The day was cold, the fingers were numb, but the spirits were high as we tackled the tasks set for our nursery session on 19th June.  A good crowd turned up for this special event that coincided with the start of Volunteer week.  Was it the promise of free food? Free plants? Or just because people wanted an excuse to get out of the house for a few hours, touch some dirt and have some great conversation.

We managed to split and repot another million carex plants without our fingers frosting off.  Ok, so maybe not quite a million but certainly a large number.  Our younger helpers worked well placing these plants in the area at the back of the nursery where they will continue to grow, ready for planting in the spring. The trolley got a good workout but didn’t quite work so well doing drifts around the nursery.

Meanwhile, some of the power-tool brigade set to and created the tunnel houses.  These were bought from a successful application to the newly created Grasslands Community Donation Fund.

We were able to thank our volunteers with warm drinks (needed to warm up the hands), yummy chocolate cake from the Bafe and Jeanna’s banana cake creation plus a kowhai to take home and plant in their own gardens.

Moving to the afternoon for our winter nursery sessions was decided so that we would have a bit more warmth but it certainly wasn’t the case this week with still frozen soil and weeds that were firmly fixed beside the plants!  Let’s hope things improve from now on – see you at the next session on 3rd July at 1:30pm