Author Archives: Backstreeter

Community Tree Planting

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Councillor Cheryl Briggs, the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, was among those planting trees in Rye Farm Meadow, near Abingdon Lock.

Local residents came along to plant the 420 trees, and that included young families and children. The Woodland Trust donated all the trees, the tree guards were recycled from Besselsleigh Woods, and Oxford Wood Recycling and CAG Oxfordshire funded tree stakes. The event was co-ordinated by the Abingdon Carbon Cutters and Abingdon Rotary. Permission was given by VWHDC (Vale of White Horse District Council) on their land.

Reynolds Way changes

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The footpaths around Reynolds Way, and a lot of the roads in Caldecott, have been given a fresh coat of tarmac and the grass and weeds have been cut back.

Some of the shop shutters have blown down, and others are damaged.

The garages and the wall with the art murals has been demolished.

Tree planting

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We went for a walk along the Thames Path beside Barton Fields. Some trees were down after last week’s storms. There was also the sound of chain saws from the Abingdon Science Park.

The Thames Path has a new board walk over what was once the most muddy place. New sign posts indicate the way.

A bit further on, at the place where lots of trees were cut two years ago, lots of baby trees have been planted. Maybe the new trees are better in some way.

Inside each tree shelter is a baby tree about half the size of the shelter.

A community mass tree planting will take place on Rye Farm Meadow this Saturday. The Vale of White Horse District Council have given permission for the planting of  420 baby ‘wild wood’ trees, given by the Woodland Trust. They include: pussy willow, downy birch, hawthorn, crab apple and hazel. The Abingdon Carbon Cutters have organised the event and want people to sign up and plant trees. For more information see https://abingdoncarboncutters.org.uk/event/tree-planting-at-rye-farm-meadow/.

Red Weather Warning and storm damage

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Abingdon had a red weather warning area today. Strong winds meant that a number of businesses chose not to open today. (There was a limited Farmers Market . Styan’s veggies from Worcestershire struggled in as did the two local butchers, the Bath cheese man, the honey man and the trout farmer. However their stalls were reduced in size with no awnings.) There were not a lot of people about. during the peak winds during the morning and early afternoon. The skies kept changing from blue to cloudy. There was a little rain.

Down West St Helen’s Street at least two properties lost roof tiles onto the public pavement, and The Salvation Army chose to close their pavement. There were also a couple of garden walls fell down along St Helen’s Close.

A tree had come down onto the pathway through the Box Hill Woods.

The winds lessoned by late afternoon. Paths were strewn with twigs under trees and some larger branches had split from trunks. Examples here are across the River Thames from St Helen’s Church.

A large branch had fallen from the large tree in front of Cosener’s House and drifted down the River Thames. There were work people with chain saws chopping damaged trees in the Abbey Meadows.

A Yew was damaged in Albert Park.