And so it begins! We’ve been boardwalk crazy here at Lakenheath over the past week, with many different volunteers and staff getting involved. Much of the work has been focused on the preparation of frames and boards but excitingly, yesterday saw the first sections being constructed down at the hide. But I’m racing ahead....
Last Thursday our work party volunteers Phil and Nigel got a full days work in with Dave, cutting boards and preparing the frames that we’ll attach to the upright posts and nail the decking boards to. Suzanne also got stuck in, treating the cut ends of the boards and other timber to try and prolong their life out in the reedbed. Friday brought in volunteers Les, Roger and Janet for more board cutting and treating while I spent time in the workshop constructing yet more frames.
Our work party for this week took place yesterday rather than tomorrow (when we’re off to help at another reserve) and we had many hands to help us. Volunteers Mark, Roger, Robert, Karen and David M came in plus we were joined by none other than Mr David White, who likes to assist with the odd work party or two before the year is out. And what better task to get involved with!
We had various groups working throughout the day. Some strimming and raking took place to fully clear the route of the boardwalk again, I spent all day ferrying people, equipment, timber and frames back and forth and one group focused on getting the most complicated part of the boardwalk started – the ramp down from the hide pontoon to the desired level of the boardwalk. This has to be constructed with a particular gradient for wheelchair access so after some calculation and measurement the work commenced. Here are a few photos of the progress towards the end of the afternoon.
Photo credit: Ali Blaney
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Katherine and volunteer Karen nailing down the boards
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Dave with volunteers David M and Mark
The black upright posts we are using are made from recycled plastic rather than wood. As the uprights are driven down into the peat and will always be damp (once we've brought the water level up), we opted for recycled plastic rather than wood so that we don't have to worry about them rotting. Also, from an environmentally friendly point of view, they are made from mixed plastic waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill. We’ll be continuing with boardwalk construction whenever possible as we’re keen to get the hide open. As well as the basic length of boardwalk to construct, we have to finish it off with curbing on both edges, a hand-rail along one side and wire netting along the surface to prevent slipping. Volunteer Mark returned this morning to work with Katherine and get the boards down on the sections that are ready so far - they are out there as I type and, hot off the press, have just phoned the office to tell us that five cranes flew north over the reserve - how exciting! A huge thank you to all our volunteers who have been involved in the boardwalk so far – we’ll be keeping you busy for some time yet!
And even when we’re not working on the boardwalk, our volunteers just continue to be amazing. Volunteer Roger, not content with helping last Friday and yesterday, also popped in on Saturday morning to fix one of our gates between the workshop and visitor centre pool. It’s one of those jobs that’s been on my ‘to do’ list for a very long time (probably since I started 18 months ago....oh dear!) but there always seems to be something more urgent to do. Luckily for us, Roger got it sorted and did an excellent job - the gate now swings AND closes, instead of dragging across the floor and being propped up with a piece of wood. Thank you Roger!