Details of August work sessions, including the Saturday session on August 2nd, are now available to download from the Programme page.
Hawkyard Copse site reopens
Cattle have got through the access gate into Hawkyard Copse on two occasions recently, and unfortunately damaged some of the young trees planted there. Pending a permanent solution which will not allow livestock to enter, the gate was temporarily locked. The problem has now been resolved and the Copse is freely accessible – but for cattle, no longer!
Saturday work sessions
We realise that there may be people who would like to join Green Gym or at least try it out, but cannot attend on a Wednesday, typically for work reasons. We are therefore trialling work sessions on a Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 pm, with a break at 11.30.
The next session will take place on Saturday 2nd August at Chipping Norton Health Centre. The leader for this will be Clive Rand. Details are given in the July/August programme.
For more information on Saturday sessions, click here.
Putting the elms back in Elmsfield
Since its appearance in the U.K. in the late 1960s, the now infamous Dutch elm disease has killed millions of elm trees here over the last 50 years. It has changed parts of our landscape forever and is still spreading north. However, thanks to the painstaking breeding of hybrids, there now exist varieties with noted similarity to the lost English elms (ulmus procera) but which are, it is claimed, completely resistant to the disease.
Although there still exist surviving mature elm trees in Britain, they have all vanished from Chipping Norton, and are remembered only in the local name Elmsfield. Now, Green Gym have planted a small number of elm saplings alongside the drive to Elmsfield Farm, which also leads to the Community Orchard. It is hoped that at some time in the future, they will resemble those in this photograph and recreate a glorious scene from the past.
Blossom Day 2025
The annual Blossom Day festival will take place on Sunday May 11th, from 12 to 3, at the Chipping Norton Community Orchard. Admission is free and all are welcome. Parking space is limited – please come on foot if at all possible. For details on how to get there, parking, and a map of the location, see here.