Spring 2019 Garden Maintenance

Six keen, energetic rotarians came together under the leadership of rotarian John Lavin to undertake the daunting task of removing the living willow tunnel in the sensory garden of the Child Development Centre at Princess Diana Hospital.  The willow had been planted a number of years ago, it had outgrown its purpose and posed a potential hazard, therefore Paul Cook of the Centre decided it should to be removed.

Chainsaw Massacre

The first stage was to decapitate the willow which was easily accomplished with the use of a chainsaw and some heavy duty loppers.  The cuttings were heaved over the fence and piled to await disposal in Ollie Taylor's trailer.  The stems were separated but left intact to give leverage for the root removal stage.

The Battle of Mattocking

John Clark was introduced for the first time to the mattock - a very useful tool for digging and chopping in hard ground.  With the power of two mattocks, spades, an axe and some pure brawn, the roots were soon ripped out and deposited on Ollie's pile.

Making Good

After some back filling and a good raking over, Stuart scattered generous handfulls of grass seed.  Some perhaps landed on stony ground but hopefully enough will germintae so that when we return later in the year the scar will have healed and the children will be able to enjoy the extra lawn area.

Everyone worked well together and were very pleased with what we managed to achieve as a team.  Thanks also to the CDC team for providing coffee/tea and biscuits.