools in the bus and set off for Edinburgh. We were all very dirty but we did a lot of work and had a good day.
Sarah Allan, Green Team participant and Committee member
I really enjoyed the trip to Wiston Lodge, so its not hard to write about it. When the people who were getting on the minibus arrived we were one person short. Rebecca, who was driving us in style to Wiston Lodge, didn't know what Gary, the person who wasn't there, looked like. It turned out that he had been waiting right outside the minibus not knowing if it was us or not! We had a great journey listening to the Beatles. When we arrived we met up with Kate and went of for a walk around the grounds, accompanied by Tasha, Kate's dog. We were going to renovate the mud hut, built several years ago by another Green Team team. We settled in and had lunch. In the middle of lunch Marie arrived, she hadn't got on the minibus earlier and had come late. In the afternoon we conserved with vigour and had a great laugh. After that we went to the hall for some craft activities. We made fish out of willow and dogwood. We got changed before tea and then afterwards we mucked around until the ceilidh. The ceilidh was great and we all had a wonderful time. Most people were sensible enough to go to bed well before Marie and I. The next day we had to get up really early to eat our breakfast. After some games we set back to work on the mud hut. We had a proper Sunday roast lunch, Yummy! Then after that we did more work, some evaluation and a tidy up. Then it was time to go. I really love going to Wiston Lodge and will probably be back soon, I hope!
Morvern Odling, participant
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